I’ve never done that before, Shark Tank

The New York-based beauty startup from Susana Chen and Jess Wu I’ve never done that before began with an easy query:

Chen had some experience with the latter, growing up in New York City’s Chinatown, where she helped sell “I Love New York” T-shirts and other custom-made items in her mother’s gift shop.

As an adult, Chen graduated from Parsons School of Design, worked at several creative agencies and founded the nonprofit organization Asian Creative Foundation and attended craft fairs, where she purchased goods made by artists and discovered a spot available in the market when it got here to some level of self-expression.

Chen saw the potential of beginning a business that sold press-on nails, temporary tattoos and dental jewelry—“wearable art that really shows who you are,” she says.

Chen brought the concept to her former colleague Wu, whose corporate experience in brand marketing was helpful. Wu has helped cross-cultural brands, from consumer products to technology corporations, go global. She knew the best way to construct efficient systems.

The duo officially launched Never Have I Ever in November 2023. Chen says the brand name has “multiple meanings to empower people in their individuality” – she and Wu include starting a business for the primary time, artists experimenting with recent media, and customers trying out recent looks.

Changing consumer behavior and a big pain point

It was a timely launch that coincided with a shift in consumer behavior towards non-essential beauty services. Last 12 months, salon owners and other beauty professionals within the U.S. reported a decline in business on account of an economic downturn and extensive tariffs NBC News.

Never Have I Ever press-on nails, which retail for about $18 to $45, not only offer consumers a more cost-effective method to do their nails, but additionally they solve one other, sometimes missed problem.

“I go to the nail salon,” Chen explains. “I want an artist’s work on my nails. But the artists don’t get credit for the nail drawing and the nail technician can’t draw exactly what I want. So the customer is not happy. We just solved the whole problem.”

I’ve never made $3,000 to $5,000 a weekend

In the early days, Chen and Wu took Never Have I Ever’s artist-designed products to craft fairs to see in the event that they would last. That was the case, because the custom nails “easily brought in $3,000 to $5,000 a weekend,” says Chen. It made sense to attend trade fairs and attract the eye of larger retailers.

Today, Never Have I Ever products can be found at Urban Outfitters, Revolve, Anthropologie, PacSun, Zumiez and Nordstrom. Additionally, in line with its artistic roots, the brand is carried at cultural institutions akin to the Met Museum, MoMA and the Denver Art Museum.

“When we had the idea of ​​collaborating with artists, I knew I wanted to sell it to MoMA,” says Chen. “I wanted to sell to Metropolitan. Because I don’t just want to go there to see art – I want to take home souvenirs of the art, but not put it on my fridge or table. I want to wear it.”

A business model that enables artists to monetize their work

From the start, Chen and Wu put creatives at the middle of their approach. Never Have I Ever works with greater than 100 artists who typically receive 5% royalties for his or her licensed artwork.

Most of Never Have I Ever’s supply chain is in China, however the production process is at all times a collaborative one, the co-founders say. Once an artist submits their artwork, Never Have I Ever works closely with them to make sure the final product stays true to their vision.

“We have developed an internal system and template to bridge artists’ creative process and production realities so that we can minimize the gap between art and production,” says Wu. “So it’s generally pretty smooth.”

Additionally, Never Have I Ever showcases its artist community on its social media platforms. The company’s social media strategy doesn’t just give attention to getting consumers to purchase the press-on nails; It is very important to spotlight the person artists behind the designs, emphasizes Chen.

Never Have I Ever boasts collaborations with artists akin to Lorien Stern, Tay Beepboop, Jade Roland, Lily Hoang-Zhu (liliuhms), August Wren, Mercedes Bazan, Omotola, Zoe Wodarz, Hey Su Lee, Alice Lee and Priyanka, amongst many others.

Achieving $1.5 million in revenue and 120,000 units sold

By the tip of 2025, Never Have I Ever had around ten employees on the team, half of them within the USA and the opposite half in China. The company closed its second full fiscal 12 months with revenue of $1.5 million, with 3.5x year-over-year sales growth and 120,000 units sold, based on the corporate.

“We went from selling on a weekend marketplace to having a presence in more than 2,000 stores in less than two years,” says Wu, “so that was an incredibly fast evolution.”

Additionally, having “Never Have I Ever” featured in an episode last month was one other vital milestone for the young brand.

“It was wild,” Chen said of pitching to the Sharks. “It was nerve-wracking. But it was also one of the most vulnerable experiences, talking about growing up in New York City and selling “I really like New York” T-shirts in my mom’s gift shop [and how that] gave me the angle to know the importance of creative expression.”

I’ve never secured one Deal with Kevin O’Leary: a $150,000 investment for 10% of the corporate and a loyalty fee of fifty cents per unit capped at $450,000.

Become the brand of selection with quick glamour

Looking forward, the co-founders intend to make Never Have I Ever the popular brand within the quick glamor category by continuing to expand into more retail stores while collaborating with recent artists.

Now is the perfect time to start out a brand new business, says Wu, declaring that aspiring entrepreneurs don’t need an enormous team or huge budget to start, just an understanding of what they need to do and why they need to do it.

“We knew we wanted to support artists,” Wu adds. “We wanted to help them do what they love.”

The New York-based beauty startup from Susana Chen and Jess Wu I’ve never done that before began with an easy query:

Chen had some experience with the latter, growing up in New York City’s Chinatown, where she helped sell “I Love New York” T-shirts and other custom-made items in her mother’s gift shop.

As an adult, Chen graduated from Parsons School of Design, worked at several creative agencies and founded the nonprofit organization Asian Creative Foundation and attended craft fairs, where she purchased goods made by artists and discovered a spot available in the market when it got here to some level of self-expression.