Why the Motto 'Better Not Bitter' Changed Everything for Beauty Bakerie Founder Cashmere Nicole After overcoming challenges at a young age, the makeup mogul is living the sweet life with her cruelty-free cosmetics brand.

By Kristen Aldridge

Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.

A feature interview on Beyoncé's website gave Beauty Bakerie founder and CEO Cashmere Nicole the push she needed to expand her beauty brand, but Nicole's BIZ Experiencesial spirit had been years in the making.

When Nicole became pregnant at 15, she worked tirelessly to put herself through school, relying on food stamps to keep her small family afloat.

While working full time as a nurse, Nicole decided to dive into the cosmetics industry, creating the brand's now-signature Lip Whip, a favorite with celebrities like Cardi B. and Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas. However, her budding business was thrown a curveball when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a 26-year-old single mother, she battled constant fear, but her resilience would later inspire her company's motto: Better Not Bitter.

"I just hope to continue to spread the mission of being sweet and sweeting the lives of others," says Nicole.

Since her recovery, she has channeled her energy into creating products free of harmful chemicals that represent all skin tones and gender identities.

In 2017, Beauty Bakerie received $3 million in funding from Unilever and has since expanded its products to online shops in over 120 countries and 750 brick and mortar stores, including Ulta and Forever 21.

Nicole's mission to spread love and give back is the key to her brand's success. "All of us contribute to that beauty of the world, and there is no one standard for beauty," she says. "Representing that in the brand really gives the customers a sense of home…They feel loved for just who they are."

In this episode of How Brands Are Born, follow Nicole's journey to sweet success and see how she overcame the odds to build a beauty empire.

How Brands Are Born is presented by Cardone Ventures, in partnership with Original Stories Media. Learn how Grant Cardone and Brandon Dawson can help your business transform and scale to 10X levels HERE.

Kristen Aldridge

Founder of Original Stories Media, Journalist, Producer and Storyteller

Emmy-winning journalist and brand storytelling expert Kristen Aldridge is founder and CEO of Original Stories Media, a production company that specializes in capturing the origin stories behind the world’s most impactful brands. With over two decades of experience in the media industry, she has created content garnering millions of views for hugely successful platforms including BIZ Experiences, ESPN, ABC, CBS, Yahoo!, and SHAPE.

Passionate about all things BIZ Experiencesship, Aldridge created the original digital series How Brands Are Born to shine a light on all the remarkable people changing the world one big, bold dream at a time. Her mission is to help leaders reveal their most authentic selves so they can more effectively unleash their vision, inspire their culture, and bring deep value to the marketplace.

Want to be an BIZ Experiences Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

More from How Brands Are Born

Why the Motto 'Better Not Bitter' Changed Everything for Beauty Bakerie Founder Cashmere Nicole

This Jewelry Company Is Using the Power of Words to Change Lives

The Future of Food: Beyond Meat Is Changing the Way People Eat

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for BIZ Experiencess to pursue in 2025.

Science & Technology

OpenAI's Latest Move Is a Game Changer — Here's How Smart Solopreneurs Are Turning It Into Profit

OpenAI's latest AI tool acts like a full-time assistant, helping solopreneurs save time, find leads and grow their business without hiring.

Business News

'We Don't Negotiate': Why Anthropic CEO Is Refusing to Match Meta's Massive 9-Figure Pay Offers

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei laid out his rationale on a recent podcast for why he will not play the competing offer game despite Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's attempts to poach AI talent.

Science & Technology

AI Isn't Plug-and-Play — You Need a Strategy. Here's Your Guide to Building One.

Don't just "add AI" — build a strategy. This guide helps founders avoid common pitfalls and create a step-by-step roadmap to harness real value from AI.

Business News

Apple Smashes Expectations With $94 Billion Quarter. Here's How the iPhone Maker Did It.

Apple just reported a significant revenue beat for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.

Business News

Here's How Much Palantir Pays Its Top Tech Talent, From Software Engineers to AI Researchers

With stock up nearly 500% in a year, Palantir is booming. Here's how that translates into pay for its employees.