The remarkable story of Tara Fela-Durotoye and the creation of House of Tara, a business that defied the odds to become an industry pioneer, was deeply explored in a conversation with Olushola Olaleye. Olaleye began the segment by highlighting the statistical unlikelihood of her achievement, noting that "very rarely do you find African businesses founded by Africans not only grow to thrive across two decades and beyond but also one that can outlive its founder". He underscored the profound reality that less than 1% of Nigerian entrepreneurs manage to build a business that will last 30 years. Fela-Durotoye, who recently stepped down as MD and CEO, successfully transitioned the business, a feat that brought both a "strong and sobering" sense of gratitude and trepidation.
The entrepreneur started House of Tara in the mid-1990s at a time when makeup was an "uncharted territory" in Nigeria, and the cultural emphasis was on "natural beauty". Fela-Durotoye attributed the audacity to pioneer such a path at a young age to her faith, which she explained is equal to audacity. This belief gave her "the fire, the knowing, the certainty that if I started something I would succeed at it".
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A core reason for House of Tara’s endurance is Fela-Durotoye’s commitment to building a company for the future, not just for today. Olushola Olaleye noted the critical difficulty of scaling a creative business, questioning how she moved from "beating one face to beating faces of hundreds of brides over a weekend and ensuring that the quality still remains the same". Fela-Durotoye confirmed that the key to this consistency lies in standardization, or developing what she called standard operating procedures. This approach standardizes everything from makeup application steps to customer service. For instance, customers walking into any House of Tara store are always greeted with the same phrase: "Welcome to House of Tara".
To sustain this structure, Fela-Durotoye established House of Tara as a "value school". She insisted on the importance of culture, explaining that the first two days of a new employee’s tenure are the "most powerful time of impartation". To ensure the company vision is absorbed, "every employee of House of Tara recites [the] vision every single day". This relentless repetition of the company's vision, mission, and core values is necessary because "you can't keep quiet" when trying to create and sustain culture. This intentional structure ensures that even when employees eventually leave—many going on to start their own businesses—they carry the values of professionalism and structure with them, thereby enriching the entire industry.
Fela-Durotoye’s success also stemmed from her commitment to her team, a challenge Olaleye noted is tough for any entrepreneur. She disengaged from negative conversations about Nigerian employees and focused on building a vision that would attract people "like a magnet". She also emphasized rewarding employees beyond just salary, paying attention to their individual "love language" to make them feel appreciated.
In concluding the conversation, Olushola Olaleye praised Fela-Durotoye for her ability to build an identity that is not solely tied to her brand, acknowledging that even after her transition, "there's much more to you than just the makeup woman". Fela-Durotoye confirmed her identity is rooted "in the manufacturer," God, which provides her with assurance and allows her to stand tall even in tough times. Her next phase involves launching the Building Beyond You institute to help other African entrepreneurs build scalable businesses that can outlive their founders.
