467: From Accountant to Clean Beauty CEO: How Tisha Thompson Launched LYS Beauty Into Sephora

Side Hustle Pro

Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media

Nicailamatthewsokome, Blackwomenentrepreneurs, Sidehustle, Blackpodcast, Sidehustlepro, Marketing, Sidehustles, Business, Smallbusinesspodcast, Sidehustleshow, Blackownedbusiness, Blackwomenownedbusiness, Blackwomen, Blackentrepreneurs, Smallbusinessshow, Businesspodcast, Entrepreneurship, Smallbusinessowners

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week in the guest chair, I’m joined by Tisha Thompson, the founder and CEO of LYS Beauty, the first Black-owned clean cosmetics brand to be carried at Sephora. Tisha shares her inspiring path from staff accountant and part-time makeup artist to leading her own beauty brand that launched during the pandemic and quickly sold out in 10 days.

In this episode, Tisha breaks down how she strategically pivoted from finance to beauty marketing, cold-pitched Sephora with a bold email (before she even launched!), and developed products that center clean ingredients and inclusivity. Her brand LYS, short for Love Yourself, is not only disrupting the beauty space with triangle packaging and affirmational product names—but it’s also remained profitable every year since launch.

In this episode she shares:

How she got her foot in the beauty industry using her finance background
Why she took a demotion to pivot industries
How personal loss and purpose led her to finally launch LYS Beauty
What made Sephora say "yes" to a brand that hadn’t even launched yet
How she developed 35 inclusive foundation shades with a clean formulation
Why representation and self-love are at the heart of her business model

Highlights Include:

00:00 Intro

02:10 How a staff accountant became a makeup artist

04:50 Taking a demotion to move into marketing

10:54 Losing her dad and finding the courage to launch

15:45 Cold-pitching Sephora and landing a deal pre-launch

20:00 What clean beauty means to her (and her skin)

27:00 Packaging, affirmations, and triangle symbolism

30:00 Navigating DEI backlash and economic shifts

45:00 Building a team and staying profitable

Check out episode 467 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Links mentioned in this episode

LYS Beauty Website: https://lysbeauty.com
LYS Instagram: https://instagram.com/lysbeautyofficial/
Tisha’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glamourgirl5/
Cosmoprof: https://cosmoprofnorthamerica.com
MakeUp In Trade Shows: https://makeup-in.com
Luxepack: https://luxepack.com

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Guest Social Media Info

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glamourgirl5/
LYS Beauty Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lysbeautyofficial

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's no longer acceptable to allow us to be an afterthought.
0:04.2	Black women deserve options.
0:06.3	And what for me, I wanted to be the catalyst that create a playing field that's so elevated
0:11.4	that now everyone else has to come up to your level because we're no longer accepting anything less.
0:19.1	You're listening to Side Hustle Pro, the podcast that teaches you to build and grow your
0:24.6	side hustle from passion project to profitable business.
0:28.3	And I'm your host, Nikaela Matthews Okome.
0:30.9	So let's get started.
0:34.6	Hey, friends, hey, welcome, welcome back to the show.
0:37.2	It's Nikaela here. And today in the guest chair,
0:39.2	I have Tisha Thompson, the founder of LYS Beauty. Tisha is a disruptor, redefining clean beauty.
0:47.1	With over 25 years of experience as a makeup artist, beauty executive, and product developer,
0:52.6	she launched LIS in 2001 to challenge industry norms,
0:56.6	proving that clean, high performance, and inclusive beauty can coexist.
1:00.9	As the first black-owned clean makeup brand at Sephora, LIS has expanded globally with viral
1:06.7	bestsellers like the No Limits Cream Bronzer Stick and Triple Fix Serum Foundation,
1:12.6	earning Allure Best of Beauty Awards.
1:15.3	A passionate speaker and educator, Tisha is committed to making beauty more accessible
1:19.4	and ensuring everyone feel seen, securing her spot to Inc's 22,
1:25.0	female founders 100 list.
1:27.1	I can't wait for you to hear this conversation and be inspired to side hustle in a
1:32.0	different way.
	...

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