College Dropout's Makeup Brush Business Anisa International to Make $35M This Year: Company Sells to Estee Lauder, Revlon, L'Oréal and More
College dropout Anisa Telwar Kaicker and her company Anisa International are set for $35 million in revenue this year.
Kaicker started her company over 20 years ago. The company is a private-label designer and manufacturer of makeup brushes for some of the biggest brands in the world. Born in New York and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, she is evidence that dreams can come true without a college degree.
The entrepreneur opened her business in Atlanta when she saw that there was a gap in the market. Despite her fear, she knew that her product was great and pushed herself to become successful.
She told USA Today, "I didn't have another option. I did not have anything to fall back on; I didn't have a degree. I didn't finish school. I had to make it work somehow."
Anisa had the right idea at the right time. She started mailing out makeup brushes back in 1992 and cold-calling companies to build her connections.
Her first deal was with Revlon for $300,000. She made cheek brushes for their compacts. After all, how many people can put on makeup without a brush?
Today her company has manufactured brushes for some of the biggest companies, such as Lancome, L'Oreal, MAC, Sephora, Sonia Kashuk, Smashbox, Bare Minerals and Estee Lauder.
"I'm already thinking of next year," she said. "What do I need to do to make sure we grow the company. ... A company has to grow, we cannot stagnate."
Kaicker expects to work harder for continued growth. She currently has over a dozen workers in America and a factory in Tianjin, China.
Her ambition made it possible to produce a million-dollar company. Anisa International recently expanded to make more makeup tools, like false eyelashes, tanning mitts and pencil sharpeners.
Kaicker was only 24 years old when she started Anisa International.
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