Sharmadean Reid on building her multi-hyphenate world
Photography Kiran Gidda
From a hip-hop zine, to a nail bar, to a women’s media platform and now a bathing brand, British entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid is the ultimate mutli-hypenate. Here, she tells us how it’s done.
British entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid’s career spans business, tech, wellness, publishing, and now beauty, honored with an MBE for her services. She is also a published author, having written the acclaimed book New Methods for Women, which offers 51 lessons to empower women in achieving their goals in life, work, parenthood, friendships and relationships. These lessons brought clarity to her during her 39th year – a transformational period when she finally discovered fulfilment and peace. Reid’s passion and curiosity about business and the world at large are infectious and guaranteed to leave you engaged and inspired.
Born in Wolverhampton to a Jamaican family, Reid’s love for learning and research began as a Fashion Communication and Promotion student at Central Saint Martins. During her studies, she worked with artistic director Nicola Formichetti, known for his collaborations with Lady Gaga, and launched a women’s hip-hop magazine called WAH. This initiative led to the creation of the internationally acclaimed nail salon, WAH Nails. It later evolved into the Beauty Stack and has now expanded into the broader business ecosystem, The Stack World.
A unifying thread across all her ventures is a commitment to female empowerment and equity. Guided by a belief in creating impact rather than just selling products, she focuses on helping women feel good, confident, and transformed – whatever the business. This perspective is central to Reid’s latest enterprise, 39BC, a luxury body care brand that encourages taking a moment each day to reconnect with yourself through bathing. The brand’s purpose is to create a sensory journey inspired by traditions, stories, and knowledge from past eras.
Here Reid shares her journey and vision for the brand, and her advice for the next generation of budding entrepreneurs.
Why did you choose the year 39BC for the brand’s name? Is it inspired by a significant moment in history?
By the year 39 BC, Cleopatra had three children by two of the most famous men in history, Caesarion with Julius Caesar and twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene with Mark Anthony. I, as a mother raising a son, can imagine what it’s like to throw yourself into work and not be lovesick, because Mark Anthony had left her to return to Rome to marry a Roman woman. He didn’t even see his children for three years, and when I read it, it reminded me of many women I know. They’re raising kids by themselves but being absolute queens. I co-parented, so it’s not like I was a full single mom but I know that feeling of working for your family’s future. In the years that Mark Antony was away, Cleopatra made Egypt very rich. 39BC started as a party where all my friends came dressed as goddesses and their ancestors. It was successful and made me think, there’s something in this because it resonated with everybody.
[The story of Cleopatra] reminded me of so many women I know. They’re raising kids by themselves but being absolute queens.
Sharmadean Reid
What was the journey like in creating 39BC?
I started by reading a lot of books, relaxing and thinking about the bath. I’ve always loved having baths, but it’s not just the bath, it’s the spa, being in saunas, the steam room or any place where you’re immersed in water. What would the process look like? I also interviewed many beauty founders and from doing all of those interviews, I thought I can do this. I understand the language and the process. The first thing I did, business-wise, was a competitor analysis to identify the white space within bath and body markets. I looked at all the amazing luxury products and then decided to do something historical. I thought how deep could I go? One thing you’ll notice about our content is that it’s like a history lesson. I want to go really deep into the history, not just say, ‘This collection is inspired by.’ That is the business within the brand, combined with all the things I love. I didn’t realise how much I loved scent and how sensitive I was to it, so I did a perfume course to better understand what I’m doing.
The typeface of 39BC is reminiscent of an ancient Roman inscription. Talk about the overall design and packaging of the brand.
With the packaging, looking at what was on the market, I felt we were losing the sexiness and the drama. Everything has become very beige and minimal and you’re only a rich girl if you’re wearing camel. When I was developing 39BC, the clean girl movement was at its height. Clean girl beauty, to me, is just another way of locking people out of the system, because can you be clean girl beauty unless you fit a certain profile or ideal? I knew I wanted packaging that was bold and stood out. I thought it’d be cool to make the outer packaging maximal which opens like a sarcophagus, but the bottle’s still quite minimal so it wouldn’t scream for attention on the bathroom shelf. However, the design and packaging won’t stay red, because our next collection, focusing on Japan, will be blue. In all, I wanted to create something you would like to keep.
The best way to make change is to be the change and then facilitate it for others. Creating space for other people to be included is what you do when you have the power.
Sharmadean Reid
Your research library for your many business ventures must be vast. How do you bring your visions to life?
I’m very much inspired by music, film and books. For 39BC, for instance, I made a playlist first and was also reading Cleopatra’s biography which is what kick-started it. One thing I kept thinking about was how obsessed Antony and Cleopatra were with each other. The Eurythmics song Love Is a Stranger was in my head. I started playing that song all the time while creating the brand and made a whole playlist on Spotify. I never get bored with buying and collecting items for research, and I think if you’re creative, you are always on the hunt for visual stimulation.
Would you consider creating experiences and trips that capture 39BC’s essence to further connect with consumers?
Definitely, I love the idea of lectures, pop-ups with film screenings, and a library of books to read. Experience is an essential aspect and the product is a souvenir of the trip. All creative endeavours in fashion, beauty, and art serve dual functions of performance and aesthetics. But mainly they’re not necessities. If it’s not a necessity, how else can I make someone understand the message I’m trying to convey? Let’s say we stripped away everything so all you had was the product in the bath. You didn’t know what it was called, you didn’t even put it on. If someone got in a bath using the product or showered with it, every single thing I’m trying to say they would understand, because they’d smell and feel its luxuriousness.
The beauty and personal care industry can sometimes feel not very inclusive. As you’ve navigated this world for a few years, what change do you hope to see?
The best way to make those changes is to be the change and then facilitate them for others. Creating space for other people to be included is what you do when you have the power, because you are the change. It doesn’t even occur to me, this idea of inclusivity, as I’m naturally inclusive and I love to discover talent. You find talent where it’s most overlooked by going to places where other people aren’t looking, which also happens to be marginalised or outsider communities. I started 39BC’s first collection with Antony and Cleopatra because it’s a way for me to infiltrate a broader audience as most people know their story. But that’s just the beginning to get my foot in the door. And then as soon as everyone’s like, oh wow, this classical brand, then I’m like, wait till you see the West Africa to the Caribbean collection!
From when I was very young, I have always had to look after myself. I turned my creative ideas into commercial ventures out of necessity.
Sharmadean Reid
How did you first break into the world of business and what have been your highlights so far?
I never thought of myself as entering the world of business. I’ve got all these ideas of things I want to make but because I’m not born rich, I also need to make money out of them. If I were born rich, I would be an artist or a researcher. But from when I was young, I have always had to look after myself. I turned my creative ideas into commercial ventures out of necessity. However, I would still have done this research whether I had a product or not. I love all the businesses I’ve done, but 39BC works for me right now because I’d be doing this whether I was getting paid or not. It’s really nice to make products out of it that people enjoy, and the feedback has been phenomenal. In terms of my career highlights, I believe the best moment will come but I primarily focus on the way the business makes people feel.
What is your biggest takeaway or advice for someone considering starting a business?
Always have a co-founder. You don’t need to do everything alone, especially women and Black people. There’s a mindset that everything must be difficult and that success isn’t rewarding without struggle. My advice is to try to avoid unnecessary struggle by giving yourself the best start and building the best team possible.
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