Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Lashae Ben.
Hi Nicole Lashae, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My passion for interior design started at a very young age. When I was just 4-years-old, I completed my first home decor project. I decided on the design of my room down to the paint colors and ballerina boarders. As I grew up, I fell in love with watching HGTV and made a decision to pursue a career in interior at 12-years-old.
Back then, I didn’t realize there were so many facets to the interior design industry, including product manufacturing, product sales, interior design for everything from hotels to hospitals, and so much more. I learned more about all the industry had to offer when I attended Syracuse University to earn my BFA in Interior Design while also having several industry internships. After finishing at Syracuse, I found myself very curious about innovation and how to use design thinking to develop new product ideas and strategies to put those products to market.
Over the last ten years, I’ve been able to marry my passion for interior design and design thinking and create a successful career in sales/business development for interior product manufacturers. I’ve worked for multi-million companies like Koroseal and Lamin-Art; through those opportunities, I consult designers at some of the world’s top design firms about interior products and how to best use them in their designs.
That career path led me to create my own company called Thrive In Design. Thrive In Design is a design and innovation consultancy that focuses on helping interior product companies increase their brand awareness and revenue. I’ve developed many human-centered strategies for architecture and design sales over the years, and now, with my company, I get to share that knowledge with brands that are looking to stand out in a shifting market.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road has been far from smooth. When I was in my senior year of college at Syracuse, I remember mapping out a few different career paths. My options were to become a production designer, pursue a degree in Entrepreneurship, or find an interior design job at an architecture firm.
I tried to get into some Entrepreneurship grad programs but did horrible on the GMATs. I then went on to pursue an MFA in Production Design at George Washington University. I hated it and left after one semester. But, those bumps in my educational road led me on earn my MA in Design Management from Savannah College of Art and Design; I am forever grateful for that experience.
My career path has also been quite bumpy. I work in the interior design industry and often, I am the only black woman in the room. That’s led to being overlooked for some opportunities, being underestimated, and sometimes even the topic of exploration for others to learn about black culture. I’ve had to push through those experiences and sometimes do a lot of healing to persevere and find my path in the industry.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Thrive In Design?
Thrive In Design is a design and innovation consultancy that focuses on helping interior product companies increase their brand awareness and revenue. Our consulting offers human-centered strategies that revamp a designer’s experience with your brand.
Interior product companies manufacture and/or distribute different things that can be used in an interior space. Those products can range from furniture to textiles to lighting to flooring to so much more. Just think about all of the finishes and items it makes, takes to design a space. In commercial design, those interior product companies focus on positioning their products with interior designers (sometimes the end-user). When a designer is going through the design process, there are thousands of interior product companies to sort through. My company, Thrive In Design, helps those interior product companies stand out in that design process. When they stand out, their product are chosen for the design and ultimately purchased. It’s super important to stand out because often the sale will be large quantities and well over five or six-figures.
I know it all sounds but complicated, but I have a proprietary method called A.C.E. The Journey that helps with creating clarity and successful strategies for my clients. My experience and proprietary method is what sets my company apart. There are no other consulting companies focusing on this niche using methods like those I have developed.
Thrive In Design has a variety of services, but the main offering including strategy development and implementation and sales trainings. We’d also love to have some brand partnerships down the line.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
My first official business was a hair product subscription business called NeoTress. I started it in January 2017. That business had nothing to my educational and career background, but at the time, I was deep in corporate America. I felt like I needed to create a space where I could connect to my authentic self and thus, I created a whole beauty brand. I ended up closing the business in October 2017 because I was transitioning into motherhood and balancing a full-time job, which at the time was too much for me to handle as a solopreneur.
However, I am forever thankful for that experience. I learned so much about myself and knew what mistakes to avoid when I revisited entrepreneurship a few years later.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@nicolelashae.com
- Website: www.thriveindesign.co
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nicolelashae and www.instagram.com/thriveindesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thriveindesign
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/nicolelashae
Image Credits
Photographer: Marsha Faynstayn (she took the pictures of me that are used in the imagery)
