Nyakio Grieco

It was such an amazing, powerful, surreal experience. It took me a couple of days to fully digest the magnitude of the gratitude and joy that I felt. There were people that showed up that I literally hadn't seen in decades and even friends of mine who don't live in Norman anymore. 

It was beautiful. Not only just having the experience in the store and this opportunity to be in partnership with JCPenney, but just to go visit my old high school, visit the Kappa house, visit campus and show my team – most of whom came in and are from New York and Los Angeles – Norman. 

I never really imagined that I would have a bunch of New Yorkers and Angelenos having lunch with me at The Mont.

I think one of the greatest things that I gained from my childhood is the power to persevere and be resilient. Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. At the end of the day, who wouldn't want to be their own boss? If it was easy, everybody would do it. Twenty-one years in, I am now in a complete place of gratitude for all of the challenges, the fall-down moments and having to get-back-up moments. All of the 'no's that I got. All the lessons and not listening to my gut on some of the ‘yes’s that I got, but it all led me to this place.

Success is really within a journey. There's not this light at the end of the tunnel. The success is actually continuing to learn and grow in the process.

I feel that at this stage of my journey, I just feel a deep gratitude that I finally figured out what I think is the secret sauce in business, which is aligning your purpose, your mission and your paths all at the same time.

I was a really passionate beauty founder for many, many years. But I often wondered, especially as the market became more and more saturated, what's my purpose?  

Yes, I was sharing my family beauty secrets and celebrating the continent of Africa and really trying to bring more attention to the continent of Africa and these regions from around the world. But from a purpose perspective, I was still constantly trying to find how my business could align with whatever it is that I was meant to do for the greater collective.  

And I think that is what the beauty of thirteen lune is. And it's that I'm getting to experience that every day, and that it's not just about being an entrepreneur that stays single business focused. Now I get to bring others along on the journey with me to help them achieve success.

I worried about going to OU, coming from Norman, that it would feel like more of the same. And it actually wasn’t.  

It was like moving to a new town when I moved to the dorms, and then ultimately my sorority house. It was lovely to have my dad (Dr. Jidlaph Kamoche) sometimes walking across campus and to have the option to go home.  

But it really did feel like I was away, because I was so immersed in the culture. It didn't feel like an extension of high school. It felt like an entirely new experience.