Winslow Township High School graduate named on two Forbes’ 30 Under 30 lists for creation of FORM beauty
Sitting in STEM classes at Winslow Township High School, Sicklerville native Iyore Olaye unearthed a passion for problem-solving.
A half decade, a chemical engineering degree and a relocation to Silicon Valley later, Olaye’s ability to solve problems paved her way to a spot on two of Forbes’ 2018 30 Under 30 list — a compilation of entrepreneurs, changemakers and experts who excel in various fields across the United States. Olaye was acknowledged in the Retail and Ecommerce and the Youngest categories.
“The problem-solving aspects of math and science really enticed me to continue to explore it,” Olaye said.
The 22-year-old technology innovator was recognized for leading the creation of the haircare line FORM, an offshoot of Walker and Company, which specializes in health and beauty for people of color.
Olaye, who was the 2012 Winslow Township High School valedictorian, connected with the company through the Kessler Fellowship offered at Cornell University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering. During the summer before her senior year, she shuffled back and forth between Silicon Valley in San Francisco and Silicon Alley in New York City.
“I split the summer between both of these ecosystems,” Olaye said. “I wanted to experience what is entrepreneurship in a more mature area in Silicon Valley, that’s been around for 20 to 30 years, in comparison to New York’s tech system that is emerging on the brink of something new.”
Throughout the summer, she also participated in the highly selective Harvard Business School Summer Venture in Management weeklong intensive.
While working in Manhattan, Olaye realized STEM’s impact on consumer packaged goods, tapping into another one of her zeals — safe and effective hair products for curly, coiled and textured hair.
At that moment, she found herself at the intersection of beauty and tech.
Following the fellowship, Walker and Company invited Olaye to help lead the 24-person team behind FORM.
From creating algorithms to formulating with chemicals, Olaye channeled not only empirical but personal experience into the 21-product start-up.
“One thing women have been continuously experiencing is that they’re unsure of what to do with their beauty needs, they’re unsure what to use and they just feel very overwhelmed,” Olaye said. “My goal throughout my career is to really create solutions that people can align with and solving issues within the beauty space, especially for people who their issues tend to go under-solved.”
Since manifesting solutions has always been key to Olaye, she felt such beauty needs could only be entirely effective if products were personalized, leading to the website’s digital consultation.
After completing a form, the website directs buyers toward shampoos, conditioners, stylers, finishers and specialty formulas based on specific needs. The results are rooted in a scientific approach of understanding the hair and scalp and the expert knowledge of trusted hair professionals, according to the FORM website.
“It’s super awesome to be at a company where we’re pioneering beauty for all people, but especially people of color and infusing that with tech,” Olaye said.
Olaye’s desire to recognize problems and create solutions, particularly for minorities, not only echoes in her ecommerce work but also in charity, as just this year she founded the I.N.O. Scholarship to support students during their freshman year, one of the most challenging collegiate years for S.T.E.M. students.
Aside from Olaye’s initials, “I.N.O” has a dual meaning. Although she resides in San Francisco, Olaye awarded the inaugural fund to a WTHS student at graduation this June.
“The acronym also says ‘I know’ … ‘I know I can do whatever I put my mind to’,” Olaye said. “I know I can overcome any challenge that can come my way.”
This mantra Olaye passes onto others seems to fuel her own fervor. Forbes and FORM are just the first few steps along Olaye’s mission to serve others through innovation. In the not-so-distant future, she hopes her beauty-tech synthesis will graduate toward a global scale.
“All I’m focusing on now is continuing to make people proud, inspired and also being able to deliver all of the potential I feel I have to make lives better in general — whether it’s a bunch of lives or one life,” Olaye said.
