r advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. Inside Retail: How did you come up with the concept for Scentbird? Mariya Nurislamova: For me, Scentbird was born out of my passion for fragrance, so perfume was a hobby before it was a job. I remember just being an avid shopper and I would shop for fragrances all the time despite having a very large collection and my challenge personally was buying fragrances in the traditional department store setting. I found that setting overwhelming, there was a lot of pressure to make a decision on the spot and human beings have a natural limitation around smelling things. Once we smell five different fragrances in a row, they all blend in and it’s like just one cacophony of scents and we’re not able to differentiate between scents anymore. I certainly experienced that as a consumer because you’re in the store, you bring it [the fragrance purchase] home and then you’re like, ‘This is too heavy’, ‘Oh, this is too sweet’ or something and that’s how I personally collected a lot of fragrances that just sat on my vanity collecting dust that I would only wear once or twice and then never again… Originally, we were just a scent recommendation platform, and then later on we became a subscription and that was more of a response to what our early users’ expectations were. They [our customers] loved getting recommendations, but the expectation was that they would also be able to sample and discover and experience the fragrances through Scentbird and so we had to build this vehicle that would allow them to do that, that is how our concept of a monthly subscription was born. IR: How was the name of the company decided upon? MN: I wish I had a romantic story at this point. The truth of the matter is, it took me 30 seconds to come up with it, and it was one of those things that I really didn’t pay too much attention to. My business partner asked me what are we going to call it because they were buying a domain right then.  No pressure Mariya… So I need to come up with something really quick, and then I’m thinking, what are good names? [For example] Facebook, what is the magic behind Facebook? Two words, one syllable. So perfume, too many syllables. I needed one syllable, so scent. Then he [my business partner] needed another word that was one syllable. Then I’m like, it’s just going to be a bird, so is Scentbird available? If there’s one piece of advice that I have for young entrepreneurs, it’s don’t obsess over a name. If your company goes places people are going to think it’s a great name. IR: What is a piece of advice you would give to yourself at the beginning of your founder journey? MN: I would just tell myself to carry on and persevere because at one point it felt like the fragrance market was almost too small. Should I be playing in the broader beauty arsenal? I think that we were able to find our way back to being fragrance at our core.  There is a tremendous blessing in being able to be good at one thing because then you can be the best at it as opposed to trying to do a little bit of skincare, makeup, nails, or haircare. Now, obviously, some larger retailers can do it [juggle multiple categories] very successfully, like Sephora and Ulta are great examples.  The fragrance category is big enough but it’s also small enough that we just get to improve and become the best in terms of data and understanding our customers. Because we’re scent-focused, it felt at one point like our Achilles heel, but now I understand that is the biggest blessing. Last year, the business was on fire for us, we had probably the best year in the history of Scentbird. We’re in the company’s golden era and are 10 years in, so there is still a lot of scale to be tapped in a niche category like fragrance.  IR: My perfect approach to work-life balance is… MN: There is no work-life balance. As long as you are building and working on something that is your true passion, you don’t have to worry about that. IR: The items in my toolbox that make me feel prepared are… MN: Definitely a fragrance and lipstick if I’m in meetings. Also makeup-setting spray. I need that in my life because I like a lot of makeup and I don’t have time to reapply it as I’m in meetings all day. Also, all of my notes are digitised, so everything is on my cell phone. My cell phone is attached to me and I’m attached to it.  IR: What is a piece of advice you would give to aspiring entrepreneurs? MN: I tried the businesses that I had no passion for, and I lasted for about two to three years and then the drive just fizzled out. In order to build a truly large company, you have to be in it for the long haul. And if your passion is just not in it, it’s not going to work. When I was just starting Scentbird, I sat down with a guy who was a billionaire and I asked him to give me one piece of advice that I need to be successful. He goes ‘Mariya, you have to be careful about what table you play at, kind of like a casino…’  His point was if you sit at a smaller table [in a smaller retail sector], it is going to take way longer to build a business.  But I decided that I’m going to be at a table that I like, that’s going to make me happy, and I don’t care if it’s big, if it’s small, or if it’s midsize. It’s my table, and that’s what makes all the difference. So to the younger budding entrepreneurs, I would say follow your passion because everything else will line up. Even if your idea is not a billion or trillion-dollar idea, but you feel like you’re the person to execute it and you feel it in your heart that you’re going to enjoy it every step of the way, then go for it. Because businesses are a marathon, it’s not a sprint and times get rough. IR: What do you love most about being in the retail industry? MN: We’re this matchmaker between brands and customers, and I like the sheer scale that this world provides you because you can service a lot of people, like hundreds of thousands of people, with just one website. And then on the supplier side, I get to smell so many fragrances and smell all of the new launches across the industry, and handpick the things that make it to the platform.  So for me, I like playing the matchmaker.