Meet Justina McKee; she is the CEO and visionary behind the acclaimed swimwear fashion house Matte Collection. Entrepreneurship has always been part of McKee because she grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. Her grandmother was a successful businesswoman, who even gifted McKee her first brick-and-mortar location.
McKee founded Matte Collection in 2017 on the guiding principle, “for women, by women,” according to Forbes. As CEO, she has guided the brand to a remarkable growth trajectory, crossing over into international markets. Not only that, the company has been sported by celebrities and influencers globally.
Some of the celebrities and influencers include Angela Simmons, model Tabria Majors, and Achieng Agutu. They partnered with Matte Collection on their viral Confidence Campaign. She has also collaborated with Lori Harvey, Lala Anthony, and Meagan Good.
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Leveraging her Instagram followers, she has been able to use her education and passion to create a successful fashion business. She did this through her ten years of experience in concept development and design. As such, she has developed a niche on how to target brand audiences and sustain organic, rapid growth.
McKee said she was inspired to pursue her current career because of young black girls who look like her. “I wanted them to see that no matter your circumstances or what you’ve been through, you can achieve your dreams like everyone else. We can reach those heights despite those things,” she told Forbes.
Starting a fashion house did not come easy for McKee. According to her, one of her biggest challenges was managing growth, a common challenge early-stage entrepreneurs face.
“Many early entrepreneurs struggle with wanting everything to be perfect from the start and giving up too quickly if they are not seeing progress. You just have to push through,” she added.
Matte Collection isn’t her first company but McKee said the experience has guided her not to be afraid to scrap what didn’t work. Applying these valuable entrepreneurial lessons has made it easier for her to recognize and narrow down what does work. Once she identified what worked, she multiplied it and applied it to the processes at Matte Collection.
In spite of the massive success she has achieved so far, McKee said there is still room for growth. She wants her brand to be a household swimwear brand, where every woman can see themselves represented.
“I want to take this straight to the top,” she said.
