Startup Story
Kutloano Skosana is a creative entrepreneur from South Africa, now based in the US. She is the Creator and Host of Shades and Layers, a podcast dedicated to the stories of Black and Other Women of Color entrepreneurs across the globe. Kutloano’s media career began in radio journalism after she graduated from Rhodes University shortly after the country’s first democratic elections in 1994. She worked at 702, Kaya FM, Metro FM and SAFM between 1996 and 2008. Alongside her radio career, she was sharpening her entrepreneurial skills with her business partners, Maria McCloy and Dzino at their groundbreaking multimedia company, Black Rage Productions.
Kutloano’s company, Black Rage Productions, produced television shows, owned an online magazine (rage.co.za) and a record label (Outrageous Records). Kutloano worked on the television division and was the producer on most of the company’s television shows and documentaries. Kutloano’s work at Black Rage paved the way for an ever-evolving multifaceted career that has played out in different private and public sector entities in South African and Europe. Now based in the United States, Kutloano continues her journey of amplifying underrepresented voices via her podcast, Shades and Layers.
LoA spoke to the creative Kutloano Skosana to learn more about her passion for storytelling and her latest business ventures.
What does your company do?
Shades and Layers is a storytelling platform and exists as a podcast and a newsletter. Our mission is to change the narrative about entrepreneurship and shift the focus to the ordinary everyday entrepreneur who is having a visible impact in the community she works with and serves. We also use storytelling to challenge common ideas about beauty standards. We center the Black and Brown perspective on beauty and the products it inspires. Our interviewees are from lifestyle industries such as beauty and fashion, as well as other adjacent industries like art and design. Conversations are a celebration of achievements, a celebration of overcoming obstacles, and holistic reflections on sustainable business practices.
“Our mission is to change the narrative about entrepreneurship and shift the focus to the ordinary everyday entrepreneur who is having a visible impact in the community she works with and serves.”
“As an entrepreneur, you are constantly in the learning zone, and this satisfies my natural curiosity.”
What inspired you to start your company?
While living in Copenhagen, Denmark, I came across many globally mobile and career-driven Women of Color who had great careers and/or starting businesses and had a positive impact on Danish society. These women, however, were not visible in public life and I decided to start a storytelling platform to showcase their work and amplify these unique voices. And so started the Shades and Layers journey.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Shades and Layers is unique in that it gives insights into business practices on three different continents: Africa, Europe, and the USA.
Tell us a little about your team:
My team changes on an as-needed basis. I am a solopreneur, and I will bring contractors on board as and when necessary. I do have beta listeners for the podcast and beta readers for the newsletter.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Straight out of university, I partnered with two friends (Maria McCloy and Dzino) and set out to capture the creative energy of post-apartheid South Africa through their multimedia company, Black Rage Productions. This started out as an online magazine, which evolved into a television production house and eventually a record label. Our work has appeared on SABC 1 and Channel O where we had groundbreaking television shows like ‘Bassiq”, ‘Street Journal’ and the pan-African music documentary series ‘On The Street’, respectively. I have entrepreneurial parents. My mother was always engaged in one side hustle or another alongside her full-time job at a pharmaceutical company. She eventually launched her own recruiting firm and secured many public and private clients. My father is a medical doctor who was in private practice for many years, he is also a real estate investor. Before medical school, his life in Jo’burg started with a photography side hustle to supplement his teacher’s salary. He has always had one or two science projects running in the house and one of them eventually resulted in a registered patent for a brewing process.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Yes: podcast development and consulting services are the next project. Shades and Layers will also soon have a physical manifestation. Watch this space.
“I also like the flexibility that entrepreneurship affords me in terms of working hours and the ability to choose which projects I work or collaborate on.”
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
As an entrepreneur, you are constantly in the learning zone, and this satisfies my natural curiosity. I also like the flexibility it affords me in terms of working hours and the ability to choose which projects I work or collaborate on.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Be curious. Educate yourself on the skills that you need or outsource the things you’re not good at. Find like-minded spirits to walk with you on your journey. Don’t forget to smell the roses along the way. It’s all about the experience.
Contact or follow Shades and Layers:
Email: hello@shadesandlayers.com
Website: http://shadesandlayers.buzzsprout.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/shadesandlayerspodcast
Instagram: http://instagram.com/shadesandlayerspodcast
Why LoA loves it…
There is nothing quite like harnessing the power of storytelling to inspire, educate, inform and motivate others on their entrepreneurship journeys, and Kutloano Skosana is doing just that with her business. She is on a mission to get people thinking about the impact that entrepreneurs make by sharing their stories, harnessing their voices for change, and giving a platform to engage with the community. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa