Meet The Disruptors: Melissa Orijin Of Orijin Bees On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Faith — above all, my faith has seen me through all the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Orijin.
Melissa Orijin is a purpose-driven entrepreneur who is disrupting the toy industry with her next generation toy company, Orijin Bees. On a mission to encourage her daughter’s self-love journey, Melissa started Orijin Bees to create Black dolls with inclusive skin tones and curly hair textures to normalize inclusivity during play. Selected as a finalist for the 2022 Toy of the Year Award, featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things 2021, and nominated for a Mom’s Choice Award, Orijin Bees’ dolls are making waves. Follow Melissa’s journey at @melissa.orijin.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Becoming an entrepreneur resulted from me being a mother of multiple children. I witnessed firsthand where there are successes in this world of products for children, and where there is room for improvement. Trying to find solutions for my kids led to a passion project, which evolved into me becoming an entrepreneur.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
We are creating products that are authentically representative of Black and brown children and their communities! I saw this representation missing in the industry and strive to fill this gap!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake for me was thinking everything would run smoothly once I decided to become an entrepreneur lol! I quickly learned that the success of an entrepreneur is how you respond to all the things that are unplanned. That’s where resilience, determination and perseverance come into play!
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I have been lucky enough to find mentors all around me. First, my husband, Archyn. Archyn is the Founder and Executive Creative Director of Orijin Culture, an Afro-luxe fashion brand. He has been an entrepreneur for many more years than me and always gives me solid advice from his experiences and lessons. I have also learned from other seasoned founders and advisors that have been instrumental in helping me navigate these entrepreneurial waters.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Disrupting an industry is positive when there is purpose behind it for the greater good. The key is to be strategic in the disruption where you can see positive impact from different angles and lenses. Can you pull from the structures that have “withstood the test of time” and be innovative on how to improve on it? For example, Orijin Bees didn’t invent dolls. What we have done is intentionally design our products to be authentically representative of children that may have felt left out during play in the past. That’s been our disruption!
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Faith — above all, my faith has seen me through all the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
Commitment — if you are committed to your purpose, the unplanned things that happen will not deter your path.
Believe — before others can believe in your vision and purpose, you must wholeheartedly believe in it yourself.
Dedication — when it’s inconvenient, trying, exhausting, relentless, uncomfortable or risky, you remain dedicated to your purpose.
Consistency — every day, every week, every month, you continue towards your goals — one task at a time, one step at a time. When you look back a year from now, the things achieved will give you fuel for what’s ahead!
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We are taking the next step in changing the way consumers shop for children’s toys by launching a product filter tool that is the first of its kind — within just a few clicks, customers can find a doll that looks like their child. This tool allows shoppers to filter by curl pattern and skin tone resulting in a baby doll that is the authentic representation customers are looking to give their children. Customers will now have the option to filter their search by choosing from several skin tones and curl patterns ranging from 3C to 4C. The function is designed to simplify the shopping process and works the same as filtering by clothing size or price. The launch of this shopping tool reflects the growing demand across the toy industry for better representation.
While other shopping tools have served similar purposes, Orijin Bees is the first to introduce product filtering by curl type, because curly hair comes in a variety of beautiful textures! Gone are the days of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ mentality within the toy industry, especially when it comes to dolls. This shopping tool represents another step forward in Orijin Bees’ mission to revolutionize the toy industry from within. With a focus on promoting self-worth through inclusive toys, Orijin Bees is helping parents raise a generation of children who are confident in their own skin and embracing of other cultures. We definitely have more in the works, so be sure to watch this space!
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
One of my favorite authors is Paulo Coelho, and my all time favorite book is The Alchemist. Simply stated, if you believe and stay committed to your beliefs, the universe will work to help you achieve your goals. How beautiful is that?
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You are capable of so much more than you think.” This is my quote. When I look back, I realize the only thing that gets in our way is ourselves. We often count ourselves out too soon. My hope with Orijin Bees is that by providing tools to encourage confidence and self-love at an early age, the next generation of Black and brown kids won’t count themselves out. They will know just how powerful they are and go after all of their dreams and goals. This is what gives me hope for the world my children will grow up in. :-).
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Aww thank you! The movement that is happening all around us and has been for a long time now — normalizing representation and inclusion everywhere. My focus is on normalizing inclusion during childhood because I feel that’s the best way to change the future in a positive way. From encouraging children to loving who they are to embracing those of different backgrounds and cultures, only good can come from this. I’m a mother of three young children and feel responsible for playing a part in making this a better world for them and all children.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram! @melissa.orijin
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Thank you for the great questions and opportunity to share my story!!
Meet The Disruptors: Melissa Orijin Of Orijin Bees On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
