Toni Ko

Toni Ko is a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record in developing, launching and building highly successful global brands. This past April, Ko proudly launched her second company, PERVERSE sunglasses, after she recognized a gap in the accessories market, specifically between the expensive sunglass brands sold in department stores and the mass brands sold in retail stores. PERVERSE offers fashion-forward sunglasses in 450 colorful styles all affordably priced from $30 to $60. Ko opened her first brick-and-mortar in May 2016 and plans to open five more retail locations by 2017.

Ko implemented the same business strategy when founding her first company in 1999, the multimillion-dollar cosmetics brand NYX, which was acquired by L’Oreal in 2014. She created NYX with the goal of delivering professional, richly pigmented products at affordable prices. Working as a one-woman show from a 600-square-foot showroom in California, Ko began selling a single item—makeup pencils. She impressively generated two million dollars in sales during her first year, and quickly grew to become a leader in the color cosmetics industry, gaining the respect of such retail giants as Target, CVS and Ulta.

Ko credits her family as the primary influence on her education in the beauty business, having worked in their family-owned beauty supply store in Los Angeles, which her mother opened shortly after they immigrated from Korea when she was 13 years old. By the time Ko was 25, she had amassed over a decade of experience in the beauty industry and was ready to find her own niche. At the time of sale, NYX had revenue growth of well over 100 million dollars and is currently available in thousands of retailers in over 70 countries.

Ko has received numerous awards including, most recently, being named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Asian Business Association, the 2015 Leadership Award from NAWBO, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Beauty Bus Foundation in 2013. Also in 2013, NYX was the WWD Beauty Inc. pick for Brand of the Year, a moment Ko heralds as one of her greatest defining moments within the industry.

She started the Toni Ko Foundation in 2014, where she lends support to organizations that help children in need and empower women. She finds that the majority of top executives are men and, therefore, wants to enable women with the courage to start their own businesses and set higher goals to be the executives. Ko states, “The only way for many women around the globe to be more liberated is to become financially independent.  I think it’s incredibly important to lead women in the right direction to achieve independence.”