April Ryan Paints Her Way to Success

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with April Ryan, immigrant from Russia, founder and CEO of Red Iguana nail art products, and influencer to hundreds of thousands. April came to the U.S. from a poor town, speaking no English, but through tenacity and inventiveness, she achieved success by creating video tutorials of nail art, and developing a breakthrough product that became a bestseller in 19 countries. April’s story is the immigrant story, about the kind of people who embark on the journey to America, and then put their pluck and ingenuity to use for the benefit of everybody, as you’ll hear in this week's JobMakers podcast.

Guest

April Ryan opened her first salon, naming it after her beloved pet, the Red Iguana, and has since become a successful influencer and entrepreneur in the DIY at-home beauty industry. Through the experience of creating nail art tutorial videos, she recognized a need for an affordable, realistic-looking silicone hand that would improve safety for nail professionals practicing under Ultraviolet lamps. Today, Red Iguana is on course to reach $5 million in sales. Silicone practice hands are its lead product, handmade in the U.S.A. for a range of skin tones, and sold in 19 countries.