WeWorkingWomen: Up Close with Mia Fiona Kut, CEO & Founder, Luna Nectar

At just 33 years of age, Founder and CEO of sustainable haircare brand Luna Nectar , Mia Fiona Kut boasts great success as a young Canadian entrepreneur. Mia was recognized among British Columbia's 30 Under 30 in 2019, Luna Nectar products are now sold in approximately 500 retail outlets worldwide and have been featured in Vogue magazine.

A look deeper into Mia's story reveals a dynamic set of passions and interests that have enriched her personal success: she is writer, director, and actress, a passionate advocate for sustainability and brain health, and this summer she will represent Vancouver at Miss Universe Canada 2024.

The following is an abbreviated version of our conversation with Mia, as told to WeWorkingWomen.

Please introduce yourself to our audience, how did you come to do the work you do today

I'm the CEO and founder of Luna Nectar. We make water-free hair density products with the mission to kick the stigma of women's hair loss. We started off with a lash and brow enhancing serum. It's kind of funny how I started the company. I was a professional actress and director in the film industry for seven years. When I was about 25, my sister was using this lash and brow serum that was chemical based. Her lashes started to fall out, and then she got chemical burns. I was very shocked by what happened and I decided to do some research on the fact that women of all ages were using similar products and having all these side effects. My research for natural solutions - not filled with adaptogens and clinical actives – Ied to many iterations, until after a year and a half I sent to my formula to a professional lab. We started collaborating and that led to my first product: a natural alternative to hormone based lash and brow enhancing serum. I was 27 when I launched the company.

Since then, we have expanded our line to about 10 products. The focus is hair and our hero product is the lash serum. It was featured in Vogue twice last year, which is amazing. We are sold in about 500 stores worldwide including Canada, US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

Our second product was the hair version of the lash and brow serum. People were like, “Oh, can I dump this on my head?” The answer was, “Yes, but the follicles are different for scalp and lashes.” So we worked out the hair serum, and after that we expanded into shampoos,? leave in conditioners, and styling products. We have skin products as well. Skin and wellness are connected. You want to feel relaxed. Relaxation is a big part of our mandate as well, that's how you're going to get better hair, if you're not stressed.

You're a young entrepreneur. Can you tell us about how you became the person you are today?

I grew up in Richmond BC where there's a large Asian population. Both my parents are half Chinese, my dad is Chinese and Indonesian, and my mom is Chinese and Russian from Hong Kong. I grew up with a lot of Chinese traditions, like the red envelopes and Chinese food.

Growing up in Richmond there were a lot of farms. That environment really shaped my childhood. I was always into sustainability and natural products. I remember mixing up potions in my kitchen as a kid. I had scalp issues as a child and my parents recommended using traditional Chinese medicine. I also had asthma and Chinese medicine helped to take the symptoms away. That left an impression on me because [Canadian] society is more into conventional medicine.

As a kid, I was really into storytelling. My first love was writing. I would write stories and give them to my mom and ask her, “Can you send this to the publisher?” Acting and filmmaking was a natural progression from that. Right after university, I started to go out to auditions and book things, it was a lot of fun. I was also part of an initiative that chose seven women from across Canada to produce her own feature film. I was in the process of pitching my film when I had the epiphany to start Luna Nectar. Luna Nectar took off right away, and I felt a strong pull to rediscover my roots. I wanted to share with the world what I’d been passionate about since childhood: the power of adaptogens and natural herbs. The name Luna Nectar came on a whim. I was into space since childhood, the name is interconnected with plants and nature and everything is holistic.

Why is the work that you do important to you?

I've always been pulled to do things that actually help the world, as ambitious as that sounds. Long term planning and sustainability are very real issues right now, and a lot of societies are missing the importance of that. I feel like everyone can do their part to help with sustainability, no matter how small our actions may be, whether you're recycling or using your talent to do something like I'm trying to do. I try to use my passion and talents to do my part to contribute to sustainability.

Can you tell us about some of the learning experiences you've had along the way?

Every year I'm learning something new. When I started the company I had no prior business experience. No beauty experience and no retail experience. I had to figure everything out by myself. For the first two years, just getting things done was really hard. For the first time in my life, I found that doing things by yourself is really tough, and you really should be working with mentors or getting support. It's okay to admit that you can't do everything by yourself. My advice is, look to people that have already done what you hope to do and ask for advice. Follow in their footsteps.

Any big like challenges or failures as an entrepreneur, how did you recover from them?

It's all kind of a blur! There was many times when we experimented with things, like marketing initiatives. We're small business and we're bootstrapped, so we need to use strategies and techniques that that fit with that, instead of trying to act like a big company. At the beginning, we were trying to act like a big company and wasted money and resources on things until we found out what actually worked for us as a small company, and what created the most revenue with our resources.

Could you share an accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I think it was when I won the B.C. Business 30 Under 30 Award. It was really great to be recognized by the community and at a young age. Also, I got to meet other people who were doing amazing things at a young age, that really motivated me to keep working at it.?

As a person with Chinese Canadian heritage, and as a woman in your field, what advantages and disadvantages have you experienced?

Being a woman of colour, and a young woman of colour, you can get underestimated a lot. A lot of funding goes to Caucasian people. They make up more of the decision makers in the business field for sure. Sometimes you need approval in order to get funding or access to resources to go ahead to do things and that barrier is there. Even in retail, a lot of that space is dominated by those who are not of people of colour. But, things are changing. I feel there are more women of colour in leadership positions now who are running the show. The room for us is growing and to be part of it is amazing.

What's the next big goal for Mia?

For the business, it’s to get our products out there more. We want to be in Ulta and Sephora. We have a lot of new products we want to launch, and cool high-tech beauty tools that we want to create.

Personally, I would just love to have work-life balance. I'm doing it now, but there are a lot of personal projects that I want to pursue as well.

In 2022 I had a snowboarding accident. I had a traumatic brain injury with post-concussion syndrome for about a year. COVID triggers inflammation in your brain, so that made my condition worse. I had heart issues, hormone issues, and vertigo. I couldn't function and I couldn't run my business. It was very scary, and I'm lucky to have gotten over it. The experience changed my trajectory and how I see things. Something I’ve learned is that your brain is neuroplastic – which means it adapts to change – and stress really impacts our brain health. Work-life balance and being able to handle stress can mean faster healing, and it can prevent disease and other issues.

Now, I have a personal mission to raise awareness about brain health and mental health. This year I am competing in Miss Universe Canada, which may sound random, but to me, it’s an extension of acting and following my purpose: advocating for sustainability and brain health.

What advice do you have for young women out there with big dreams?

I would say, just start! Overthinking you don't get anything done. So if you feel a big passion or pull for something - of course, have your business plan ready and do all the research - but you've just got to go out and do it!