Ep. 60 | Hannah Diop on Clean Hair Care and Co-Founding Sienna Naturals with Her Sister-in-Law, Issa Rae
hannah"EVERY BRAND IS SO UNIQUE; NO ONE CAN COPY WHAT YOU’RE DOING BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE YOUR EXPERIENCE.
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Hannah Diop is the co-founder and CEO of Sienna Naturals. You’ll hear us talk about her personal hair journey, building a brand with Issa Rae, the science behind clean haircare, and the power of community in entrepreneurship.
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In this episode of It Takes A Village with Delina Medhin, Delina sits down with Hannah Diop, co-founder and CEO of Sienna Naturals, a clean beauty brand dedicated to textured hair care. Combining her personal hair journey and extensive business expertise, including experience at McKinsey & Company and an MBA from Wharton. Hannah created a line of science-backed, wellness-driven haircare products designed to meet the unique needs of textured hair.
Hannah shares how the seed for Sienna Naturals was planted as early as age 8, her formative experiences at Howard University, HSBC, Wharton, and McKinsey that shaped her confidence to launch the brand. She reflects on co-founding the company with Issa Rae, the product development process, and why wellness is central to both beauty and entrepreneurship. Hannah also opens up about the importance of community support, emphasizing how building something great truly takes a village.
If you’re a beauty lover, entrepreneur, or interested in clean beauty innovation, this episode offers valuable insights on brand building, investor pitching, and creating impactful products.
Show Topics:
Early hair frustrations and inspiration from childhood
Educational and professional journey shaping Sienna Naturals
Partnership with Issa Rae and brand evolution
Science-backed, clean, and wellness-focused product development
The power of community and support in entrepreneurship
Insights on pitching investors and scaling a business
Sienna Naturals’ presence at Sephora and commitment to inclusivity
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:53 Hannah’s Background & Early Influences
3:15 Howard University & Representation
12:59 Haircare after COVID
19:40 Working at HSBC
21:08 The importance of business school
23:54 How to pitch to investors
30:23 The Beginnings of Sienna Naturals
35:41 Starting the Lab
38:04 Meeting Hannah’s Husband
43:31 Why Issa wanted to work with you
48:01 How to hire the right people
52:39 Visual merchandising
ABOUT hannah diop
Hannah Diop is the co-founder and CEO of Sienna Naturals, a clean, science-backed haircare brand designed for textured hair and scalp wellness. Her background includes an MBA from Wharton and strategy consulting at McKinsey & Company. Hannah draws on her upbringing and extensive research to create products that outperform competitors while prioritizing health and wellness. Sienna Naturals is proudly more than 80% BIPOC and woman-led, with products available on siennanaturals.com and at Sephora. Hannah lives in Los Angeles with her family.
Follow Hannah on Instagram at @hannahdiop
Discover Sienna Naturals at https://siennanaturals.com/ | @siennanaturals
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