Samira is one of those entrepreneurs who always knew she wanted to create a company — she just didn't realize it would be one challenging the giants in the toilet paper industry.

After quitting her job as an auditor at a large accounting firm, she started a chain of nail salons in Los Angeles called Bellacures. She sold Bellacures after 10 years and almost immediately started thinking about her next venture.

She had her sights set on a product-based business. While researching ideas, she saw opportunities in the toilet paper space. Though the industry is dominated by a few major competitors that own large percentages of the market share, Samira saw huge potential. In April 2019, she launched No.2, a toilet paper made from eco-friendly bamboo that would appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.

The brand name draws inspiration from the nostalgia of No. 2 pencils and Chanel No. 5 perfume — Samira wanted the brand to feel chic yet playful — the name also references the idea of making a “number two.” She worked with a branding agency to bring No.2 to life visually to ensure the brand’s voice captures a “no-nonsense tone.”

Proctor & Gamble and other heavyweights in the space spend billions on advertising. No.2 has gone a different route to reach consumers and hasn’t invested in traditional advertising or paid social efforts. The company’s marketing focuses on connecting with people — Samira works with a PR firm to earn placements in “media publications where people are actually reading articles and learning about the product” and swears by collaborating with social media influencers.

Though the product is relatively new, it’s starting to resonate with some consumers. Samira says the company has conducted surveys, which shos that previous Charmin users have switched to No.2 because “they want something that's different that they can just commit to and know that they're making a choice that's good for the environment.”

Featured Challenger👩 Name: Samira Far

⚙️ How she challenges: As the founder of No.2, a 100% bamboo toilet paper, Samira is challenging long-standing toilet paper industry giants and letting consumers know they have alternative options that are better for mother earth and their own personal hygiene.

🧻 Company: No.2

💎 Noteworthy: Samira won the Small Business Administration’s “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Award for Los Angeles in 2009.

🔍 Where to find Samira: Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Inc. column

Challenger Wisdom Highlights from the conversation appear below.

💡 Starting without the “required” capital or experience“When I was a teenager and when I was in college I always thought that I had to be older, more experienced, and have access to money to start a company. When I was working at [an accounting firm], it became very clear to me that it’s almost less risky to start a company when you don’t really have a lot at stake.”

💡 Taking the plunge into entrepreneurship “I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to quit my job and I’m going to start one of my many ideas. I’m just going to commit to one of them and gain the experience firsthand. If I fail in a few years, I could just start over again — I’m young enough that it wouldn’t really matter in the long term.’ And that’s what I did.”

💡 Being the underdog with a market opportunity that just feels right “I started researching [all of my potential business ideas] … to get a little more insight into the industry and to also [find] out what feels like the right fit day-to-day wise for me and my operation and branding skills ... When I started digging into the toilet paper space, I felt really excited by it. I felt like there was a lot of room for improvement. It’s mostly dominated by the big guys — there’s not a lot of smaller brands in the space which, to me, [was] an exciting opportunity to get in.”

💡 Nailing your competitive advantage on every detail“[Our toilet paper] is not plastic-wrapped — they’re individually wrapped in recycled paper and put into a Kraft shipping box … so you can recycle the packaging and then use the toilet paper and recycle the core and then you’re done. There’s no plastic [at any point]. That is one of the more attractive qualities that people appreciate in terms of the eco-friendly aspect because even some of the other eco-friendly toilet paper options — like recycled paper by Seventh Generation — are wrapped in plastic.”

💡 Finding ways to differentiate product packaging “Using paper, it was obvious to me that there was an opportunity to print something on it. Besides printing your brand, your logo, and some of the information about what they’re buying — like the number of sheets and what not — I thought, instead of making it super clinical, why not make it a little bit more fun?”

💡 Catering to multiple audiences “There are a lot of customers who are buying for multiple residences, whether they’re Airbnb’ing or if it’s just their second or third home and their family is staying there … We also get a lot of coworking spaces that purchase in bulk and office spaces who like the idea of the eco-friendly toilet paper, but also that it’s cool and fashionable and fun. Then, I would say everybody else is [mostly women] between 30 and 50.”

💡 On being a ‘no-nonsense’ Brand “I worked with an agency to bring [the brand] to life visually. The branding tone and voice is definitely an extension of me and my team that I’ve worked with. I think it’s just a no-nonsense tone: Here’s what it is, it’s funny, we’re here to serve you and keep it really light.”

💡 Choosing an appealing brand name “The name is something I came up with: No.2. I liked it because it’s memorable, it’s short, and it has a different meaning without being too crass. I think there are some other brands that use words like ‘butt’ and ‘crap’ and things that are a little bit more crass in the actual name of their company, and I don’t think that’s ideal.”

Top quotes from the episode:Quote #1

“Fun is always attractive to people, so I feel that we’ve made something very boring — like toilet paper — fun.”

Quote #2

“We’re talking about something that’s not serious — it’s toilet paper. I think there’s no other way to go than to be funny.”

Quote #3

“A lot of people switching over to No.2 are previous Charmin users who want something different that they can just commit to and know they’re making a choice that’s good for the environment.”