How Tahlia Gray CEO, Turned “I Can’t Find Tights That Match My Skin” Into Sheer Chemistry

About this episode

Tahlia Gray shares her journey of creating Sheer Chemistry, an inclusive hosiery brand, addressing the challenges faced by Black and brown women in finding suitable tights.

Episode Summary For decades Black and brown women have worn “nude” tights that made their legs look grey and ashy. Tahlia Gray got tired of it. Eight years, one startup loan, six years of side-hustling, and a pivotal investor introduction from Wray Forward later — Sheer Chemistry is the UK’s leading inclusive hosiery brand (and heading to North America). Hear the raw story of self-funding, 98 % survey validation, trademark battles, and why mainstream retailers finally said “yes” after 2020. Chapters [00:00] Intro & Powerbook 2025 Spotlight [00:45] The problem: “Nude” tights that make brown legs look ashy [01:42] Bootstrapping for 8 years while working full/part-time [02:36] How Wray Forward pitch night turned a loss into major investment [03:34] 98 % of 100+ women surveyed said they’d buy — instant validation [04:29] Real customer stories: First dress in 15 years, ballet exam confidence [05:51] 10 years ago retailers said “no demand” — post-2020 they begged [07:45] Start small, prove UK demand, then scale globally [08:43] One event, one question → introduction to UK’s biggest hosiery distributor [11:34] Why colours can’t be trademarked (but shade names & slogans can)…

People in this episode

Guest: Tahlia Gray

Topics covered

• inclusive hosiery
• entrepreneurship
• bootstrapping
• retail partnerships
• market validation
• women's fashion

Keywords

• hosiery
• nude tights
• Black women
• entrepreneur
• investment
• retail
• market demand
• self-funding
• survey validation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sheer Chemistry, Wray Forward, UK, North America, mainstream retailers

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