Key Takeaways
- • Funmi Monet, a former therapist and ISIPCA-certified perfumer, self-funded her fragrance brand Influxious with $225,000 of personal savings and took no venture capital, according to AfroTech.
- • Influxious passed $1 million in sales in its first three weeks on the market, per Monet.
- • The brand's Sephora launch was accelerated from an original 2027 plan after the fragrance team smelled the collection in April, with Influxious slated to enter 11 Sephora stores across the country in late September 2026.
- • Monet frames the brand as a "fragrance house" with an identity designed to outlast its founder, with community events and masterclasses as near-term priorities.
Summary
Funmi Monet, a licensed therapist turned fragrance expert, has launched Influxious, a fragrance brand now on the market at Sephora, according to AfroTech. Monet built an audience on TikTok and Instagram as a fragrance voice after being told she did not have enough followers to build a fragrance brand. The name combines "influx" and "luxurious," which Monet says reflects personal change and the idea that people deserve beauty, pleasure and self-expression. She describes the company as a fragrance house rather than influencer merchandise.
Monet's background includes a perfume counter role at Dillard's, graduate training in therapy, and ISIPCA certification as a perfumer. She self-funded the brand with $225,000 of her own savings, which covered fragrance development, formulation, testing, packaging, branding and team building before the first bottle was filled. She said self-funding forced financial discipline and gave her control over the brand's direction, and that she turned down outside money with unwanted conditions. She also said she would probably have moved faster and learned less with outside funding.
According to Monet, Influxious passed $1 million in sales in its first three weeks without venture capital. Her original plan was a 2027 Sephora launch, but the timeline accelerated after the fragrance team smelled the collection in April. Influxious will enter 11 Sephora stores across the country in late September 2026. Monet said her priorities beyond retail include in-store events, masterclasses and support for fragrance communities, and that her long-term goal is a global fragrance house that can operate independently of her.
Monet's background includes a perfume counter role at Dillard's, graduate training in therapy, and ISIPCA certification as a perfumer. She self-funded the brand with $225,000 of her own savings, which covered fragrance development, formulation, testing, packaging, branding and team building before the first bottle was filled. She said self-funding forced financial discipline and gave her control over the brand's direction, and that she turned down outside money with unwanted conditions. She also said she would probably have moved faster and learned less with outside funding.
According to Monet, Influxious passed $1 million in sales in its first three weeks without venture capital. Her original plan was a 2027 Sephora launch, but the timeline accelerated after the fragrance team smelled the collection in April. Influxious will enter 11 Sephora stores across the country in late September 2026. Monet said her priorities beyond retail include in-store events, masterclasses and support for fragrance communities, and that her long-term goal is a global fragrance house that can operate independently of her.
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