The USC Iovine and Young Academy’s intersectional ethos speaks to Asma Ishaq’s being. A skincare and wellness trailblazer, Ishaq isn’t defined by one achievement – she’s the entrepreneurial embodiment of a multifaceted mindset that not only pursues professional dreams, it makes them come true. As 2023 IYA commencement speaker, Ishaq is eager to motivate the next generation of creative problem-solvers and innovative thinkers. With a background that encompasses everything from science and product development to business and finance, her story is living proof that passion projects can turn into industry-changing success stories. 

Ishaq is the CEO of Modere, a lifestyle brand whose portfolio of beauty and personal care products is currently sold in 44 international markets. A pioneer in supplements and beauty, she broke open the collagen category in the space with the introduction of patented liquid collagen nutraceuticals, nutricosmetics, and skincare products. Wellness has always played a part in her lifestyle, as well as a “go for it” philosophy and a desire to innovate, educate herself in as many ways possible, and make a difference. 

The path to where Ishaq is today is paved with catalytic moments that illustrate her industrious ideology. Tagging along with her biochemist father, a quality control tech at a nutritional supplement corporation, she observed a natural product’s lifecycle from formulation to shelf to consumer at a young age. Working at a manufacturing company since high school, she was an early study in supply chains and ingredients. Medical school was considered given her other  obsession – becoming a surgeon – but an entrepreneurial ambition was stronger. By creating a company, Ishaq could have a greater reach. 

“I realized I could have more of an impact 24 hours a day on people without using my hands directly,” she recalls. 

With heavy science, manufacturing, and marketing expertise under her belt, Ishaq rounded out her skills at business school. Her next move was the result of an encounter with discouraging naysayers. Never underestimate the power of a brush with external doubt. 

“I remember hearing some guys talking in business school, overhearing them about what is the most prestigious work you can do and they were talking about investment banking. Being a single mom at the time one of them looked at me and said, ‘Well, that’s not really for you. I don’t think that will work for you.’ And I just thought, as soon as that happened, I was determined to be able to succeed in that.”

Ishaq did just that, rising to the ranks of the banking world at the investing giant, BlackRock. But her intent to be an impactful business owner took hold. All the varied knowledge she had gained led her to starting her own nutricosmetics product company in 2008. Acquired in 2017 by Modere, her little engine that could is now an industry powerhouse. In 2021, the company took the number one spot on the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Led Companies list. It also landed on Newsweek’s 2022 and 2021 rankings of the Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces rankings, a testament to Ishaq’s commitment to establishing a positive culture. 

“An organization is nothing but a collection of people. That’s your greatest asset,” she advises. Success is also defined by whether or not our people are happy, and what they feel like it is to work at our business and represent our brand.”

Speaking to the next wave of business owners, Ishaq wants to impart the importance of a founder mentality that embeds values early on and focuses on the details – not just the bottom line. Going from gumptious to global, she did it all, from training customer service, hooking up the electricity, and shipping out boxes herself. 

“The beginning is what really matters. When there’s so much pressure for an entrepreneur to further a business or concept, there are often opportunities to cut corners or to bypass certain rules or principles or values for the sake of succeeding. If those values are not embedded early on in a company’s formation it’s going to be really difficult to be able to go backwards and lay that foundation later,” she shares. 

Ishaq also wants to honor a socially-conscious side of innovation. The generation she’s addressing at commencement represents a push for profit and purpose existing in tandem. Future consumers are purchasing using their voices, not just their dollars. With cultural norms shifting, so are the ways we approach business. 

“I always saw myself leading a socially responsible company at some point. That was the other half of my career. One side is the expertise and understanding of what I do in product development and formulating of skincare and nutritional supplements. And then the other part is the business management area where I want to focus on using profit to do good. Do good while doing well,” she says.  

Looking forward to her commencement speech at IYA, Ishaq sees the similarities in herself and the students. She’s spent her life searching for purpose-driven solutions that incorporate design, business, technology, and more. She knows the future of the graduating class is bright, but she hopes the monumental milestone of right now is not lost on them. 

“When I started my business, it was very scrappy. I had little money to start and I worked on nights and weekends on my passion project. I was a single mother. I know how hard it is to be an entrepreneur and invest in something you believe in. If I can just inspire someone to say, ‘if you believe in something wholeheartedly and if you have conviction and determination it can be achieved.’ As a woman of color representing people, I can inspire students and also just congratulate them. Getting to the point where they are now, on that day, is a big deal.”

Keynote Speaker Asma Ishaq Embodies the IYA Spirit