Tan France's usual schtick is fashion and style. But at the International Beauty Show in Las Vegas, the audience of salon and spa owners got something far more valuable: a masterclass in entrepreneurship, team management, and the gritty realities of building a multi-million dollar business empire.
Most people know France as the charismatic British-Pakistani fashion expert on Netflix's "Queer Eye." What's lesser known about him is that France got on Netflix's radar to begin with due to his stiletto-sharp business acumen.
As the keynote speaker at the 2025 beauty and spa show in Las Vegas, France shared a wealth of wisdom about business and branding, born from a lifetime of turning challenges into opportunities. "It's all about being able to pivot."
Born to Hustle
France grew up in Doncaster, UK, the only son of Pakistani Muslim parents. In his family — and most other immigrant families he knew — entrepreneurship wasn't a choice; it was survival.
"Often as immigrants, we come to a place where we don't speak the language and it's hard to get a regular job," France said. "So we create our own employment.
"My grandparents were entrepreneurs. My parents were entrepreneurs. None of them had regular jobs."
Even so, his elders wanted the new generation to pursue higher education. "They didn't want us to be entrepreneurs," France said. "They told us, 'We did that because it was our only option, but we want you to have a proper job.'"
But France had entrepreneurship in his DNA. As a child, he made money buying items in bulk and reselling them to his classmates. He learned how to sew to make pretty clothes that his mother and sisters couldn’t otherwise afford.
When it came time to start his career, France knew he wanted to found a fashion brand. He didn't do it right away, though, opting to work for major retailers including Chanel and Zara to learn the ins and outs of the industry.
“I used these businesses as schools," he said. "I wasn't thinking I'd become CEO of those companies one day. I was thinking, I'm going to take information from here, information from there, and by age 30, start my own business with all this knowledge."
France jumped the gun, taking the leap with fewer years (26) and less start-up capital ($30K) than he'd planned.
But he was ready. "It was frustrating watching my bosses not doing things that would make them more money," he said.
Besides, "I didn't want to make a $50,000 salary. I wanted to make 50 million dollars."
The Fashion Market (Almost) No One Noticed
France moved to "the most beautiful place in the world," Salt Lake City, UT. There he launched his first fashion brand, Kingdom & State — a nod to the two countries he now considered home.
The brand got off to a promising start thanks to France identifying an underserved market within a specialized niche. Moving to Salt Lake City had exposed him to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a community where women dress in accordance with conservative modesty standards.
What France saw was 14 million vibrant LDS women in frumpy outfits. "There were brands catering to this community, but the clothes weren't nice," he explained. "I thought, Why isn't there a stylish version of clothing for these women? I'll make that."
Drawing from France's Muslim heritage, where modesty and style coexist beautifully, Kingdom & State created fashion-forward designs adhering to his philosophy: "Just because they have to cover certain parts of their body doesn't mean they can't look amazing."
The strategy became the foundation of his business empire, and convinced France that finding a niche is incredibly important for an entrepreneur.
"Don't bother doing something if your neighbors are already doing it, unless you know you can beat them at the exact same thing,” he cautioned.
France had tapped into a large, receptive market, but he was not the face of the brand. "I honestly thought the Mormons would only buy from me if they thought I was Mormon," he admitted.
"I hid who I was. They thought they were buying from a blonde lady. And we failed."
The business inched along until France realized his customer base wanted to know the real person behind the brand — and that failing to tell them was hurting it. So he made a move that, although scary, felt right.
France posted a photo of himself on the business' account for the first time. The caption read: "I'm Tan. I'm the owner of Kingdom & State. Yep, that's right, I'm a guy (and a British one!)
"I recently made a new friend, and she told me that she only started following after she met me and realized K&S was owned by me, and was no longer a faceless brand."
The move was well received, and reinforced in France the power of a unique selling proposition. "They're all Mormon women. I'm a gay, Muslim brown man from the UK. That's my unique selling point,” he said.
“You’ve got to find one thing about you that's different — the environment, you, your staff. It must be unique to your business,” he said.
“There is always something that you do better than someone else. You have to identify that and lean into it and give people a reason to choose you.
“Find that one thing, and until you’ve found it, you haven’t got time for fun.”
And while France believes with his whole heart that authenticity is key to successful branding, he emphasized it doesn’t mean being a wide-open book.
“You think you know me from seeing me on TV,” he said, “but the truth is, I’m only revealing about 20 percent of myself. It’s still authentic, it’s still me, but it’s not everything about me.
"You don't have to tell people everything about you. You can be authentic in one section of who you are. Show enough of yourself that people feel they can connect to you as a human."
The Art of the Pivot
France's candid revelations about his lowest moments as a business owner resonated with his audience. He told them about the time he invested everything in what he thought was a revolutionary collection — only to watch it miss the mark completely.
"I put every penny into it. It launched and flopped so hard. All that money was lost," he said.
"I could not afford a cup of coffee. I couldn’t pay my rent. I had to swallow my pride and call my mum to borrow £150 just to pay rent."
France realized the hard way that what his market wanted was basics — well-made, foundational clothing pieces — far more than next-level runway fashions. He threw all his energy into creating the best basics on the market. That's when business started booming.
And though that was one of the hardest things he’d ever gone through, France won’t call it a failure. “It was a pivot,” he said. “Trying something new that you think will work is never a failure, no matter how it turns out.
"You need the foresight and bravery to say, 'I've tried it and it's not working.’ Let that go and try something else instead. Pivot, pivot, pivot.”
France’s ability to pivot — and to authentically share his struggles on social media — led to Kingdom & State flourishing so much he was able to sell it a few years later for a handsome profit.
“When I didn't have any money, I had an Instagram account,” France says. "I would tell my audience about the struggles of being a business owner. That audience connected. They cared.”
The public doesn't expect perfection from small business owners, he said, and they appreciate candor.
"When choosing between a massive conglomerate and this person going through it, and we're both offering the same thing? They chose me."
The Power of the Right People
France grew the business along with a core team of people who he hired not based on experience, but on whether he thought he’d get along with them, and whether they were willing to learn.
To this day, and throughout multiple subsequent brands that France has founded — he continues to hire candidates who remind him of people he enjoys spending time with. Their working relationships flourish, with many staying with France for several years.
But his employees are never his friends, he emphasized. “You cannot be their friend and their boss,” France said. “You cannot.
“Now, you might think you can. You might be sure you are the exception to that rule. Okay. Talk to me in a few years and let me know how that went.”
France left his audience with inspiring words about the gratification of building a business and being your own boss. Though entrepreneurship isn’t easy, he added, it’s worth it.
“Business is hard. It can be crushing,” he acknowledged. “But there are ways to get through it.
“You cannot isolate yourself. Talk to people in your life about what you’re going through,” he said. “They may not be able to relate, but they see you as a badass who will power through this and make it work.
“And then they will cheer you on when you do make it work.”
