How Ourside Founder Keta Burke-Williams Made Her Daydream Reality

Click here for Medication Guide, including Boxed Warning.

Lelanie Foster

Growing up in a small, suburban, predominantly white town in Ohio, Keta Burke-Williams often found herself in search of community and spaces where she fit. By the time she was brainstorming ideas to break into the fragrance industry, she noticed that much of the market was made up of a small group of master perfumers whose scents represented fleeting fantasies that often told homogenous stories. This isn't to say that there aren't any BIPOC-founded fragrance brands — there are — but there was room for transformation, driven by more voices and perspectives. Burke-Williams wanted to create something that brought everyone together and could represent her community in a tangible way. So, Ourside was born.

Burke-Williams is proof that shooting your shot is almost always worth it. During Ourside's development, she took every opportunity she could find to help validate her ideas and make her dream a reality, but when she first heard about The Confidence Collective by BOTOX® Cosmetic, a program that offers women entrepreneurs mentorship, skill building, and access to funding, she wasn't going to apply. Later though, she reconsidered. "It was one of those things where if I don't try, then I can't win or lose, so I thought why not shoot my shot?" she tells Popsugar.

Spoiler alert: It paid off. Burke-Williams was one of 20 entrepreneurs chosen from a pool of more than 11,000 applicants. "Being selected was the confidence boost I didn't know I needed," she says. "It reminded me that my story and the mission behind Ourside matters."

Ahead, we speak with the founder about her journey — from creating a business while still in school to the biggest lessons she learned as a 2024 grant recipient of The Confidence Collective.

Lelanie Foster

On Facing the Challenges of Entrepreneurship

Ourside was still relatively young when Burke-Williams received a grant from The Confidence Collective. One of the biggest challenges she faced was access to capital — the demand was there, but she couldn't always keep up. The grant allowed for Ourside to invest in expanded production to alleviate some of that stress. Just as importantly, the program offered her other things she didn't expect: "It felt like it was so much more than the money, it was also the mentorship and the capital and the community, all which are necessary," she says.

Her fellow recipients ran the gamut, from beauty industry peers to a woman who founded a business focused on educating women about auto repair. Through The Confidence Collective, she also saw increased brand awareness for Ourside, which opened doors to more retailers, more media coverage, and helped deepen the connection her team has to their community. Ourside recently launched its first collaborative product, Woodland Wonder, a bedtime room spray created with Loftie — which she believes is partially due to the visibility the brand gained through The Confidence Collective. It's a benefit that will hopefully extend into Ourside's long-term future, which may include the brand experimenting with more unique scents and different ways to experience it (e.g., candles, body care, etc.). For now, she hopes to continue innovating and growing the Ourside community.

On Leaning on Her Community

Since its launch in 2023, one of Ourside's major pillars has been community. "I'd make them blind smell our first fragrance, Moondust, alongside other perfumes and describe how it made them feel," Burke-Williams says. Even the strangers who would come up to her in public to compliment whatever sample scent she was testing out played a role. "Community came in all the hacky creative forms, and I think that's something I've learned through this journey," she says. "I have the founder community, I have the fragrance community, but all of these intersections of your identities can support you."

Though Ourside sources the glass for its bottles from Italy, the fragrances are formulated and manufactured in the Bronx in New York City. Burke-Williams, a Brooklyn resident, always wanted to keep it local. "I wanted to show that luxurious products can be created in unexpected places," she says. "But I also wanted to invest in the community."Lelanie Foster

On Becoming More Vulnerable

Connecting with a diverse group of entrepreneurs through The Confidence Collective has been one of the most impactful experiences for Burke-Williams. "Seeing how they have continued to chase their dreams with courage and resilience has given me a new level of permission to do the same," she says, adding that hearing about their journeys has helped her redefine what confidence looks like. "It's the idea that confidence can be built through courage and vulnerability. That mindset shift has started to carry over into how I lead, how I make decisions, and how I think about the future of making an impact."

From the outside looking in, Burke-Williams always felt like other founders had it all figured out. With time she learned they didn't. "It's about being okay to show that vulnerability and ask for help. I think that has changed a lot, in terms of how willing I am to be open about the struggles I'm facing," she says. Prior to her experiences as one of The Confidence Collective's grant recipients she wasn't willing to be vulnerable. She recalls one instance after the first time Ourside fragrances sold out. She was excited that there was real demand for the product she'd brought to life, while also feeling scared about a slow pace restock. "It was just very stressful and I didn't know what to do and what to tell people, and so I stayed quiet," she says. "I realize that was the absolute wrong thing to do." The next time she faced an obstacle — renaming a new fragrance — she turned to the community for support. Ourside ran a whole campaign to have consumers help rename the scent. "It was really cool to see how involved they were, how supportive they were," she says. "And I think it showed me the difference between wanting to not be vulnerable versus willing to share and be open."

On Embracing the Daydreams

Until we get scratch-and-sniff capabilities on screens, the only way to truly market a fragrance is with storytelling and aspiration. Burke-Williams wanted her fragrances to be inspired by daydreams. Take Nostalgia, for example, inspired by the story her mother told her about the first time she encountered night-blooming jasmine while visiting Tunisia as a backup dancer. "This story stuck with me because the details always change around what the show was, how many people were in the audience, but what never changes is when she describes the moment of getting back after the show, deciding to step outside into this garden and being hit by this incredible smell of jasmine," she explains. "But it was mixed with dirt and the earth, and it was close to the water so there was this saltiness. It became my own daydream and allowed me to be there in that moment with her," she says. With Nostalgia, she wanted to capture jasmine in a very real way, as if the wearer could actually experience it in nature as her mother did.

Beyond allowing consumers to relate to Ourside note profiles, daydreams helped shape Burke-Williams's identity as a founder. "Daydreams allow you to see what's possible and feel like it's within reach," she explains. Whatever you want to call it (be it manifesting or journaling your reality into existence), she sees daydreaming as a form of self-actualization. "I think there's real power in that," she says. "Yes, it's okay to be a little 'delulu' sometimes, because if we're not, who will be for us?"

The Confidence Collective by BOTOX® Cosmetic is committed to closing the confidence gap and empowering the next generation of business leaders through practical skill development, strategic mentorship, and potential funding opportunities. For more information, visit BotoxCosmetic.com/RealImpact.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

BOTOX® Cosmetic may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening. Get medical help right away if you have any of these problems any time (hours to weeks) after injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic:

Problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing, due to weakening of associated muscles, which can be severe and result in loss of life. You are at the highest risk if these problems are preexisting before injection. Swallowing problems may last for several months. Spread of toxin effects. The effect of botulinum toxin may affect areas away from the injection site and cause serious symptoms, including loss of strength and all-over muscle weakness, double vision, blurred vision and drooping eyelids, hoarseness or change or loss of voice, trouble saying words clearly, loss of bladder control, trouble breathing, and trouble swallowing.

BOTOX® Cosmetic dosing units are not the same as, or comparable to, any other botulinum toxin product.

There has not been a confirmed serious case of spread of toxin effect when BOTOX® Cosmetic has been used at the recommended dose to treat frown lines, crow's feet lines, forehead lines, and/or platysma bands.

BOTOX® Cosmetic may cause loss of strength or general muscle weakness, vision problems, or dizziness within hours to weeks of receiving BOTOX® Cosmetic. If this happens, do not drive a car, operate machinery, or do other dangerous activities.

Serious and/or immediate allergic reactions have been reported, including itching, rash, red itchy welts, wheezing, asthma symptoms, or dizziness or feeling faint. Get medical help right away if you are wheezing or have asthma symptoms, or if you become dizzy or faint.

Do not receive BOTOX® Cosmetic if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in BOTOX® Cosmetic (see Medication Guide for ingredients); had an allergic reaction to any other botulinum toxin product such as Myobloc (rimabotulinumtoxinB), Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA), Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), Jeuveau (prabotulinumtoxinA-xvfs), Daxxify (daxibotulinumtoxinA-lanm), or Letybo (letibotulinumtoxinA-wlbg); or have a skin infection at the planned injection site. This list may not include all available botulinum toxin products.

Tell your doctor about all your muscle or nerve conditions, such as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, as you may be at increased risk of serious side effects, including difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing, from standard doses of BOTOX® Cosmetic.

Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including surgery or plans to have surgery on your face, trouble raising your eyebrows, drooping eyelids, any other abnormal facial change, are pregnant or plan to become pregnant (it is not known if BOTOX® Cosmetic can harm your unborn baby), or are breastfeeding or plan to (it is not known if BOTOX® Cosmetic passes into breast milk).

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using BOTOX® Cosmetic with certain other medicines may cause serious side effects. Do not start any new medicines until you have told your doctor that you have received BOTOX® Cosmetic in the past.

Tell your doctor if you have received any other botulinum toxin product in the last 4 months; have received injections of botulinum toxin such as Myobloc, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau, Daxxify, or Letybo in the past (tell your doctor exactly which product you received); have recently received an antibiotic by injection; take muscle relaxants; take an allergy or cold medicine; take a sleep medicine; or take aspirin-like products or blood thinners.

Other side effects of BOTOX® Cosmetic include dry mouth; discomfort or pain at the injection site; tiredness; headache; neck pain; and eye problems, including double vision, blurred vision, decreased eyesight, drooping eyelids and eyebrows, swelling of eyelids, and dry eyes.

Approved Uses
BOTOX® Cosmetic is a prescription medicine that is injected into muscles and used to temporarily improve the look of moderate to severe forehead lines, crow's feet lines, frown lines between the eyebrows, and vertical bands connecting the jaw and neck (platysma bands) in adults.

For more information, refer to the Medication Guide or talk with your doctor.

To report a side effect, please call Allergan Aesthetics at 1-800-678-1605.

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Credits: Photographer: Lelanie Foster; Creative Director: Colleen Lennon; Digital Tech: Daniel Johnson; 1st Assistant: Kaitlin Tucker; Wardrobe Stylist: Rachel Gilman; Wardrobe Assistant: Caitlyn Amundson; Hair Stylist: Anike Rabiu; Makeup Artist: Kelly Bellevue; Senior Manager, Creative Services: Joangie Torres; Director of Production: Alex Friedlander; Associate Producer: Dominique Guillory