The Ambition of Tina Knowles (part one)

Welcome to The Strategy Files—a newsletter about history's most ambitious people in fashion, beauty, and culture. I study the icons, you apply their strategies; you win.

Before we get started, I wanted to let you know that I’m building an AI first tech consultancy called NoteLoft AI. I have 13 years of experience building software, and I’m sick of seeing founders get taken advantage of by scammy tech agencies. So I’ve put together a team of my favorite AI engineers, full stack engineers, infrastructure engineers and designers. Our goal is to give you the best service you’ve ever had, and truly make building your product a delightful experience.

If you’re interested in hiring a group of people who have worked together on and off for a decade, get in touch!

We’re taking on one new client in November and would love the chance to impress you.

Let’s get into it.

This month’s deep dive comes from the book Matriarch: A Memoir.

10 Lessons From Founder Tina Knowles:

1. As a woman, you need to have your own money. Tina knew very early in her marriage to Matthew that his ability to cheat was a threat to her marriage. And she also knew that every cent their family had was his, so she decided to do something about it.

2. Do not leave the workforce to start a family. It will be harder to jump back in when you need the money.

3. The key to starting over later in life? Upskill.

4. When people offer to pay you for something you’d do for free, you might have a business on your hands. Test it!

5. If you need a business idea, look at businesses that are inefficient. Get the job done at the same quality, but faster. You’ll make money!

6. Being around ambitious people will make you more ambitious. And people who want to be widely successful know this.

7. Sometimes you don’t need to give your customers an elevated experience to beat the competition. Sometimes you have to just nail the basics, like delivering on time.

8. It's all risky. Just make sure you pick the risk that has the bigger reward. 

9. You have to care deeply about the quality of your product. If somebody can beat you in quality, they can beat you in anything.

10. When it’s time to stretch your budget, get creative. Too many people give up when the money isn’t there.

Before anyone knew her as the mother of Beyonce and Solange, Tina Knowles was a founder. She was building in the industries people underestimate most — beauty, fashion, and the everyday work women have been doing for generations. She ran a salon in Houston, designed clothes at her kitchen table, and quietly turned “soft” skills into real profit long before the rest of the world caught on.

When her neighbors and friends needed an elevated salon where they could sit back and relax, Tina opened one. Back in the 2010s, when Destiny’s Child needed a look to walk the red carpet, she didn’t hire a fashion designer — she became one.

And this is really where we need to tap into the genius of Tina Knowles. She understood that overlooked markets are the purest form of opportunity. Where others saw soft industries — beauty, fashion, family — she saw revenue streams hiding in plain sight.

Honestly, Tina doesn’t always get the credit she deserves. But I want to focus on the things she did — the mindset, the strategy, the quiet empire-building — that every ambitious founder can learn from.

See you next week for part two,

LaToya

p.s. while you wait, here is an interview Tina did on the Naked Beauty Podcast. I haven’t watched it yet; but I’ll be watching it on my flight to DC next week.