Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

No one talks about this part of building a brand

3 Apr 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:33

In this YouTube excerpt, Shereene Idriss explains that the most valuable asset she cultivated while growing her online presence was trust. By deliberately avoiding brand deals and speaking authentically, she earned a community that began requesting a product they could believe in. The increasing demand sparked the idea to create a skincare line, Pillow Talk Derm, which she says was born directly from her community’s needs and the platform of YouTube. The segment underscores how authenticity and community feedback can drive product creation, rather than traditional marketing strategies.

Chapters

The most valuable currency when I decided to venture into the social landscape was trust. They are the ones who asked me for a product that they wanted to believe in, that they trusted, because they knew for years I had not really done sponsorships. I had not taken any sort of like brand deals, and I was really just talking from the heart. When that demand started trickling in more and more and more frequently, a light bulb obviously went off in my head and I was like, maybe there is space for this, but why? Let's do a pillow talk derm skincare. Honestly, skincare brand was born because of the community and because of YouTube, and I'm not saying this because I'm on this podcast.