Miriam Abadi, Founder, TRU & Beyond

Miriam Abadi, ex corporate executive and recently turned entrepreneur, is the Founder of new beauty insights platform, TRU & Beyond (T&B). Below, Abadi explains why she thinks having access to quality information trumps it all when investing in your well-being.

About Tru & Beyond

T&B is the region’s first-ever dedicated beauty and wellness hub with a global reach, that has a mission to create a safe, unbiased and supportive community that educates, inspires and empowers beyond borders.

1. Tell us about your personal interest in health, beauty and skincare. 

During various stages of my life I suffered from acne, and I vividly remember how it affected by self-esteem. This is why I started researching and seeing various experts, and I realized that once you find the secret formula to take care of your skin, I felt much more empowered and happier with myself. I worked 13 years in a multinational but also started my own personal Instagram covering lifestyle 5 years ago.

I always felt there was a huge clash of ideals and stereotypes in these two completely different fields. Being in the influencer world always meant looking super-polished from head to toe which is absolutely unrealistic, while on the other hand if I would show up to the offer with a slight lip enhancement if would be frowned upon. I want to epitomize the true essence of a modern woman. You can look incredibly good AND be good at what you do!

2. What made you start this platform during COVID-19?

The idea of such a platform was always there somehow in the back of my mind, but it was only when I left my corporate job last December and finally had some time to sit down and reflect the whole idea was born and the vision became very clear in my mind.

3. What is Tru & Beyond (T&B) and who is your primary target demographic that will benefit from your content?

Proudly Middle Eastern, TRU & Beyond is the region’s first-ever dedicated beauty and wellness hub with a global reach. Our approach is all-inclusive; and we are on a mission to create a safe, unbiased and supportive community that educates, inspires and empowers beyond borders.

We know finding the right information and advice is both confusing and time consuming, which is why at TRU & Beyond, we take on that task for you. Your wellbeing and your time are what we value most which is why we will always focus on quality over quantity to bring you a curated dose of beauty and wellness information that is thoroughly vetted, totally honest and to-the-point.

Our language? The truth.

Our promise? To take on questions and topics no one else will.

Our mindset? Less fluff, more straight talk.

Real experts, real conversations, real advice.

Our target are mainly women (and hopefully eventually men) 16 and above.

4. Your posts don’t always involve beauty; you cover health and nutrition as well. Why did you choose to expand outside of only beauty?

I believe that that beauty and wellness go hand in hand and should be a 360-degree conversation. It’s not just about the ingredients in your food — it’s the ingredients in your beauty and personal care products, the company you surround yourself with, the choices you make every day about how you treat yourself, and even how you talk to and about yourself. And with TRU, I felt that our community was hungry for more education, information, connection, ideas and insights beyond the polished information, so I created TRU as an editorial extension to dive into those topics on a daily basis.

5. We see you interview experts based in other countries, such as USA. Why is it so important to bring the Middle East beauty knowledge from other cultures? 

I simply want to bring the absolute best when it comes to expertise in Beauty and Wellness. This doesn’t mean we do not have experts and innovators in the region. I work by expertise rather than geographical location. If this make sense.

6. T&B sells KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION AND POWER, rather than products. Is information more valuable than products in your opinion? 

Absolutely! Knowledge is power. And especially during these times when we are bombarded with information over the Internet.

I was struggling to find conclusive answers for topics that I cared deeply about, which is why I decided to launch a dedicated platform that harnessed expert advice to address pressing themes in a manner that is accessible and straightforward. At TRU & Beyond, we peel back the layers of prejudice, stigma and fluff to deliver the answers you need, right now so you can make the empowered, informed decisions that cater uniquely to your definition of beauty.

7. How do you collaborate with brands to bring forth unbiased, honest advice in a way that benefits the user but also still respects the brands? 

Before working with any brand or individual my team and I do our thorough homework and see if their ways of working and values match with ours.

And to be completely honest, the more I work with brands and experts I realize that everyone truly cares about the effectiveness and long-term benefits of their service or products to their clients and users. Every brand or expert has a specific strength or philosophy that I want to highlight during my insights and articles.

8. How do you foresee T&B’s structure and offerings evolving in the future? 

My aim is to become Middle East’s most trusted site in Beauty and Wellness first. Then it will evolve from consulting for different brands (already in process), to events, workshops, centers and eventually having our own product.

9. What tips do you have for aspiring leaders and innovators on how to create voice of authority in the beauty / well-care space like you’ve done with T&B? How have you formed an honest, credible source so quickly?

For me the answer to that is very simple:

Learn and practice to overcome all your prejudgments and stigmas in your mind. understand that everyone has their own standards of beauty and you are simply there to guide everyone to make the best decisions possible.

And always be curious and open minded to people or procedures that you have never seen or heard of. You will be amazed of how much you can learn and add value to your community by listening and having an open mind.