The Entrepreneur Who Redefined Men's Personal Care—And What's Next

Khaleej Times

17-02-2025

Deep Patel was supposed to be walking the campus of the University of San Diego, juggling textbooks and deadlines, taking the carefully paved road to success. This was the expected path — the one that promises security and prestige for those who stay the course.
But Patel didn't follow that script. He walked away from the well-trodden path and made a decision many would consider reckless: Less than a week into the semester, he dropped out.
It wasn't about the $56,000-a-year tuition. It wasn't about rebellion for its own sake. Instead, Patel's decision came from a sense that his early achievements would offer something a traditional education couldn't provide.
Dropping out is a bold gamble, associated with luminaries like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. But their stories are exceptions, not guarantees, and Patel's choice was anything but a sure bet.
Now a Dubai resident with ties to Las Vegas and Orange County, Patel embodies the modern young entrepreneur. In 2023, he sold Blu Atlas, the company he had dedicated 18 months to building, to Foundry Brands for an eight-figure sum. Blu Atlas, which focused on natural skincare and personal care products for men, could now build on the foundation of a vastly larger operation.
The deal marked a milestone for Patel, as it represented a successful exit for a company he had built from scratch. For Foundry Brands — owners of Supply, Stryx and other beauty commerce mini-giants — it indicated a strategic push to expand into new markets.
Foundry wanted Patel to join the team, but he declined the offer, recognising that working for someone else wouldn't suit him. Some might have considered retiring after such a success, but for serial entrepreneurs like Patel, curiosity pushes them forward.
For his next business, he was motivated to address hair loss, an issue faced by millions of people worldwide. Hair loss does not affect him directly, but he witnessed how it impacted the confidence and self-perception of people around him, and saw an opportunity to create effective solutions.
Together with Rob English — a consumer advocate and researcher specialising in hair loss disorders, and the founder of Perfect Hair Health, one of the largest YouTube channels and blogs in the hair loss space — Patel launched Ulo, a telehealth platform providing prescribed and over-the-counter hair loss solutions.
Ulo sets itself apart as a newcomer in the hair loss market by concentrating on dismantling stigmas associated with such a delicate topic. Accessibility is a top priority for the business. It provides a variety of options, including over-the-counter remedies; customized, compounded formulas that cater to specific needs; and conventional therapies like finasteride and minoxidil.
For those who can't tolerate DHT-reducing medication, Ulo offers compounded solutions customized for each individual, as well as non-hormonal alternatives. Ulo's products contain clinically backed ingredients such as retinoic acid, cetirizine, melatonin and caffeine, offering powerful options that don't involve hormone-modulating effects.
Getting into the hair loss market is a challenge. Big companies like Ro and Keeps have extensive marketing power and consumer trust, making it hard for startups like Ulo to stand out. Established conglomerates benefit from decades of brand recognition and extensive manufacturing resources, and have set the standard for consumer expectations around accessibility and affordability.
Ulo seeks to stand out by offering personalised hair growth plans and by primarily selling directly to consumers. The company also places an emphasis on technology.
Critics say that while Ulo's personalised treatments are appealing, maintaining consistent quality and efficacy across so many unique formulas presents a huge obstacle. They note that Ulo may find it difficult to guarantee that every client obtains the same degree of personalisation and product quality as the business expands, due to the number of products it has to manage.
The hair loss market is a lucrative and rapidly growing industry, with a market cap projected to reach over $10 billion by 2030, driven by increasing consumer demand for effective solutions.
Customers' expectations surrounding accessibility and customization have changed as a result of the businesses that have paved the way, and new competitors like Ulo now have a much loftier mountain to climb.
Deep Patel has spent the better part of his adult life building and marketing consumer products. His passion to innovate came from early frustration with the lack of meaningful product differentiation in traditional consumer goods. Even as a teenager, Patel saw gaps in the market. 'I was frustrated that everything felt the same. I wanted to create products that solved real problems,' Patel recalls.
Patel encountered resistance in the early days of Blu Atlas, as many dismissed his ideas for redefining the men's grooming space. But he recognised that these skeptics represented an outdated way of thinking. Patel was a part of a new generation that had a deep understanding of digital trends and a commitment to authenticity.
Deep Patel grew up in Macon, Georgia. Though they were middle class, his mother placed great importance on his education, and he credits her for sending him to a reputable private school. Patel was taught entrepreneurship by his father, a small-business owner. Patel showed early signs of business acumen by auctioning rare coins on eBay and generating money using internet marketing.
At just 16, he penned "A Paperboy's Fable," a book on entrepreneurship that was published by Post Hill Press.
At 17, Patel was invited to speak at A.T. Kearney's Consumer@250 event, a high-profile gathering of leaders from over 170 companies with revenues surpassing $2 billion. There he met figures such as Tom Cortese, the co-founder of Peloton. This invitation solidified his position as a young and rising talent.
Patel launched Penguin in 2019, a direct-to-consumer CBD brand that set new standards for transparency. In 2020, he sold the company to Verma Farms in a seven-figure deal. Using the proceeds, he shifted his focus to men's grooming and bootstrapped Blu Atlas.
Now splitting his time between Las Vegas, Orange County and Dubai, Deep Patel arranged to meet me in a quiet conference room at the Burj Al Arab one Thursday afternoon to discuss his latest venture.
He arrived well-prepared, with comprehensive business documents and some scratch papers for his most recent product formulations. It soon became evident to me that Ulo is a carefully thought-out business to transform the hair loss market. He mentioned aspirational ideas for the platform's next phase during our talk, though he wasn't ready to divulge all the specifics. He was also eager to discuss another venture close to his heart: deep, a high-end clothing line shaped entirely by his personal vision, aesthetic and tastes.
Patel laughed. 'I'm aware that the name comes across as self-indulgent. Still, if I'm creating something that's mine from top to bottom, why not let my name stand front and center?'
'Honestly, it's not just my name. It's a statement,' he explained. "It presents the notion of going deeper than the surface. The collection isn't based on short-term trends; it's about quality craftsmanship and real substance.'
Unlike predecessors such as Ralph Lauren and Yves Saint Laurent, Patel and his peers are digital natives, born in the digital age. Patel's approach involves more than just making something that looks good. He also wants to do good for the world by using environmentally friendly production methods to change what it means to make luxury items in the modern world.
I asked Patel what he thought made him successful. Was there was a particular trait or moment he could pinpoint? Instead of focusing on a specific trait, he talked about how personal his work was. 'It's easier to give it your all when you're creating something that you, or the people you care about, genuinely need,' he explained. 'When the product resonates with your own life, it becomes more meaningful. There's a certain closeness and authenticity that comes through.'