Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Songonuga.
Hi Victoria, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Absolutely. I’ve always been drawn to calm. As a first generation Nigerian American, growing up in a deeply faith-based, disciplined home taught me structure, but it also taught me silence. That tension between peace and pressure eventually shaped the way I see people, healing, and identity. Ìtùnú is my name. In the Yoruba culture, the name you give your child paves their destiny and who they become. I was named ìtùnú at birth due to the recent passing of my maternal grandfather. My birth and naming ceremony was my grandmother’s first outing since she was bereaved. My birth was a source of comfort and calm. And now, I’m ready to share my destiny with my people.
Ìtùnú Co. is my first creation, born from a desire to make calm tangible for people who look like me. From there, it evolved into ìtùnú Wellness, my therapy practice for adults of African descent, a space where culture and care coexist. And now, it’s grown again into Home by ìtùnú, a home fragrance line that translates emotional wellness into scent, texture, and design. I get two provide multiple spaces that supports calm, wellness, and care.
Parallel to all of that, I’ve built a career as a fashion model, Victoria Folusewa. Modeling has always been another form of storytelling for me, a way to reclaim presence and create a sense of calm in becoming my own standard of beauty. I’ve been featured in Hello Beautiful and Popsugar Beauty, where I shared that same message: I am the standard. That, is my calm.
Today, I exist at the intersection of counseling, beauty, and culture. Ìtùnú is the thread that ties it all together; a reminder that calm can be powerful, and that you can build a life that feels just as beautiful as you look.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Ha! Definitely not smooth, but absolutely worth it.
Building Ìtùnú meant starting from scratch more than once. I left the comfort of traditional jobs to build something that truly aligned with who I am. There were long nights, financial risks, and moments of deep self-doubt; especially juggling my family, private practice, product development, and personal ventures all at once.
This challenge refined me. I had to learn how to build systems, manage burnout, and separate my worth from productivity. I also had to push past cultural conditioning, as a Nigerian-American woman. Entrepreneurship often means explaining why you’re not following the “safe path.”
So, no, it wasn’t smooth. But it’s been sacred. Every challenge forced me to build a business rooted in peace, not perfection.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Ìtùnú Co.?
Ìtùnú Co., is really a full ecosystem built around Ìtùnú, a word translated as “to calm the mind” in Yorùbá. Everything I create stems from this concept.
Under ìtùnú Co., I run ìtùnú Wellness, my private counseling practice targeting young adults and adults of African descent; and Home by ìtùnú, a home fragrance line that brings calm into our physical and emotional spaces.
What sets us apart is that Ìtùnú isn’t just a company, ìtùnú is an experience. My work blends culture, mental wellness, and art in a way that celebrate, validates, and elevates authentic Black and African experiences.
When anyone interacts with anything Ìtùnú, whether it’s a counseling session or one of our fragrances, I want them to exhale. To feel seen. To feel home. That’s what I’m most proud of: we’re helping our people reconnect with peace, our culture and calm in a chaotic society
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Oh, I’ve taken plenty. I see risk as the price of alignment. Every big step I’ve taken, from launching my private practice to introducing a luxury African wellness brand, came with fear attached.
I realized that waiting for the “right time” is just another form of fear. The truth is, you rarely feel ready. You just move, trust, and adjust along the way.
One of the biggest risks I took was funding ìtùnú Co. entirely on my own. No investors, no loans, just wild faith and strategy. But that decision also allowed me to build something that reflects me fully. I’m not afraid of risk anymore; I just make sure my risks are rooted in purpose.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.itunu.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itunu.co
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@itunu.co
