Coffee N° 5 with Lara Schmoisman

Episode: Bootstrapped to Beauty Powerhouse — Scaling SUGARED + BRONZED with Courtney Claghorn

Release Date: September 23, 2025
Guest: Courtney Claghorn, Co-Founder of SUGARED + BRONZED
Host: Lara Schmoisman

Episode Overview

In this episode, Lara Schmoisman sits down with Courtney Claghorn, co-founder of SUGARED + BRONZED, to explore her journey from a bootstrapped beauty entrepreneur to leading a nationwide service brand. The conversation covers the origins of the company, the challenges (and rewards) of growing a business organically, building company culture, the critical role of intuition, effective marketing strategies, the transition to product lines, and lessons learned from setbacks and successes alike. Courtney shares candid insights into scaling operations, navigating partnerships, fundraising, and the essential value of customer experience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Inspiration & Early Days

• Origin Story:
  • SUGARED + BRONZED offers sugaring (a natural, less abrasive ancient Egyptian hair removal technique) and technician-applied airbrush tanning, a safer, dermatologist-recommended alternative to sunbathing and booths.
  • Courtney noticed a gap: affordable, comfortable, high-quality spray tans were lacking in LA—her frustrations as a consumer seeded the idea.
  • Startup capital was $1,000, split between Courtney and her then-boyfriend (now husband and co-founder, Sam), starting out of their apartment.

    “It just felt like there was a hole in the marketplace... One thing led to another, and it was like, what if we could start this?” — Courtney (03:17)

• Being Hands-On:
  • For the first six months, Courtney did the spray tanning herself (04:20).
  • “I was in it. Yeah, very in it.” — Courtney (04:22)

2. Transitioning from Side Hustle to Storefront

• Gradual Evolution:
  • Courtney initially kept her fintech job, only quitting after three months when the business demanded more attention and she realized she was turning away clients (05:21).

    “For a new business, you should never be turning down clients. So I kind of had to make that tough decision of... leaving my job.” — Courtney (05:21)

• Finding and Choosing Locations:
  • The first store opened on Montana Ave. in Santa Monica in 2011—selected for foot traffic even though it was “upstairs behind a tree.” (05:55)

    “If people could find us in the apartment, they can probably find us upstairs behind a tree.” — Courtney (05:44)

3. Bootstrapping Growth & Team Building

• Nine Years of Bootstrapping:
  • No outside funding for almost a decade—just reinvested profits and a couple of SBA loans. Family members ran “loose family franchises” early on (07:33).

    “We bootstrapped for nine years without any outside funding, except for a couple of SBA loans.” — Courtney (07:57)

• Building the Team:
  • Early team was informal, with corporate structure evolving as the business expanded and only formalizing after raising money (08:10).

4. Fundraising and Structuring the Company

• First Fundraise:
  • At ten stores, they decided to raise external capital to accelerate growth (08:39).
  • Used investment bankers to navigate the process and had 12 interested PE firms—eventually partnered with Main Post Partners and Howard Schultz (09:25).

    “All 12 of them were interested and put in an LOI… we ended up deciding to work with Main Post Partners...” — Courtney (09:29)

5. The Art and Science of Location Selection

• Intuition + Data:
  • Early Los Angeles expansions leaned on deep local knowledge and intuition; newer locations use sophisticated demographic tools like Buxton.

    “You can look at data all you want, but if your intuition doesn’t match up with it, it probably doesn’t make sense.” — Courtney (10:17)

  • New York’s Union Square location was chosen by gut feeling and has proven hugely successful (11:28).

6. Letting Go & Leadership Evolution

• Delegation & Trust:
  • As the company scaled and more stakeholders joined, Courtney admits to struggling with relinquishing control, but values the support and validation of a bigger team (12:27).

    “I love control, so I don’t always like that. Sometimes it’s a relief, honestly… But it is nice to have more people to bounce ideas off of.” — Courtney (12:28)

7. Founder Sacrifices: Pay & Lifestyle

• Delayed Gratification:
  • Courtney paid herself minimally for many years; meaningful salary came only after significant expansion (13:17).

    “We paid ourselves a salary, but it was low... I don’t think it was until, I don’t know, eight, nine, ten stores that we really started to take home a paycheck that felt comparable.” — Courtney (14:10)

8. Expanding into Products

• From Services to Retail:
  • Initially offered private-label and third-party products for client convenience; true custom products only came after pandemic recovery (14:29).

    “We always really wanted to have our own formulations… that really started only a few years ago, once we had really recovered from the pandemic.” — Courtney (15:11)

• Sustainability Focus:
  • Proactive in adopting cleaner formulations and transitioning to glass bottles as new information emerges.

9. Marketing Evolution – Loyalty, Promotions, and Memberships

• Referral, BOGO, & Memberships:
  • Early growth powered by $10 referral credits and buy-one-get-one promotions (17:23).

    “A lot of these were just kind of born organically… my favorite yoga studio did it and I was like, we should do that too.” — Courtney (17:27)

  • Membership model now makes up 60% of revenue, offering significant discounts and driving loyalty (19:53).

    “Memberships have been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. I think 60% of our revenue comes from memberships.” — Courtney (19:54)

  • Discounts and promotions are timed based on market demand and seasonality—no discounts during peak season (18:24).

10. Customer Experience as a Pillar

• Nordstrom-Level Service:
  • Service modeled after top-tier retail standards.

    “We want to have Nordstrom-like customer service. That was always a standard to us.” — Courtney (21:06)

  • Handling human factors sensitively—especially for services like spray tanning where client self-care influences results.

11. Building a Strong, Aligned Team

• Lessons in Hiring:
  • Mistakes in hiring from “sexier” brands taught Courtney to trust her instinct and her knowledge of the business (23:03-25:13).
  • Today, the team shares genuine camaraderie and aligned vision, which was cemented through adversity during the pandemic.

    “We are all on the same team. We’re in it to win it… Every member of our corporate team is just such a key team player, and I don’t know what I would do without a single one of them.” — Courtney (25:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Building from Scratch:

  “I was 23 when the business started… It just felt like there was a hole in the marketplace.” — Courtney (02:14-03:17)

• On Scaling Smartly:

  “For a new business, you should never be turning down clients… You have to make that tough decision.” — Courtney (05:21)

• On the Power of Intuition:

  “You can look at data all you want, but if your intuition doesn’t match up with it, it probably doesn’t make sense.” — Courtney (10:17)

• On Delegation:

  “I love control… But it is nice to have more people to bounce ideas off of.” — Courtney (12:27)

• On Memberships:

  “Memberships have been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made… we rather be understaffed than hire people we don’t love.” — Courtney (19:54)

• On Customer Service:

  “We want to have Nordstrom-like customer service… It’s just always been a pillar of our business, going above and beyond.” — Courtney (21:02)

• On Team & Intuition:

  “At the end of the day… if this back to intuition, if it doesn’t sit right with you, it probably isn’t right. Those were big learnings.” — Courtney (24:27)

• On Resilience:

  “There’s no mistakes in the universe. Everything is meant to be an opportunity to learn and grow from.” — Courtney (25:54)

Important Timestamps

• [01:28] — Courtney introduces SUGARED + BRONZED and initial idea
• [05:21] — Leaving her day job to go all-in
• [07:33] — Bootstrapping, family franchises, and opening more stores
• [08:39] — Deciding to raise funds for national expansion
• [10:00] — Choosing locations: intuition vs. data
• [13:17] — Founder sacrifices: low salaries and delayed personal gain
• [14:29] — Launching the product line and evolving with industry trends
• [17:23] — Grassroots marketing: referrals, promotions, and adapting strategies
• [19:53] — Memberships as the backbone of recurring revenue
• [20:58] — Customer experience—handling challenging service scenarios
• [22:20] — Team expansion and leadership transitions
• [23:03] — Lessons from hiring and trusting your instincts
• [25:54] — Courtney’s philosophy on mistakes and growth

Final Touch — A Personal Note

• Coffee Preference:

  “I drink my coffee with a splash of nut milk or coconut milk, and that’s about it. Very cool. No sugar.” — Courtney (25:22)

Summary

This episode offers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at what it truly takes to grow a “unicorn” brand in the beauty industry, revealing the sacrifice, strategy, intuition, and perseverance that underpins long-term success. Courtney’s candid advice and stories provide actionable lessons and real-world wisdom for entrepreneurs and business leaders at any stage.