Beauty is only Skin Deep - What tint are you? with Deepica Mutyala

Summary

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF
Episode Title: Beauty is only Skin Deep - What tint are you?
Guest: Deepica Mutyala, Founder and CEO of Live Tinted
Release Date: October 23, 2024

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Introduction: Setting the Stage

In this episode of Networth and Chill, host Vivian Tu dives deep into the world of beauty and diversity with her guest, Deepica Mutyala, the visionary founder and CEO of the successful beauty brand Live Tinted. The conversation blends personal anecdotes with professional insights, providing listeners with an authentic glimpse into how money, passion, and cultural identity shape the beauty industry.

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Deepica’s Early Life and Family Influence

Childhood Empowerment: Deepica begins by reminiscing about her childhood, highlighting the profound impact her immigrant parents had on her entrepreneurial spirit. Growing up with a hardworking father and an entrepreneurial mother, Deepica felt a sense of abundance despite not being "Dr. Rich."

• Deepica Mutyala [04:02]: “I watched a really hardworking man and an entrepreneurial woman raise me. And I honestly think it's the reason I'm a hardworking entrepreneur today.”

Parental Support and Cultural Expectations: Her parents, especially her father, instilled in her the value of hard work while her mother’s multiple business ventures taught her about resilience and networking.

• Deepica Mutyala [06:19]: “My mom took that money and invested it properly. She was also a networking queen, connecting all the brown people in Houston together.”

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The Birth of an Entrepreneur: From Influencer to Founder

Early Aspirations: At 16, Deepica knew she wanted to create a beauty brand that represented her and others like her, inspired by the lack of representation in existing products.

• Deepica Mutyala [07:14]: “I knew I wanted to create a makeup brand that was inclusive and catered to people of color.”

Career Path: Deepica pursued a marketing degree at the University of Texas, followed by roles at industry giants like L'Oréal and Birchbox, where she honed her skills in product development and influencer marketing.

• Deepica Mutyala [07:47]: “I became a beauty influencer, made a viral YouTube video, and then started my own beauty brand.”

Overcoming Skepticism: Despite her parents’ initial skepticism about her career choice, Deepica persisted, leveraging her influencer status to build a community that would eventually support her brand.

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Building Live Tinted: Vision and Execution

Product Development: Live Tinted was born out of Deepica’s desire to fill the gaps in the beauty industry, particularly in catering to darker skin tones. The brand emphasizes inclusivity and functionality, creating products that address unique concerns of people of color.

• Deepica Mutyala [12:52]: “Live Tinted is all about thinking about concerns that are unique to people of color and addressing those, but they work for everybody.”

Signature Products: The Hustick, Live Tinted’s popular concealer, has won Allure’s Best of Beauty three times and now occupies significant space in major retailers like Ulta.

• Deepica Mutyala [16:06]: “Our Hustick won Allure Best of Beauty three times. We’re now in almost every Ulta door, next to big brands like Nars and Charlotte Tilbury.”

Unique Shade System: Live Tinted flips the traditional shade numbering by starting with the darkest shades as number one, challenging industry norms and prioritizing deeper skin tones.

• Deepica Mutyala [16:20]: “Our deepest shade is shade one. I was sick of shade numbering always starting with the lightest.”

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Navigating a Competitive Landscape

Industry Saturation: Deepica acknowledges the influx of new beauty brands but differentiates Live Tinted by focusing on authenticity, quality, and meaningful representation.

• Deepica Mutyala [20:19]: “Rare Beauty has done it really well with purpose-driven strategies, while many other brands are just quick money grabs.”

Staying Authentic: She emphasizes that lasting brands are those that genuinely connect with consumers and solve real problems, rather than chasing trends for immediate profit.

• Deepica Mutyala [20:19]: “We’re here to stay because we focus on quality and representation, not just making a quick sale.”

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Fundraising Challenges and Triumphs

Early Funding: Live Tinted started with $500k from friends, family, and smart investors who believed in her vision.

• Deepica Mutyala [26:06]: “We started with 500k from friends and family and some institutional investors who put in small checks.”

Overcoming Hurdles: Deepica shares a pivotal moment when an investor pulled out during due diligence, delaying her business growth by six months.

• Deepica Mutyala [39:54]: “During diligence, an investor pulled out because their focus group of 10 people didn’t relate to the brand. It slowed us down significantly.”

Current Success: Despite setbacks, Deepica successfully raised $15 million, demonstrating resilience and the strength of her brand’s mission.

• Deepica Mutyala [43:07]: “Now, we’ve raised $15 million and we’re thriving.”

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Championing Representation and Inclusivity

Cultural Integration: Every aspect of Live Tinted reflects Deepica’s South Asian heritage, from packaging designs to shade naming, fostering a cross-cultural connection.

• Deepica Mutyala [18:31]: “Everything from marigold packaging to copper detailing reflects my cultural heritage and the brand’s inclusive ethos.”

Empowering Others: Deepica aims to inspire young girls and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds by showcasing a success story that they can relate to.

• Deepica Mutyala [24:19]: “South Asian girls will have an easier time raising if they see a success story by a South Asian woman who built something.”

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Personal Milestones and Reflections

Barbie Recognition: A significant personal highlight for Deepica was Barbie creating a South Asian CEO Barbie doll inspired by her, symbolizing representation and empowerment.

• Deepica Mutyala [30:07]: “Seeing Barbie create a South Asian CEO doll after me was incredibly empowering.”

Balancing Personal and Professional Life: Deepica discusses the challenges of balancing her entrepreneurial ambitions with personal life, emphasizing the importance of financial independence and planning.

• Deepica Mutyala [48:29]: “I just decided to get a wealth manager to empower myself to understand my own finances.”

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Expanding Beyond Beauty: Strategic Partnerships

Naturalizer Shoe Line: Deepica expanded her brand’s influence by partnering with Naturalizer to create a shoe line that celebrates skin tones, demonstrating her commitment to inclusivity across different industries.

• Deepica Mutyala [46:35]: “Creating a shoe line with Naturalizer that celebrates skin tones aligns with our mission of inclusivity.”

Strategic Collaborations: These partnerships serve as both a personal passion and a strategic marketing move, enhancing brand visibility and reinforcing Live Tinted’s inclusive message.

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Securing Financial Future and Legacy Building

Financial Planning: Recognizing the importance of financial security, Deepica has recently engaged a wealth manager to manage her personal and business finances, breaking the cycle of dependency and ensuring long-term stability.

• Deepica Mutyala [48:29]: “I wanted to empower myself to understand my own finances, so I hired a wealth manager.”

Legacy Goals: Deepica aspires for Live Tinted to be a legacy brand that not only thrives globally but also serves as an inspiration for future generations.

• Deepica Mutyala [44:38]: “I want Live Tinted to outlive me, so my kids can say grandma made this happen.”

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Conclusion: Triumphs and Future Aspirations

Deepica Mutyala’s journey from a passionate teenager to a successful entrepreneur encapsulates the essence of perseverance, cultural pride, and strategic planning. Her candid discussions on the challenges of fundraising, the importance of representation, and her future vision for Live Tinted provide valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. The episode concludes with Deepica’s commitment to expanding Live Tinted globally, while Vivian Tu emphasizes the significance of supporting diverse and authentic brands.

Notable Quotes:

• Deepica Mutyala [33:06]: “Nothing fuels me like spite, by the way. Like nothing.”
• Vivian Tu [25:03]: “Your wins are our community's wins.”
• Deepica Mutyala [37:58]: “We're just doing it with other people. That's why your wedding looks so fun.”
• Vivian Tu [43:32]: “People want to sound big and rich and expensive, for sure.”

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Where to Find Live Tinted

Listeners can explore Deepica’s inclusive beauty products at Ulta Beauty, Sephora Canada, and directly through the Live Tinted website at livetinted.com.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Networth and Chill offers a compelling narrative of determination, cultural advocacy, and business acumen. Deepica Mutyala’s story is not just about building a beauty brand but about creating a legacy that empowers and represents diverse communities in an ever-evolving industry.

Transcript

[Deepika Matyala]

Felt like I had nothing to lose then.

[Vivian Tu]

That is such a strong answer and it comes from like such a place of abundance.

[Deepika Matyala]

90% of it is a quick money grab that's really good.

[Vivian Tu]

On nothing fuels me like spite by the way. Like nothing. This episode of Net Worth and Chill is brought to you by Marshalls. I love sharing new tips on how to make the most of your money. And one of the biggest misconceptions about looking good is that you have to spend. Spend a lot and I'll be real with you. I want those high quality items that'll last. But I'm also on the hunt for the best deal. How can I dress in brand name on trend pieces without maxing out my credit cards? My go to place to do that is Marshalls, where I know I can get the brands I love at 20 to 60% off retail prices. Visit a store or head to marshalls.com to see what good stuff you can find today. What's up rich friends? Welcome to another episode of Net Worth and Chill. I'm your host Vivian Tu, AKA your rich BFF and your favorite Wall street girly. Today I'm throwing it back to a milestone moment that a lot of us can relate to. Especially if you grew up with immigrant parents. The day my Chinese mom finally let me wear a teeny tiny bit of makeup, it was a huge deal. I will never forget my first little elf lip gloss and mascara that I scored on sale. I was in middle school, but man did it make me feel grown up. I was sexylicious with this lip gloss and mascara. And these days, the beauty industry is an absolute powerhouse. In 2022, the industry was valued at 430 billion with a B dollars and it's projected to be worth 580 billion by 2027. And with new beauty brands popping up left, right and center, the industry's more competitive and diverse than ever. We're seeing products that cater to every skin tone and brands that are deeply rooted in their founders, identities and visions. And for me, I recently had quite a few big events and I have a go to makeup artist. Her name is Clarissa Luna. Please check her out. And she introduced me to a line of products that I had never heard of before that I am now deeply and absolutely obsessed with. If you are watching the podcast and not just listening, this lip color is in fact from this company. So what better way to dive into today's episode on beauty and diversity than by exploring this booming industry with someone who's working to shape its future and make products that I love and use. Everyone. Please welcome my personal friend and founder and CEO of the beauty brand Live Tinted, Deepika Matyala.

[Deepika Matyala]

Hi.

[Vivian Tu]

Thank you so much for being here, you guys. If we're being honest, Deepika rolled in and was like, I'm so hungover. So this is gonna be an unhinged episode.

[Deepika Matyala]

It's gonna be so unhinged, but it's.

[Vivian Tu]

Gonna be so, so good. And I'm really excited to talk all things beauty. But before we get into that, I have a fun little icebreaker.

[Deepika Matyala]

Okay.

[Vivian Tu]

What is the first cosmetic product that you ever saved up and bought as, like, a little kid?

[Deepika Matyala]

It was Bath and Body Works lip gloss. And that was. It was saving up. It was under 20 bucks. But that was a big deal as a kid. You know, my favorite, my first luxury lipstick was YSL Rouge Pour Couture. But I didn't pay for it. I was working at L'Oreal as an intern, and they gave it to me and I was like, I made it.

[Vivian Tu]

You're like, I'm rich.

[Deepika Matyala]

I'm rich. Yeah, well, design or anything was not a part of my childhood. So.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. And can you talk a little bit about, like, your childhood? Like, did you grow up with a lot of money? Was beauty a huge thing? Like, what was that like?

[Deepika Matyala]

I felt like I grew up with a lot of money because my dad never let me feel like we didn't. But, you know, I come from a family of doctors, but my dad wasn't a doctor.

[Vivian Tu]

That's very Indian.

[Deepika Matyala]

Oh, so Indian. I mean, and then he wanted me to be a doctor. My sister did end up becoming a doctor. She married a doctor.

[Vivian Tu]

Check. She did it for you.

[Deepika Matyala]

Thank you, Monica, for doing it for me. They are, yeah, they're just overjoyed with that situation and just on me about at least marry a doctor. But anyways, whole other convo. But my childhood was the best because my dad, I watched a really hardworking man and an entrepreneurial woman raise me. And I honestly think it's the reason I'm a hardworking entrepreneur today. But, yeah, I think. You know, it's so funny, the other day I was thinking about how my dad drove a Camry. It was like a broke down Camry. Also very Indian.

[Vivian Tu]

We also had a camera, so.

[Deepika Matyala]

Oh, very Asian.

[Vivian Tu]

Very Asian. Very immigrant.

[Deepika Matyala]

Okay. Very immigrant. Yeah. But he got me a BMW when I was 16 and we had no business. What? It didn't make financial sense for us to be doing that. Yeah, it was a used three series. But he said he saw the look in my eyes. And he literally couldn't say no. And that man worked overtime after overtime. I mean, I have a pit in my stomach just talking about it. That weight of.

[Vivian Tu]

That guilt.

[Deepika Matyala]

Guilt of owing him still weighs on me to this. I tried to get by him. A Tesla. Like, I thought he was going to be so excited. He, like, was like, absolutely not very immigrant dad pride. He was like, no, I should be getting my daughter things, not the other way around. It was annoying. But I think that kind of childhood of seeing someone give you so much.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. So I had no idea that we weren't like, you know, Dr. Rich. But also we weren't, you know, on the streets going out to eat was Subway or Olive Garden.

[Vivian Tu]

Right.

[Deepika Matyala]

That was a big deal for us.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. And you mentioned being raised by a hardworking man and an entrepreneurial woman. What did your mom do?

[Deepika Matyala]

My mom has started multiple businesses. She had a deli called Padma's Eatery in downtown Houston.

[Vivian Tu]

Wait, that's so cute.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. I think back to it now. It's like, that's so wild. Like, brown women doing that was not a thing.

[Vivian Tu]

No.

[Deepika Matyala]

And it failed. It didn't work. But then she did another business and then she got into real estate. And I feel like my mom really struck like a. She became someone who brokered land in India for people here who wanted to buy land in India. And, you know, that.

[Vivian Tu]

That's genius.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. I mean, honestly, like, I think it really changed. Like, my dad created the base for us.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

And my mom took that money and invested it properly.

[Vivian Tu]

We love.

[Deepika Matyala]

She's a badass.

[Vivian Tu]

We love a woman who has her money on her mind.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. And she was also a networking queen. Like, she was that person who connected all the brown people in Houston together. She was like the president of this Indian organization. Like, she was that kind of a woman. And I. It's like growing up, I was Padmasri's daughter. So it's cool. Cause now she's like Deepika's mom.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

I think it makes her, like, really, really proud.

[Vivian Tu]

That's amazing. And so, you know, I'm imagining you in your childhood home. Clearly your parents did not want this life for you.

[Deepika Matyala]

No.

[Vivian Tu]

But talk to me. You. I'm assuming you were a pretty decent student. You go to college, then what? You're like, what was my. What was your first job?

[Deepika Matyala]

Well, so when I was 16, I told my parents I wanted to start a beauty brand.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

I was like walking down the aisles. Never saw myself represented. And I was like, I'm going To change this one day. And they were like, that's cute. Go study for the sat. That's what they would say. And they wouldn't let me get a job. They wanted me to study. I know that. I recognize that as a huge privilege. But at the time I wanted, like, I wanted to go work at Abercrombie and Fitch because I also wanted the validation of Abercrombie and Fitch, which is a whole other thing.

[Vivian Tu]

You wanted to be hot. That's right.

[Deepika Matyala]

I wanted to be hot. And I remember telling them that they didn't get it, but everything I did was to build this brand. So I went to college and majored in marketing at University of Texas.

[Vivian Tu]

Wait, so you specifically knew going in that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah, not just an entrepreneur. That I wanted to create a makeup brand that was. I used to doodle Deep Beauty as a kid, or Deep Pearl was going to be the name because my last name means Pearl. This is what I wanted to do. So every decision was to lead up to building this brand. I didn't plan the viral video on becoming an influencer in between because who does that? But everything else. My first job was at L'Oreal. Then I was at Limited Brands. Went early employee at Birchbox. While I was there, the influencer thing was popping off. Made a YouTube video, it went viral, became a beauty influencer, and then started a beauty brand. It's kind of crazy. Cause like everyone says to me, like, you know the question, what would you tell your 16 year old self? I would tell her she was right. Because I knew at that age that I should be doing exactly this and it didn't make sense to anybody. And now I don't know, I just feel like there were so many aunties and uncles, like, who would feel bad for my parents. Cause I was just like doing this thing on YouTube.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

And it was like, what is she doing with her life? I quit my job to go do that.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

And now I feel like they, you know, they asked me to like talk to their daughters, to give them advice and stuff.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

It's pretty cool.

[Vivian Tu]

Can I tell you? That's so funny because I'm not going to name names, but I have eyes and ears everywhere. My friends at my wedding, in one of the shuttles, taking people back to like the meeting points in the hotels at our hotel blocks.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

I had a younger girlfriend, she's like my age, she's another creator. And there was a set of parents that were guests of my parents and they were just like, yeah, Like, Vivian's got a great career, but I just really don't understand why she quit her job on Wall Street. And I was like, are you kidding?

[Deepika Matyala]

Lol. God.

[Vivian Tu]

You're at my wedding right now. My wedding that's paid.

[Deepika Matyala]

They should see your bank account.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, the wedding that is paid for by my Internet career.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yep.

[Vivian Tu]

And so I just laugh at you said that. It's so funny.

[Deepika Matyala]

They don't get it, and I don't think they ever will. But honestly, I think my bigger issue is how much it's, like, bred into me. And I still have insecurities of my own. And I don't know if it'll ever feel like enough because I grew up in a world where it never felt like enough. It's so unhealthy. And I'm trying to, like, honestly unlearn that relationship with money and this desire for more, more, more. I get why they had to feel that way. It was like this idea of, like, making it in America and respect in America. It all went back to, like, money in their mind. And I think for me, I like nice things. I don't want to have to worry about money. But I think the amount that they felt, the pressure to have it, I really want to release. I want to release that feeling because it'll never be enough. Like, how many founders do we know that build companies, exit it and then do it again? Yeah, and then again.

[Vivian Tu]

Because they're not chasing the money they're chasing. I don't know if it's like the high, the excitement, the challenge, all of it.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. I mean, it sounds boring to be retired by 40, right?

[Vivian Tu]

Very.

[Deepika Matyala]

Like, what, would you just sit around.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

That's not going to be either of.

[Vivian Tu]

Us sick for three months, but then.

[Deepika Matyala]

You'Re like, oh, now what? Yeah, totally. Yeah. Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

I don't know if I'll ever retire, and I don't know if you will either.

[Deepika Matyala]

I don't think I will. There's always going to just be a different version of it, you know? And I do think about it, because everyone's always like, oh, what's the end game with Live Tinted? And for me, it's like, it will be a global beauty brand, and whatever way gets it there to be the strongest possible outcome, then I'll do it. Whether that is an exit or a partnership or strategic alliance of some kind, then I'm down. But I don't think that means. I don't know. I can't imagine not wanting to be a part of it. Yeah, I love it. This is literally my little Indian girl, 16 year old dream from living in Texas, coming to life. And it's just so cool that you like try a product. Cause a makeup artist said it and now you use the products. Like, how cool is that? We didn't have brands made by us for us growing up.

[Vivian Tu]

Absolutely. Not at all. And I do wanna talk about your little Indian girl beauty brand because it's not so little anymore. It's actually become an incredibly big booming business. It's got a large Internet following, you know, cult users. But how did that happen? You didn't just sit down one day and have this brand, like at one point, I'm assuming you sat at a table, you were looking at a whiteboard and you were like, okay, what now? How does that happen?

[Deepika Matyala]

Because it was always my dream. It wasn't a if, it was a when. So when I was beauty influencer and when I was working at all these companies, it was all to me, my business goal. I was like teaching myself, building the contacts to be able to do all these things. When I was at Birchbox, I did in house product development for them. So I had relationships with labs. And then when I became a beauty influencer, I feel like when I lived in New York, I just used every ounce of that time to network. I was that person going up to random strangers. I went up to Jessica Albatta hotel lobby and just asked her. Basically after that, she just became a really great advisor and friend and person in my life. But I had these like insane Delulu.

[Vivian Tu]

What do you say to Jessica Alba to be like, love me?

[Deepika Matyala]

I said the exact name of the product.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

I said, I'm obsessed with this product, but I think it could be this, this, this. And I do the Today show beauty segments regularly. I said a 30 second sound bite that made her say, sit down, I want to get to know you. And I always approach it with like, how I can be resourceful and helpful to them. And it's like, okay, well how can you actually be resourceful, Jessicalva? I was like, okay, well she has a beauty brand. I do TV segments for beauty segments. And I don't know, I just think like tying those two things together. She was like, have a drink. And I don't know. Again, I had a delusional level of confidence. It feels like it's still there, but not the same way it was then. It felt like I had nothing to lose then, you know, now the Internet has kind of made me more fearful of the things I say. I feel like I guard myself More now because it's cancel culture. So scary.

[Vivian Tu]

I think that's so unfortunate.

[Deepika Matyala]

I admire you so much. Cause I can tell you're so not scared of the Internet like you think. I love reading your comments. When you get hater comments, you're just like, lol. Haha. Okay. I admire it so much. I'm not there, but I think a piece of the reason I'm not there is because I have it 35 employees that I rely on. You depend on me and investors. And I feel like if I get canceled, does lip 10 to get canceled. And so I feel like I keep it a little more PC, but I want to be able to be myself, which is why doing podcasts like this are fun with your friends. Because I don't know, you can talk about how you're hungover. But anyways, back to the brand. When I was doing the beauty influencer thing, I got approached by a ton of companies to create products with them because I had gone viral for using a red lipstick under my eyes to mask dark circles. 10 million views later, people were like, we need to create a red lipstick for under the eyes to master circles. And a bunch of brands were making color correctors and they wanted me to be the face of it, but I just knew that I needed to not do that. And you know, I partnered with them to like promote one here and there. But I wasn't trying to have 10% of a company to be the face. I wanted to be the owner of the company and Somebody else get 10% for investing in me. Yeah. So I remember I got approached by a man who said he wanted to create the brand and literally offered me that kind of a proposal. And that's when I knew I just had to go do it or somebody else was going to do it and it wasn't going to be someone who looked like me. And I was just sick of that narrative that just kept happening. That's all we saw growing up. The reason there weren't products made for us growing up is because it's a bunch of people who didn't look like us making the products. And so I think so much of Live Tinted and our intention is all about thinking about concerns that are unique to people of color and addressing those, but they work for everybody. I need everyone to hear that just because something is created by a woman of color doesn't mean the products only work for women of color. At least not all the time. I don't know which camera to look at, but that was important for that was important. For me to say. So anyways. Yeah. I think I started Live Tinted as a community platform, and I kind of used that audience as a way to market research what products I should launch first. And turns out people still wanted that color corrector. So we started with the Hustick. It's won Allure Best of Beauty three times. We're now in almost every Ulta door, six feet of space in some of the doors next to Nars and Charlotte Tilbury. It's crazy, but I'm simplifying it. It was obviously hard as hell, and it still is.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Can I tell you something I found super unique to your brand? That is one of my favorite products.

[Deepika Matyala]

What?

[Vivian Tu]

Your concealers.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

Clarissa uses shade 16 and 17, and she blends them.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

And something that I noticed was that I was shade 16 to 17 because I normally shade, like, two or three, because the shades always go from fairest to darkest. You flipped it around. So I'm actually almost at the end of where the color spectrum goes for some.

[Deepika Matyala]

Like, why can't the deepest shade be number one? It's really silly when you think about it. And actually, I remember talking to the retailer and they were like, oh, well, that's not intuitive, because it goes this way and things like that. They were very supportive of it. But, I mean, why did we always have to be at the end of the spectrum?

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

I was sick of it.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

So, yeah. Our deepest shade is shade one. And it's so funny. I think we're the only brand in the history of brands that have been asked to expand our lighter shades because we always prioritize the deeper shades. So I don't know. I'm really proud of that, though.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. And it's something that I noticed as, like, truly not even just like, a marketing thing, but, like, part of the ethos of the company.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

Because I've never been shade 16, 17.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

And I wonder how the girl who's normally shade 16, 17 at every other brand feels being shade two or three in yours.

[Deepika Matyala]

I hope. Great. That's the whole point of it. It's funny, for our concealer campaign, it was the first time we actually had a Caucasian model. And I again, says, no brand ever. Right. It was like the opposite. But again, like I said, it's important that everyone knows that we've created a brand that works for everybody, but it's just finally inclusive of us.

[Vivian Tu]

So, yeah, we have been connected because I am somehow deeply embedded in the New York City desi community.

[Deepika Matyala]

You really are. It's so funny how have you not found me a husband yet?

[Vivian Tu]

I'm working on it, guys. But what I think is so amazing is that I don't know about you, but when I was growing up as a little Asian kid, I was not at all proud to be a little Asian kid because the kids at school would pull their eyes up at me or call me Ching Chong or whatever. And I'm sure growing up, it wasn't necessarily something that was easy because as kids, we all just want to fit in.

[Deepika Matyala]

Totally.

[Vivian Tu]

But how have you been able to incorporate your South Asian heritage into Live Tinted? And everything that you do, it's in.

[Deepika Matyala]

Every decision I make. And it's not even obvious to me that I do it. But everything down to the marigold packaging and color of the brand, the copper detailing, the way we've named shades. Like, I remember one of our hustick shades. We called it Free because it was like this beautiful berry color. And I wanted people to feel free to wear bright, bold, fabulous colors on deeper skin tones. And we celebrated with the Holi party. That was like beautiful berry powders being thrown everywhere. And we threw at the volley party for one year. It was like the first time you've ever seen a room of, like, the most powerful South Asian women entertainment together. I think every decision I make, I do it. But again, like, what I want is this brand to really be clear that it works for everybody. So I always want it to be like, subtle ways that I know in 15 years from now when everyone of all different skin tones is wearing Liv Tinted, I know that I did little things to incorporate my culture. Like, marigolds are a flower that are used in Indian culture a lot, but it's also used in Mexican culture a lot. And I wanted that cross cultural connection to come through with the brand, but, like, the thoughtfulness of every detail. Copper again, it's like people use gold and silver, but what about that in between metal? I felt like I've always lived in the in between my whole life. Like those subtle things, they have a brushed finish to it. I wanted it to feel imperfectly perfect. Cause that's how I felt in the beauty industry growing up. It's all these little details that I think about.

[Vivian Tu]

I love the details, and I kind of want to touch on, like, a little bit of a prickly topic.

[Deepika Matyala]

Oh, boy.

[Vivian Tu]

I feel like everybody and their mother is launching a beauty brand right now.

[Deepika Matyala]

Totally.

[Vivian Tu]

And some of it just feels so disingenuous. And it's just like, oh, it's one more thing to do to grab at Some money. As a beauty founder who does put so much thought into everything that you do, what's your POV on that?

[Deepika Matyala]

My POV is that I think there's some people out there that are winning and doing it and it actually makes me happy. Like, I'll give you an example. I think Rare Beauty has done it really well up front. They raised $13 million. They had a rock star team in place. They brought in Scott from nyx. They brought in the whole NYX team to run the company. They got an amazing face for the brand. There's a purpose behind it with the mental health. That was really smart and strategically done. And I think that's why they're winning and killing it. Then there's plenty out there that actually still don't exist or they fade away in a little bit. And I genuinely think we're just gonna see more and more of that happen. And the ones that are lasting and staying deserve to be there. Cause they figured it out. And I have to believe that consumers are getting smarter and smarter and they want to support brands and they do their homework and see that, like, people like Live Tinted are doing all the work to make sure that these products are something people are proud to have in their bag. So. Yeah. Did it used to annoy me? Yes. But I think the universe is taking care of that. It's just happening one by one, man. Like, they're just fading away. Even the big influencer ones, they're being like taken out of Sephora. And I know the behind the scenes of like, who's running the brands and stuff. And you can just tell that, like you said, 90% of it is a quick money grab.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

And then they move on. It's fine. I'm gonna still be here.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Ooh. That is an incredibly, like, secure. You know, I don't even like this phrase, but like, very demure, very mindful. Like, that is such a strong answer. And it comes from, like, such a place of abundance.

[Deepika Matyala]

This is new. I'm not, I'm not gonna pretend like I've always been this secure and confident, but I won't lose. There's no way. This has been my dream since I was a 16 year old kid. I've worked my entire career to get here. I have too many smart people that believe in me. I have too much of a smart team. I have great investors behind me. My very first 500k that I raised is all my founder friends who I said, I want to give you the opportunity to invest in me because you've Been a great advice system for me. And so I have a bunch of people that I can go to for advice that gave checks to my business. I'm not gonna lose. Yeah, it might not be at the speed that I thought it was. Like, I remember watching the Glossiers of the world and in five years getting a billion dollar valuation and that was like, really hard for me. Yeah, like.

[Vivian Tu]

Cause you do the comparison game.

[Deepika Matyala]

It was really hard. And then I was like, why aren't I there? Yeah, why aren't I there yet? But, you know, everyone has their own journey and I think they're gonna struggle, I'm told. You know, a lot of these companies are trying to exit now. There's a lot of beauty brands trying to exit right now, and a lot of them are having issues doing it. And I think I'm excited that my journey is just a little slower in my way. And I think I'm gonna come out to be a winner. I have to believe that, right? Yeah, I have to.

[Vivian Tu]

We had another founder on of Sarah Nguyen, of Nguyen Coffee Supply.

[Deepika Matyala]

Nice.

[Vivian Tu]

And she was like, if founders actually knew how hard everything was and how horrible it is sometimes to be a founder, no one would do it.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah, it's the worst. But I wouldn't do anything else.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

I don't know.

[Vivian Tu]

I mean, 16 year old, you made that decision for you, Truly.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. My therapist says I'm a masochist. She's like, you just like, enjoy this pain or something because why are you doing this again and again? I don't know. I just. And you know, I've had so many people tell me this is corny, but I genuinely feel like this is my purpose on this earth. I genuinely feel like I'm meant to make little girls feel good about themselves. And adults feel like they can go do any career that they want to do. And so this brand does feel like it's. It's bigger than myself and we have to win. I think that's another thing now I'm realizing it as I'm saying it out loud. I feel like I have to win because there's a lot of people believing in me and riding on me to win. I feel like if I don't win, then the next investor isn't going to invest in a South Asian girl. I, like, hold that weight on my shoulders because when I went to fundraise, so much of the conversation was around, oh, how are you different from Fenty? And it's like, would you say that to Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown?

[Vivian Tu]

No.

[Deepika Matyala]

You know, like would you say to Patrick tan makeup by Mario? It's just so fascinating to me that people believe that there can only be one brand that is prioritizing people of color. Again, Fenty and Live Tinted have products for everybody. But that's just the way that these investors think they have a. Are you the glossier of this or are you the Warby Parker of this? Like, you know, it's just how it works. And so I know that South Asian girls will have an easier time raising if they see a success story by a South Asian woman who built something. So I feel like I have to win.

[Vivian Tu]

Your wins are our community's wins.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah, I do feel that way because I feel the same way when I see anyone else win. You know, it makes me feel like, oh my God, this is just going to make it that much easier for me.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Hey, rich friends. You know, I love to talk about the habits of rich people. And one thing they all have in common is that they find ways to keep their money. That's something my partners at Marshalls can help you with because rich people look the part. They're wearing high quality brand name clothes. But what you might not realize is that they didn't pay full price. That's how they're staying rich. And while you're on your way to getting rich, you can get the same good stuff without breaking the bank by shopping at Marshalls. Head to your local Marshalls or visit marshalls.com to shop their ever changing selection of high quality on trend merchandise. Oh, so you've talked about your investors. I want to get into some of the financial nitty gritty.

[Deepika Matyala]

Of course you do.

[Vivian Tu]

Of course. Please. You thought I was. You thought you were getting an invite. We weren't going to talk numbers. So you know, you've wanted to start Live Tinted since you were 16. Can I ask, how much did you start your company with?

[Deepika Matyala]

We started with 500k. We raised a friends and family around. I did have some institutional investors but they put in small checks.

[Vivian Tu]

Gotcha.

[Deepika Matyala]

It was. I would go to them and they would say, hey, you're not there yet, but let's do from our scout fund this amount. But it was great because then when we started to have momentum, they were down to put in more.

[Vivian Tu]

And I have a little Note in this 500k you're talking about getting money from powerhouses like Bobby Brown. You're getting money from Hayley Barna, the Birchbox co founder, Jamie Schmidt, the founder of Schmidt Deodorant. So like these are Some heavy hitting names.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah, they're badass women. I feel like that was really important to me too because again, so much of this was like an emotional journey too. So being able to call them and say, I hate life or I'm depressed or what do I do for this? And I think that it was smart money to me. That's what I wanted, smart money. But yeah, we started with 500k and we started as a community platform. What that meant was an Instagram page with a weekly newsletter. And that costs money. It doesn't make money?

[Vivian Tu]

No, not even a little bit, you know.

[Deepika Matyala]

So this idea of a community platform was so exciting to me. Bringing people together around this shared idea of not feeling seen in the beauty industry. It wasn't making money. So we had to create a product. We polled the audience, they told us what they wanted. We created our first product so that 500k got us to like our MVP product into market and we hit our revenue target that we wanted for the month. In the first week, that was really cool. We only had one product, three SKUs. I think it was like, I honestly don't remember the number, but I think it was like 200k or something, which was like a really exciting thing for a business. I had no clue if we were going to make money, you know? Yeah, we did our first mill in the first year. I've never shared this stuff, but I always feel like people gatekeep this information too much. Yeah, why do you think people do that? Like, why is it so secretive?

[Vivian Tu]

I think because there is a level of concern that if you do share this information, it bites you on both ends. So there are going to be people who then come out and say, oh, look at this person who's trying to raise more money, but they're already doing so well, like they don't need it. Like, da da da da. This person's greedy. And then on the other end it's like, oh, this person wants to raise all this money. But look, their numbers are actually really shitty. You can't win, so you literally cannot win. And I think that it bothers me so much because if we received financial transparency, the way that we attempt to demand it, we would get more of it, 100%. When I talk about how much I make, when I tell people candidly, like what I make as a creator, they're like, well, then why are you taking on more brand deals? You're already making such a large amount. And it's like, well, you recognize that I get this career for as long as an NFL player gets theirs. I am not a 40 year accountant. I don't think I'm going to be relevant for 40 years. I do. Well, that's because you love me. But. But you know what I mean. Like creators don't get a traditional career path. It can go away at any moment. So I need to bail hay while the sun shines and then when it doesn't, I'm hoping that money that I've made will tide me over and make investments. I don't sit here and buy myself a like a lime green Lambo. Like I'm not wasting that money.

[Deepika Matyala]

Totally.

[Vivian Tu]

It's for future Viv ye.

[Deepika Matyala]

And also like again, this goes back to my whole childhood stuff. Like I hate that. Like I wanna be proud of it. And I feel like the Internet takes away a little bit of that joy of being proud of these numbers.

[Vivian Tu]

And when women that look like us or just women period, are proud of their accomplishments. You're a braggart.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. Which is so gross and so icky. But I am proud of the numbers. Like I'm proud that we're an eight figure business now. But again, it's my journey. I'm growing year over year. It's winning, it's growing, it's going at my pace and I think means it's gonna last.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Is that your high, like highest point being an eight figure business? Like what is like your biggest pride and joy or like your highest moment?

[Deepika Matyala]

It's Mattel and Barbie created a South Asian CEO Barbie doll after me. I saw that.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, it was beautiful.

[Deepika Matyala]

I know people would expect it to be actually like a live tinted stat, but that Barbie existing and holding a little baby hu stick and wearing like a power suit and little Indian jewelry. And it was a great marketing moment for Live Tinted. But it was a really cool personal moment for me. Like, first of all, being a Barbie is pretty freaking cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But more so thinking about like, did you ever have Barbies that looked like you growing up?

[Vivian Tu]

Hell no.

[Deepika Matyala]

How cool is that?

[Vivian Tu]

I even have the brunette one. I only had the blonde ones because the stores wouldn't like sell ones that look like us.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. And that's what made I dyed my hair blonde. I got blue contacts. Like I wanted to look like the Barbie.

[Vivian Tu]

No, you did not.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah, there's pictures of me with blonde streaks, blue, old contacts and like I avoided the sun my whole life. I always wanted to be fair skin. My mom had bleach cream on her counter. I mean, this brand is deep rooted to me. Like I Wanted to be like you said, all those things that happened to you in high school. I so badly wanted to be one of those cool girls. I transformed my entire self to look like that. So having a Barbie, then, that looked like me, not them. It was, like, so empowering to me that I don't know if like a dollar amount felt that same way. And quite honestly, it goes back to, like, I'm trying. No dollar amount ever feels like enough. I feel like we have to keep growing and going. So, yes, like, becoming a ten figure business made me feel sorry. Ten figure, an eight figure business made me feel legit. I guess there's a lot to still do. Yeah. But now I feel like I have like a team with me doing it versus me just trying to figure it all out, which is nice. And what was your moment like that?

[Vivian Tu]

My high moment. That's a good one. Oh, okay. So when I was a trader, I would trade stocks that would trade on the New York Stock Exchange, the nasdaq, like, all of these different exchanges. And I was actually invited to speak at the Nasdaq. And they had a. The NASDAQ Would like to welcome youe Rich bff. And it was a huge billboard on top of the NASDAQ center in Times Square and the market site. And they. We had like a professional photographer come out. And like, I. I remember being styled in the shoe. Like, these shoes were so beautiful. They were the most painful things I've ever put on my feet.

[Deepika Matyala]

Like, aren't they always.

[Vivian Tu]

They were like 5 inches high. No arch support. No support, like, anywhere. And I remember taking this photo and feeling like, I can't wait until my shithead boss, who told me that I was too girly to work on Wall street, who didn't like how my nails click clacked on the keyboard, didn't like that I was too Asian. I hope he walks by this on his way to the train.

[Deepika Matyala]

Snaps.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

Oh, man, that's good. That's really good. Yeah, that's really good.

[Vivian Tu]

Nothing fuels me, like, spite, by the way. Like, nothing.

[Deepika Matyala]

This is why I love you. This is why everyone loves her. She's so freaking real. Yeah. My moment was like, on our launch day. I actually went to Bobbi Brown's office on our launch day. And she's like, what are you doing here on your launch day? I was like, I want you to invest in my company. She said, no one's ever asked her that. And I was like, this is literally me asking. So then that's how that ended up happening. And on that same day, we had a billboard in Times Square of my face. It was like a MasterCard campaign that I had that said Deepka Mutial, a founder and CEO of Live Tinted. And there was a New York Times, one pager of my sketch of my face, a billboard in Times Square. And that was all on our launch day. So we were getting sales. I got Bobby Brown as an investor. The New York Times had a picture of me, and there's a billboard in Times Square of me. And that was.

[Vivian Tu]

That wasn't the same day as the time cover.

[Deepika Matyala]

Separate, separate. Okay, but that was clocking your wins. These wins. But okay. Again, I think it's. So that's what stresses me out so much about social media too is it sounds so exciting and high. And that. What. That was obviously a really great day. The amount of times I've cried from sadness.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, of course.

[Deepika Matyala]

Over tears of happiness. There's way more of that. Way, way, way more of that. And I just think it's so important people realize that. Like you said, the coffee founder said, I think we've glamorized the idea of being a founder.

[Vivian Tu]

Girl boss.

[Deepika Matyala]

Girl boss is so cute and it's so fun. And I think I watched that era of like all those women on the covers of magazines raising $70 million. I felt like I was supposed to raise all this capital. Now that I understand what raising money means and how much I owe people their return before I get a dime. I would not advise people necessarily to go raise capital. Like, I think there's a lot of ways to build businesses. Like at this point, I have to build this to becoming a massive business because I literally owe millions of dollars to my investors. But I think it's really cool that somebody out there is like, I'm gonna grow this my way, make it a few million dollar business, take home as much as they want because they own 100% of it and live life that way. I don't think it has to be done one way or another, but because my brand to me is important from an impact and purpose standpoint. Like it's important to me that a girl in India sees a billboard with a deeper skinned girl wearing shade, one of our concealer. That's why we have to be a massive brand. It's just too important.

[Vivian Tu]

And speaking of building a massive brand, we don't get there without our friends.

[Deepika Matyala]

We don't.

[Vivian Tu]

We have a lot of mutual friends, a lot of other beauty founders. And you posted a really funny screenshot the other day with one of our friends. Priscilla, love her. She was very literally pushing out a child. Literally, like in the hospital, giving live birth and simultaneously having conversations about building a business.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

I think something that I've struggled with for a really long time, because when I worked on Wall street, there was only allowed to be, like, one smart, cool girl who was hired. And that is how I've kind of felt about a lot of things throughout my life, is like, there was one seat I needed to do whatever it took to be in that seat.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

How are you able to balance your friendships versus knowing that some of these other founders create products that are competitors to yours? And in fact, some of your investors, like Bobby Brown has Jones Road, you know, obviously has a huge stake in her former company, Bobby Brown, her namesake company. Like, how do you balance that?

[Deepika Matyala]

I think that that's the cool part about the beauty industry is people can have multiple lipsticks.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

They have a lot of serums. And so I think because of that, it's so much more beneficial for all of us to share information with each other than not. And honestly, specifically that chat with Priscilla and Amy liu from Tower 28, I feel like it's also, like, this camaraderie we have that's like, we will never scoop employees from each other, literally.

[Vivian Tu]

Is that part of the concept?

[Deepika Matyala]

We talked about it. Yeah, we've talked about it. They told me if, like, somebody has told, like, applied for a job or something like that. Oh, that's like my. Yeah, it's just we have that sort of loyalty to each other because, like, three Asian women in beauty. I mean, this is a whole new world.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

A very dazzling place. So, like, I feel like we feel we have to support each other. And again, it's so no one is going to understand the journey better than somebody else going through the journey.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

Those two women. God, the amount we message each other, and we're all at different levels and stages. Right. Of our. Of our businesses. And I think the idea of one of them winning just brings me the most amount of joy, genuinely. And Amy and I, Right. We both have concealers, we both have powders, we're both makeup brands. So what, people will buy both?

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, people will buy both.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

I think about, like, my bathroom, and I'm like, wow, this looks like a mess. Like, I have. I've tried every product. I want to test these new, fun things.

[Deepika Matyala]

What did you. $440 billion business, like, there's room for.

[Vivian Tu]

A couple of 580 by 2027. It's crazy. People are buying a lot of things.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

With your investors. I know you said you wanted to take on smart money. Something that you touched upon that I feel like a lot of founders gloss over is getting on that VC treadmill and then feeling like you owe blood debt to those investors.

[Deepika Matyala]

I just cared. I care so much about making everyone their return.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

It keeps me up at night. I work really hard because of it. I want the customers to feel like every product genuinely has a story, because it does. And I want people to feel that in a world of beauty, where people are throwing products at you left and right.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

There's a story and a purpose to ours that's bigger than the product.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. You said that to me, by the way. What I would not give to eventually be able to tell Clarissa that her sweat equity was worth it and that I could give her a fat check for having supported us all this time.

[Deepika Matyala]

It's still my dream. I can't wait. I think about how much she believed in me and the brand before anyone. The fact that she uses my products on you. And now you know the brand and now I'm sitting here. And the trickle effect of all of it. Everyone who helped us in the early days deserves. It's another reason I want us to win. I want all the people who supported me and believed in the dream to win with me. What's the point otherwise? It's fun to do it with other people. That's why your wedding looks so fun. It's like, what's the point of all this success if you're not sharing it with the people you love, you know? Yeah, I really do feel that way. And I think. I don't like how much I think about it, though. But then maybe I do. I don't actually know the answer to it.

[Vivian Tu]

We've talked about your highs. Do you have, like, a big founder money mistake that you're like, oh, man, if I could go back, I'd undo it.

[Deepika Matyala]

This is another thing I haven't said. I'm such a freaking open book. I wonder if my president and my cousin are gonna be like, you really didn't need to share that. There were when I was raising our seed round, or maybe it was Series A. I think it happened during both. I had a term sheet given and pulled. I know you get this.

[Vivian Tu]

Explain for everybody what that means.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah. So when you're going out for fundraising, the way it kind of works. I mean, it just depends, right? I remember somebody was like, people ask me all the time, are you happy with the investors you went with? I Was like, it's funny that you think I had, like, a pool of options of humans. I definitely had more than, I think a lot of women experience, which I'm grateful for. And it took years to make happen, just to be clear. But it's not like there was a whole, you know, a Rolodex of people just saying, here's the $10 million check. Like, no. But when you raise, the way it works is you pitch a ton of people. Most people say no, but at the end of the day, you have, like, a period of time where you try to get as many term sheets as possible, because then you can kind of put them against each other and say, okay, well, get a higher valuation or just negotiating terms, you have more leverage with the more term sheets that you receive. We got a term sheet in, and we went with that one when we actually did have another option too. And during their diligence, they pulled out. And now, I swear, another reason I love these founder chats. I tell everyone. I tell everyone who that fund was because that experience.

[Vivian Tu]

You haters. Deepika's gonna tell me who you are after the cameras turn off.

[Deepika Matyala]

I am. I am. And that's the tricky part. It's like, I would love to say it right now on this show, but I still might need to raise capital again one day. And I don't want other investors to be like, oh, she was. You know, they could spin it as she was bitter. And it's like, no, actually, it was just not good practice. And it slowed down my business six months because we were counting on that money to hire a certain role. And then slowly, once that role is hired, it takes six months to a year for those senior roles to actually get comfortable in their role. The ramp period, everything slows down when that something like that happens. Also, like, there's a lot of people could just run out of cash. Like, luckily, that wasn't our situation, but a lot of businesses could. That's.

[Vivian Tu]

God, you can make payroll.

[Deepika Matyala]

Totally. And I have several friends who have been scared about making payroll. You know, it's sometimes, again, the Internet makes things look like. I think sometimes people think we're bigger than we are, and then vice versa. I think other people don't realize how big we are. Yeah, it's like a weird, constant thing. But, yeah, I don't know if that was a mistake or a major lesson learned. That was wild going through that. And their diligence process was really, really embarrassing for them, honestly. They said that they did a focus group of 10 people and of those 10 people, they said that they didn't relate to the brand or see themselves represented. And I was like, well, yeah, the whole reason is that we need to raise capital to grow the audience from just brown girl brand to like, a larger brand.

[Vivian Tu]

And they didn't pull also a sample size of 10.

[Deepika Matyala]

That's what I really meant to say.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, like, anybody who's taken basic high school statistics knows 10 people is not representative of Earth.

[Deepika Matyala]

It was really, really painful and really scary. But, you know, I got through it, and I've now raised $15 million and we're thriving. So here we are.

[Vivian Tu]

I love that.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah, it's cool. I also think the valuation game is really hard. People get really caught up in, oh, well, this person got this valuation. Why aren't I getting it?

[Vivian Tu]

I'm actually like, vanity metrics.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, totally. People want to sound big and rich and expensive, for sure.

[Deepika Matyala]

And again, I think now, I guess I feel more comfortable saying these numbers out loud because I'm in a more secure place at this point. Like, I didn't do podcasts for a whole year because, A, I wanted to get re inspired by my own business. B, I was more sad than happy. So I didn't want to, like, go on camera and be, like, sad like.

[Vivian Tu]

Dumbo energy or pretend to be sad. Energy.

[Deepika Matyala]

Your energy for sure. Or pretend and fake like, I'm good when, like, the business was really hard to build. But also three, I wanted to get re inspired. I wanted to have a new story to tell. And I think two years ago, the story is really different from where it is now. I'm so secure with our team. We have an amazing leadership team like VPs and above. That's a really big deal for brands to hire those hiring strong talent is really tough. And I feel like we have great, great talent. Which means that these people are choosing to leave other really big deals, beauty brands to come work at Live Tinted again. Another thing I do not take lightly, and it weighs heavy on my heart and why we have to win.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, I love that. What do you see for Live Tinted in the next five to 10 years?

[Deepika Matyala]

Global. Global, baby. Yeah. Yeah. Like I want to be, you know, right now we have 6ft in 50 Ulta doors. By the end of year, we're gonna be in 100, and then it's just gonna keep going. And I just think it's so cool to think that growing up without a brand founded by someone who looks like me, with models, with someone who looks like me, products made for someone who looks like, me to be global and everywhere is just the dream. I don't know, I always think about, do you care about leaving a legacy?

[Vivian Tu]

Oh, absolutely. You think about, I'm an egomaniac. I'm an egomaniac, without a doubt.

[Deepika Matyala]

You're like, I need a statue. Literally.

[Vivian Tu]

Like, there's going to be a building on my alma mater's campus that is like the Vivian 2 library of where you pretend to study. Cause I didn't do any of that.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yes.

[Vivian Tu]

But you know, yeah, I think about.

[Deepika Matyala]

It and I really think I want Live Tinted to be a legacy brand. Like, I want it to outlive me. I want my kids, kids to like pick it up and say, grandma made this happen. And for me, global is just it. I mean, Live Tinted is all about representing tints all over the world. I want skin tones and representation from all different parts of the, I don't know, all the continents to have Live Tinted. Like, it'd be so cool to go into an airport in Dubai and see Live Tinted. That would be wild.

[Vivian Tu]

That would be really cool. I love that. That's good energy that you're putting out into the world. And for the final little segment of our show, I want to take a quick second. Aside from hiring models for your brand, you recently had a little modeling stint. And I can't believe you did this, by the way, because you were giving out free feet pics left, right and center. That is not your rich reward for that. Yeah. That is not your rich BFF approved. But you actually decided to create a shoe line with Naturalizer.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

And tell me why that was important to you. Like, because you've always wanted to be in beauty. Did you always want to be in fashion too?

[Deepika Matyala]

I think for me, as much as I can use myself as a vehicle to get more brands to care about inclusivity, I want to do it. And when a hundred year old brand like Naturalizer approaches you and says, we want to create a shoe line that represents and celebrates skin tones and they made the deepest shade of the shoe one and the medium shade two, and the lightest shade three, those little things matter to me more. Eyeballs caring about the conversation of inclusivity matters to me. So if I can do it in fashion, sports, consumer goods across the board, I think that's the reason I still do the influencer stuff. There was a period of time where I was like, I'm the founder of Live Tinted. I don't need anything else. And I stopped doing influencer stuff. I stopped posting on social regularly and Then I realized it's a missed opportunity because I can be more than one thing, especially now that I have a team in place and I have a president in place and everyone reports into her now so I can spend more time doing cool things like partnering with the naturalizers of the world. Also, it's free advertisement for Live Tinted.

[Vivian Tu]

That's right, baby.

[Deepika Matyala]

Let's be real. Like, all these partnerships I do, I was in, like, a Dell commercial that aired during the World Series that said, founder of Live Tinted, like, I will use Dell money to leverage my brand. And it's dope that these big companies are putting small business owners in their campaigns. My dream is that, like, Kim Kardashian will do a skims campaign for, like, International Women's Day and have a bunch of female founders on billboards, on skims dime. And then I'm one of them. Just putting that in the universe because I'm a witch and I'm manifesting it.

[Vivian Tu]

I love. I love big, witchy energy. And I guess for my final question is, as a business owner, as someone who has an influencer business, an actual beauty brand, what are you doing? What steps are you taking in both your business and your personal life to secure your financial future?

[Deepika Matyala]

I just got a wealth manager, financial advisor, whatever it's called. It was a really hard decision for me because, you know, you give them a percent of what they manage, a percentage of it. But the reason I did it was I wanted to break this cycle in my head. I've had my dad helping manage my money my whole life. And he recently said to me, you need to get married soon because I'm not always going to be here and you need someone to be able to do this for you. What? And I. It, like, it like my stomach was boiling and I was like, in what world do you think, like, I wouldn't have a prenup that I would trust the man to, like, manage my money for me? But I realized I had to empower myself to understand my own finances. I mean, it's ridiculous. I'm 35 years old, and I'm literally saying out loud that, like, I just need people who trust me in all parts of my life. So my dad has been helping me on this side. And quite honestly, I've just been so busy building that I haven't been paying attention to any of this stuff. Cause in my brain I'm like, Live Tinted will one day be so big, and that'll be what takes care of me and my kids. And for now, I'm just trying to survive and just live. But the best decision I made. And by the way, like, papers signed like two weeks ago, I asked a bunch of female founder friends who they use post exit.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Deepika Matyala]

And they Nancy Twine from Briogeo gave me an intro. Susan Yara Naturium. Like all these badass women. Right. Like again, I have to shout that out because we're so lucky to be able to text and have that kind of a relationship to say, hey, I really trust this person to manage my money. And so I met with a bunch of them. I made a decision and I was like, you know what, I'll give you a small chunk because I don't have the big money right now, but it's the right time to learn. So when I do have the big money, I know who to go with and who to trust to do that.

[Vivian Tu]

For me and how to be really, really responsible with it.

[Deepika Matyala]

That's the biggest part. I don't want to depend on anybody else. I want a person that is a paid person. Like an employee on team Deepika. Not team lieutenant, but Team Deepika. I'm currently building out my personal team who's my lawyer. Like, I'm looking into buying a house. I'm like mortgage, loans, lender, all the.

[Vivian Tu]

Things we can talk all about.

[Deepika Matyala]

That after girl it is. Oh my God. Adulting is crazy.

[Vivian Tu]

It is.

[Deepika Matyala]

It's so crazy. So, yeah, I mean, I've listened to every advice you give. I'm like, oh, dang, I was supposed to do this. Like, I don't. I have been so in build mode and not this side. But it's silly to not do both. So I forget the question. But the point is I got a for my personal life and my business, I guess I'm just focused on it. For the first time I have to think about long term and be really smart and not depend on anyone.

[Vivian Tu]

We're trying to go far, not just fast.

[Deepika Matyala]

That.

[Vivian Tu]

Okay. Thank you so much for being so vulnerable and transparent. I have absolutely loved having you on. But last question is, where can our listeners find you online but also where can they get Liv Tinted products? Can we have a discount code?

[Deepika Matyala]

Oh, yes, yes. Insert discount code here. I don't know what it is. Can you put it in like the link if I send it?

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, we'll put a discount code in the show notes.

[Deepika Matyala]

Hell yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

But it's going to be something really cool. Like Vivian is the best.

[Deepika Matyala]

Yes, exactly. Perfect. Yes. You absolutely will get a discount code. You can get live tinted at everyultabeauty. Sephora Canada and livetinted.com Please support of all skin tones. You all can use live tinted. That is my biggest takeaway to your audience and you can follow me. Deepika on all social Love it.

[Vivian Tu]

Thanks for being here.

[Deepika Matyala]

Love you. Thank you for having me.

[Vivian Tu]

Love you. I'd like to thank my partners at Marshalls for sponsoring this episode of Net Worth and Chill. Being responsible with your finances means taking care of future you. And thankfully, while you're looking out for the you of tomorrow, Marshalls is looking out for the you of today. They've got the latest on trend and high quality fashion, beauty and home decor at a fraction of retail prices. So whether you're starting a new job, taking some overdue pto, or just sitting at home planning your next move, Marshalls will make sure you look good doing it. Shop in store or online to get the good stuff today. Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Net Worth and Chill, part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. If you like the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Got a burning financial question that you want covered in a future episode? Write to us via [e-mail] Follow NetWorth and Chillpod on Instagram to stay up to date on all podcast related news and you can follow me at YourRichBFF for even more financial know how. See you next week. Bye.