What It Actually Costs to Build a Beauty Brand From Scratch - Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

Podcast Summary: Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

Episode Title: What It Actually Costs to Build a Beauty Brand From Scratch
Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Vivian Tu (Your Rich BFF)
Guest: Julisa Prado (Founder, Rizos Curls) with recurring input from co-founder/brother Tony Prado

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the real-world journey, financial sacrifices, and emotional highs and lows of founding a beauty brand, as Vivian Tu interviews Julisa Prado, the founder of Rizos Curls. With warmth, humor, and candor, Julisa and her brother/co-founder Tony detail the nitty-gritty of going from DIY curly hair remedies to running one of America’s top textural haircare brands. They discuss family money mindsets, launching with little capital, the importance of authenticity, and the challenges (and victories) that come with self-funding and scaling up.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Curly Hair Struggle and Julisa’s Early Hustle

Julisa’s desire to embrace her natural curls and the total lack of effective products for people with curly hair seeded her entrepreneurial journey.
As a teen, Julisa spent “hundreds, maybe getting close to a thousand” dollars on products. She and Tony recall ordering infomercial gadgets and failed salon treatments for curly hair that “felt like conditioner” and didn’t work.
[02:10, Julisa]: “I did try a bunch of different things at salons…No, it felt like conditioner.”
Early money lessons: Growing up in an immigrant family, Julisa was taught to be “very, very risk averse and saving…always save for a rainy day.”
[04:09, Julisa]: “I was always taught to save at least half of whatever I make.”
The frugal family resourcefulness, like sneaking food into movie theaters and reusing grocery bags, instilled a strong money consciousness.
[05:47, Julisa]: “Anywhere we went, whether it was like Disneyland, the movie theater, we were sneaking in food.”

From Personal Remedies to Brand Vision

Julisa’s initial foray into haircare entailed making kitchen concoctions out of flax seeds and aloe vera, inspired by generational remedies (“remedies and traditions based on natural ingredients”)—not TikTok trends.
[08:31, Tony]: “How many kids can talk about having parents or grandparents from other countries that come with so many remedies and traditions?” [10:10, Tony]: “I turned to natural ingredients because one, I was used to it, two, I was broke, and three, I always saw it actually working.”
Julisa was the “curl whisperer” at school, styling and helping people discover their texture in a culture that pushed everyone to straighten their hair:
[12:13, Julisa]: “I have to walk in like I know I look good. I own this. So I did it. And lo and behold, yes, it changed my life.”

The Decision to Build Rizos Curls (and the Family Dynamic)

Despite her passion, Julisa pursued the corporate route—full ride to college and business school, corporate roles at PepsiCo and Nestle, which gave her financial security and the confidence to consider the business.
The seed of Rizos Curls as a “real” business sprouted when Julisa’s DIY concoctions proved inconvenient and her brother Tony (whom she revered as “the answer to everything”) did market research:
[15:42, Julisa]: “After doing his research, he was like, this is a multibillion dollar industry…There’s literally no brands that are serving this segment.”
Both siblings agreed to invest “all” of their savings—about $40K each—placing bets on the brand instead of purchasing property:
[18:32, Vivian]: “Wait, so, okay, let's talk about this. You had $40,000. Tony had $40,000… What was the rationale of, like, let's put all of that into this?"
Julisa acknowledges having the “parachute” of a supportive family home, emboldening her to risk it all:
[19:12, Julisa]: “If all else fails and I lose all of my money, I'm just going to live with my parents and have them help me and support me, I guess.”

The Lean Startup: Sacrifices & Grassroots Launch

To maximize cash for the business, Julisa moved back home and did everything DIY—websites, photos, drawings, even storage in her parents’ backyard.
The early customer base came from years of Julisa helping people with their hair; “real recognize real” word-of-mouth and genuine community engagement (curl classes, local events) launched Rizos Curls without a marketing budget.
[25:34, Julisa]: “Those people became, like, bigger than just a customer. They were like our brand ambassadors.”
Authentic testimonials proved more powerful than paid advertising:
[26:01, Tony]: "You couldn't pay for that kind of marketing and that kind of just like raw, authentic, genuine, you know, testimonials."

The Rollercoaster: Losses, Setbacks, & Big Wins

Lowest Moment:
A truck carrying $100,000 worth of product for a Target PO was stolen. Insurance claims were hellish, and Target still demanded shelves be stocked.
[32:06, Julisa]: “You're fronting that money. Exactly…it could cost us, I don't know, at least $100,000 to produce that…And it was stolen.” [34:25, Julisa]: “Honestly, like, the CIA should be all women, because the way we were able to find the guy's baby mama, his mom's house… I had all his information. I was ready to pull up on him…I was like, Soprano style.”
Highest High:
The first week of launches at both Target and Ulta, Rizos Curls sold out nationwide—and continues to dramatically surpass forecasts with double-digit year-over-year growth.
[36:26, Julisa]: “At both Target and Ulta…the very first week we launched, we sold out, like, nationwide at both retailers.”

The Reality of the Money

The business is 100% self-funded and has been profitable since day one—extremely rare for a brand at this scale. Nearly all profits are reinvested:
[37:48, Julisa]: “So like all of it. So pretty much we are 100% self-funded still…We've been literally just like refueling all of our money back into the business.”

Entrepreneurship, Burnout, and Expanding Capacity

After eight years, Julisa and Tony are ready to build a bigger executive team—being so hands-on isn’t sustainable forever:
[41:22, Julisa]: “Eventually my goal…is to be able to have…a little bit more hands off, maybe focus more on just product development.”

Rizos Curls’ Activist Heart and Community Focus

The brand has always centered and supported immigrant communities. Their recent “United for Immigrants” campaign raised $250,000 for immigrant rights organizations:
[42:27, Julisa]: “We invited other brands…for a day of unity in support for the immigrant community. And we were able to raise $250,000 that went to immigrant.org.”
Activism isn’t a trend for Julisa—it’s part of her upbringing and the LA community she comes from.
[45:27, Julisa]: “The Black Lives Matter founders, they all taught me social activism at my high school.”
She encourages Latinx entrepreneurs to lead with authenticity and serve their niche—the best way to build an army of true believers:
[46:47, Julisa]: “Don’t be afraid to be so authentically yourself…If anything, it'll make your niche feel so seen that it then starts attracting other people…”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On risk-taking:
[04:18, Julisa]: “In order to get money back, you sometimes do have to take some risks.”
Sacrificing everything:
[18:32, Julisa]: “So I used it for making hair products.”
On why launch succeeded:
[25:34, Julisa]: “Those people became, like, bigger than customers. They were our ambassadors.”
On lows in entrepreneurship:
[31:13, Julisa]: “I think being an entrepreneur is one of the most humbling experiences you will ever have. Get very comfortable with feeling like you know nothing and feeling defeated.”
Hair truck heist:
[32:27, Vivian]: “Your hair products were hijacked, girl.” [34:46, Julisa]: “I was gonna go with my little taser...like Sopranos style.”
On sustained hustle and burnout:
[40:00, Julisa]: “I cannot be this involved in the everyday…We need to have an executive team and it’s time.”
On feeling rich:
[48:09, Julisa]: “Yeah, I do. But…I feel rich because my mom…would always tell us like, you are enough…Like you exude love. Like you, you are enough.”

Timestamps: Key Segments

00:00 – 03:17: Julisa’s early struggles as a curly-haired kid, failed products, and frugal family habits
04:09 – 10:18: Saving, risk aversion, and DIY roots in immigrant traditions
11:27 – 13:51: School “curl whisperer,” the formative power of texture acceptance
14:01 – 18:44: From kitchen concoctions to business plan (with Tony’s research confirming the opportunity)
18:44 – 19:24: Sacrifices, going all-in with family savings, leveraging the “parachute”
23:03 – 25:34: Lean launch, grassroots marketing, “real recognize real” customer ambassadors
31:00 – 34:51: Lows of entrepreneurship, including the truck heist and dauntless determination
36:26 – 39:45: Highs of sold-out launches and the commitment to keep self-funding
40:00 – 41:50: Burnout and building a team to scale sustainably
42:27 – 45:27: Rizos Curls’ activist identity, fundraising, and making a difference in the immigrant community
46:38 – 48:09: Advice to other Latinx entrepreneurs: specificity, authenticity, and building loyal communities
48:09 – 49:06: Julisa’s meaning of wealth and self-worth

Final Takeaway

This episode gives a raw, detailed playbook for how to build an enduring, mission-driven brand: lean on community, stay frugal and resourceful, lead authentically, and embrace the chaos and humility of entrepreneurship. As Julisa sums up, “I feel rich…because my mom always taught me that I am enough—whether I have everything or nothing.”

For aspiring founders—especially women of color and children of immigrants—this episode is both a masterclass and a shot of unapologetic inspiration.