Podcast Summary
Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff
Episode: Barefaced's Jordan Harper on How to Make People Obsessed With Your Brand
Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Rebecca Minkoff
Guest: Jordan Harper, Founder of Barefaced
Main Theme
This episode explores the journey of Jordan Harper, nurse practitioner and founder of Barefaced, a fast-growing skincare brand. Rebecca Minkoff and Jordan discuss brand obsession, the sacrifices of entrepreneurship, building community, staying authentic, and actionable skincare advice. The candid conversation is a deep dive into what it takes to build a business from scratch, stay true to your purpose, and create products—and relationships—people truly love.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Untold Reality of Building a Brand
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Sacrifice and Balance
- Jordan recounts sacrificing her social life and time with her children, stating frankly that "there is no balance" for a founder. The tradeoff is worth it but it’s real and ongoing.
- Notable Quote:
"I think it's cost me a lot. But also, I think that to me the sacrifice is worth it. It's cost me a social life, it definitely has cost me time with my kids. There is no balance, right?" — Jordan Harper [01:38]
- Notable Quote:
- Jordan recounts sacrificing her social life and time with her children, stating frankly that "there is no balance" for a founder. The tradeoff is worth it but it’s real and ongoing.
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Community Before Commerce
- Building trust and community before launching was critical; pre-orders funded by customer belief in her expertise, cultivated over the years.
- Rebecca: "You already had a community, which I tell so many people, start a community before you do anything. Because if you have that love..." [09:09]
- Jordan: "No one cares about Bareface, no one cares about Jordan Harper. They want to know how we can serve them. No one cares what I like unless it's helpful for them." [09:22]
- Building trust and community before launching was critical; pre-orders funded by customer belief in her expertise, cultivated over the years.
2. From Medical Practice to Entrepreneurship
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Origin Story and Inspiration
- Jordan came from nursing and cosmetic dermatology, noticed confusion and overwhelm in patients about skincare, saw a gap for simplified medical-grade routines.
- Notable Quote:
"Having good skin is a lot like having a good healthy oral cavity... If you do not do your daily skincare morning and night, like, that is 80% of the quality of your skin. To me, it's just a very simple solution." — Jordan Harper [03:24]
- Notable Quote:
- Moved to a new city for husband’s medical career, supporting the family through her skills.
- Funded business with 0% interest credit cards and pre-order sales—a bootstrap model driven by necessity and community faith.
- Jordan came from nursing and cosmetic dermatology, noticed confusion and overwhelm in patients about skincare, saw a gap for simplified medical-grade routines.
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Naivety as an Asset
- Being new to business insulated her from limiting beliefs:
- "It’s so great being naive. It really is because all the limiting beliefs that are in your head…they don’t exist because you’re like, I know the problem that I’m solving." — Jordan Harper [05:54]
- Being new to business insulated her from limiting beliefs:
3. Strategies That Sparked Brand Obsession
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Relationships Over Everything
- Every major business break—press, influencers, awards—came from personal relationships built by showing up in person, hosting events, and providing genuine value.
- Notable Quote:
"The thing that works time and time and time again is relationships... Every big opportunity has come from that. Every beauty win, every beauty award we've won has come from meeting someone in person." — Jordan Harper [10:48]
- Notable Quote:
- Every major business break—press, influencers, awards—came from personal relationships built by showing up in person, hosting events, and providing genuine value.
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Serve First, Sell Second
- Core brand value: solving problems—not pushing products—earns customer trust and foster loyalty.
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Intentional Product Development
- Commitment to only launching “best in class” products, even when mistakes were costly (e.g., $100K loss on eye patches that weren’t up to standard).
- "I'm never going to risk our brand integrity to launch a product that doesn't meet a certain standard." — Jordan Harper [12:40]
- Commitment to only launching “best in class” products, even when mistakes were costly (e.g., $100K loss on eye patches that weren’t up to standard).
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Operational Learnings & Team Building
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Early on, shipping from her garage with babysitters; later, realized the importance of hiring experts, especially in operations and finance.
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Bootstrapping taught her to be meticulous with spending.
- Notable Quote:
"Our mantra at Bareface is less, but better. So that applies to products, but it also applies to, like, how we approach spend, how we approach collaborations." — Jordan Harper [14:39]
- Notable Quote:
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4. Founder's Wellness, Delegation & Boundaries
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Delegation Skills
- Motherhood helped crystallize priorities and improve delegation.
- Outsources tasks that don’t bring joy or aren’t core—cooking, laundry, housekeeping—to spend quality time on work and with children.
- "Having kids... allows you to see what is priority in life... I don't cook. That's just off the thing. I don't do laundry." — Jordan Harper [16:19; 16:49]
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Replenishment
- Refuels on weekends with family, says "no" strategically.
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Ambition Has a Cost
- Friendship circles and time with husband/children are reduced, but the sacrifice, she feels, is worthwhile at this stage.
5. Instinct, Learning Mistakes & Professional Growth
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Listening to Experts vs. Trusting Instinct
- Both hosts discuss times they deferred to experts over their own gut—and regretted it due to poor outcomes (e.g., a disastrous manufacturer contract costing millions).
- "Every single time I did that, not good." — Rebecca Minkoff [20:25]
- "That was probably like, honestly, millions of dollars lost." — Jordan Harper [22:11]
- Both hosts discuss times they deferred to experts over their own gut—and regretted it due to poor outcomes (e.g., a disastrous manufacturer contract costing millions).
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Checks & Balances
- Now, hires full C-suite, cross-checks between departments, and uses both gut and data for major decisions. Wishes she had scaled her team sooner.
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Universality of Founder Struggles
- Behind every successful brand are messy, unglamorous realities and mistakes:
- “Every founder I've ever talked to, they say the exact same thing you do. They also, like, behind the scenes, it is not pretty.” — Jordan Harper [24:45]
- Behind every successful brand are messy, unglamorous realities and mistakes:
6. Customer Retention & Brand Loyalty
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Exceptional Retention
- 90% returning customer rate, attributed to:
- A narrow, high-quality product range (“less, but better”)
- Extensive education around routines, via social media and AI analysis
- Positioning skincare as a process, not a quick fix
- "Our toning pad sells one every three minutes." — Jordan Harper [28:00]
- 90% returning customer rate, attributed to:
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On Patient Education
- Advises customers to stick with routines for 6 weeks or more to see results—mirroring realistic expectations.
- "The skin cell cycle is six weeks... If you jump, jump, jump all the time, you’re never... going to see changes." — Jordan Harper [29:49]
- Advises customers to stick with routines for 6 weeks or more to see results—mirroring realistic expectations.
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Injector Loyalty Analogy
- Jumping repeatedly between products/providers leaves clients with poor outcomes, just like with hairdressers or cosmetic injectors.
7. Actionable Skincare Advice
- The “Core 4” Basic Routine:
- Exfoliant (toning pad)
- Vitamin C (liquid gold)
- Retinoid (retinol skin therapy)
- SPF
- Plus: Cleanser and moisturizer to personalize for your needs
- "If you're not properly exfoliating, then none of your products are going to work." — Jordan Harper [31:46]
8. Reflections & Advice for Other Women
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Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
- Focus on your core purpose and don’t get seduced by distractions or shiny new ideas.
- "Everything that you say yes to, you're saying no to something else. You really need to, like, know what your why is. Keeping the main thing the main thing..." — Jordan Harper [32:56]
- Focus on your core purpose and don’t get seduced by distractions or shiny new ideas.
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Entrepreneurial Mindset
- It’s tempting to chase new projects, but discipline and keeping focus are critical for sustained success.
- "Should I start a new company? I don't know... keep the main thing." — Jordan Harper [34:16]
- It’s tempting to chase new projects, but discipline and keeping focus are critical for sustained success.
9. The Road Ahead
- 2026 Growth Plans:
- Leveraging past years’ “tiny deposits” (team and retail investments)
- Major focus on new customer acquisition (moving beyond the original, loyal base)
- Exploring content via TikTok, partnerships, and targeting menopause/perimenopause needs
Notable Quotes & Moments
- Rebecca Minkoff on Founder Nostalgia:
"Those are the moments that make this journey so fun... you look back, you're like, fuck, that was awesome." [13:51] - On Comparison & Founder Realness:
"Behind the scenes, it is not pretty. And I think we don't see someone else's business, so we think it is pretty." — Jordan Harper [24:45] - Advice:
"Keep the main thing the main thing." — Jordan Harper [32:56]
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:17 | Jordan’s sacrifice & cost of ambition | | 02:50 | Jordan’s background as a nurse & the “bloom where you're planted” principle | | 06:45 | How she funded Barefaced—credit cards & preorders | | 10:48 | What works: relationships, in-person networking, giving first | | 13:26 | Shipping from the garage, operational mistakes, nostalgia | | 14:39 | Being intentional with every dollar, how bootstrapping shapes choices | | 16:19 | Delegating both at home and work, prioritizing what matters | | 20:56 | Mistakes from trusting the “experts” over her own instinct—major contracts gone wrong | | 22:41 | Checks & balances, C-suite buildout, importance of data + gut | | 24:45 | Universality of messy founder stories, comparison to marriage | | 26:40 | 2026 vision—retail, perimenopausal focus, new customer acquisition | | 28:00 | Why retention is so high—a focus on a simplified routine and education | | 31:46 | Barefaced Core 4 routine explained | | 32:56 | Jordan’s best advice: “Keep the main thing the main thing.” |
Where to Find Jordan & Barefaced
- Website: barefaced.com
- Instagram: @jordanharpernp (“No Problem” — a running joke!)
- Barefaced Instagram: @barefaced
Overall Tone
The episode is candid, unfiltered, and practical—packed with tactical business and skincare advice, delivered with a sense of humor and honesty rare in founder interviews.
Summary by Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff, January 29, 2026