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The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
539: How to Build a Million Dollar Beauty Brand | Alicia Scott [VIDEO]
00:52:10
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- [00:00]
A
I honestly hopped on Google and was just like, how do you start a makeup brand with $150 working a 9 to 5 come home hour two for dinner and then basically working on range for the rest of my. It took me around three years before I even had a finished product. Two months later, I was contacted by a buyer for Target. She reached out and was like, hey, we're interested in seeing if we should carry you in store. That was a very validating moment of like, once the brand, that's what you do not need thousands or millions to start. You are able to start small. And the biggest thing is just stop.
- [00:41]
B
Waiting.
- [00:45]
A
Hear the stories, learn the proven methods, and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome to the Founder podcast with Nathan Chan.
- [00:59]
B
Welcome back, Alicia. Really excited to speak with you today. So the first question that I wanted to ask you is how do you start range beauty with such a small initial budget into multimillion dollar brand? Can you take us back to those early days?
- [01:15]
A
Yeah. So my background wasn't even in beauty, it was in fashion. I worked in a lot of different jobs in the New York fashion industry and simultaneously I was on my own skin journey where in college I developed really bad eczema from head to toe. After graduation and moving to New York, I developed cystic acne. And so I was always having to be very mindful of what I was using on my skin. And while working behind the scenes and in the front of the fashion industry, I had to. I was like, I wish I had a little confidence booster. Sometimes when I would have my eczema patches on my face or I would have really active breakouts. I was wishing for a makeup brand that could cater to that without making it worse. And that was a match for my skin tone. And I think working in the fashion industry in New York exposed me even more so to seeing a lot of the makeup artists were actually lacking shades when we would cast for models, for Runway shows, for campaign shoots. And so it just sparked this light bulb for me where I was like, not only do I want a makeup brand that has deep and inclusive shades, um, but I also want it to be clean with its ingredients and non toxic ingredients. And I want the ingredients to actually work against the symptoms of eczema and acne. So that's where the seed was planted. And from there I honestly hopped on Google and was just like, how do you start a makeup brand? And I kind of created my own little checklist and went through this process. I think it took me around three years before I Even had a finished product. But in that time frame, I decided to leave New York. And even though it was my home, New York can be very expensive. The fashion industry is such a hustle culture, that I was like, I need to move somewhere where I can still work a 9 to 5 and get that reoccurring income, but be able to have the time, energy, and extra funding to put into launching this brand. And so I packed up, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and while here, got a 9 to 5, made sure all of my expenses and personal bills were taken care of. But whatever residual income I had after my paychecks, that's what went towards building range beauty. And so when I found this manufacturer who was like, listen, our MOQ is literally, you have to spend $150 with us and we'll ship to you, I'm like, wow. And with the $150, I bought beakers, I bought test tubes. Like, they had all of this stuff that you could use to mix and basically be, you know, a kitchen chemist. And that's how I started. With the $150.
- [04:08]
B
Yeah. Wow. And so talk me through the early days. So you start to mix your own product. Like, how did you find this manufacturer? Because so many people get stuck with, like, these large moqs or, you know, I want to start a brand, but I can't afford it. Talk me through how did you find this manufacturer? Like, talk us through that. How do you? Like, yeah. So you hand man the product. Like, talk us through that.
- [04:30]
A
Yeah. So when I used Google to research how do I create a brand, one of the sites that came up was called cosmetic index.com, which is. It was like a yellow pages or a directory for everything that you could possibly need for. For starting or launching a cosmetics brand, whether it was makeup, skincare, hair care, whatever that took you through. If you needed a lab, if you needed a manufacturer, if you needed to source packaging components, if you needed a graphic designer, all. Everything that you would possibly need was housed in this directory. And so for me, it started with me searching through the manufacturer database, and I had, I think it was like, three things that were very important to me, which was they need to be up to date on using clean ingredients. They need to be able to create deep shades, so have really great pigment options. And then the third was that they need to have small moq where they're not asking me to invest a lot upfront. So that was my mini checklist, and I kind of got it down. You know, you might start with the list of like 20 or 10. I think I got that down to five. And I was basically dating. It's. I always say it's very similar to dating or like, you know, testing out the water to see are we a match. Getting on the phone with these people, emailing these people, telling them my vision, but not giving them too much of it. Just a little bit of like, hey, is this something that you're capable of? And from that, I narrowed it down to one manufacturer and I've been working with them ever since.
- [06:10]
B
Yeah, there you go. And so you said it took you kind of three years from thinking of this idea to actually bringing it to life. So talk me through putting together the brand because that's something you're really strong at. You talk about this a lot in your amazing program that's launching on the Founder plus platform called Million Dollar Beauty Brand. But, you know, talk us through. Just take us back through the stories. We want to hear the stories. The stories is what sticks because, like, this is the, this is, this is parts where people get stuck. Right? They might have an amazing idea, but, you know, it's, it's. It's hard, right? It's hard to bring it to life. And, and hearing your early journey is what really can be a source of inspiration for people and show people that it is possible. And, and it feels uncomfortable. But at the same time, you just got to move through, like, what were the sticking points in those early days?
- [07:03]
A
Yeah, I am here to say in the beginning, I didn't have it all together either. I didn't have, you know, the perfect package. I didn't really know where I was taking it. And so initially when I launched the theme and our tagline was clean beauty for the forgotten shades, which, when you hear that, it sounds pretty broad, it sounds pretty general. Right. And so when I initially launched with that, I used that theme across, like our social, making sure I was kind of getting the word out about, oh, we use clean ingredients and we have deep shades. Like, that's our. That's going to be what range beauty is. And initially I honestly, I had it under a different name, completely different vibe, completely different color scheme idea, everything. But we received a cease and desist letter, which I'm so happy about looking back because it made me go back to the drawing board. And even when I looked, when I took a step back and I looked at the brand, I'm like, this isn't even my wait. I don't even feel a connection to this brand. And so threw that away, went back to the drawing board, narrowed in on, okay, what are we? And still, even though I changed the name, we were still going with Clean Beauty for the Forgotten Shades. At this time, I started applying for pitch competitions and grant funding. And I remember I went before I judge, I gave my pitch, I'm telling her, you know, I have sensitive acne and eczema prone skin. Skin. And this is why I created the brand. But I really heavily focus on, oh, we use clean ingredients and we have deep shades. Those were the only two points that I really stacked the deck on. And at this time now Fenty Beauty has launched. We're seeing a lot more diversity when it comes to shades. And so the judge was like, I don't really see what makes this special. Like, we now have Fenty. She came out with 51 shades and you have 21 shades. So how does, how is that going to match up when you're saying, you know, you're focusing on these forgotten shades? And I told her, I was like, well, the specialty comes in the ingredients because of my acne and eczema. And it was her push of being like, why aren't you talking about that more? Why isn't that your primary messaging? Why didn't I hear more about that through your pitch? And went back to the drawing board and then I flushed everything out and was able to reiterate around now being makeup for skin that acts up. So I don't know for people who think like, oh, my gosh, how do I come out the gate with having it figured out and knowing what my messaging is going to be? I feel like you should. Yes. Figure out your audience and figure out who you want to speak to. But it may take one or two tries before you land on what that actual niche messaging is and what that actual brand voice is going to be.
- [10:01]
B
And that's just like, I think every single founder that I've interviewed, they have this twist, they have that turn, and it's just part of the story. Right. But if you get so worried that that's going to happen and get this analysis paralysis, you don't move forward. Right. And, you know, I, I had a similar trademark issue to you, and it was like one of the best lessons ever. You know, the brand wasn't called founder, same as you. It was a blessing in disguise. And now we have founder. So these things are just part of the story and it's just great. Like, some of the toughest times are the best lessons. So how'd you get your first sale?
- [10:40]
A
Oh, so before I actually launched I had a heavy social media presence, so I created the Range Instagram page and was posting a lot of inspo images. I was doing a lot of engagement with other people that I found under competitor brands. So I would go onto their page and look at what people were saying in the comments and then go find that person's page and DM them or message them or like something or follow them just to bring more eyes to the actual range beauty Instagram. And I was also doing this with our Twitter and our Facebook. And so I had all three platforms kind of going at the same time, very heavy on Twitter, very heavy on Instagram. And once our website went live, we already had a wait list of potential customers who were interested in finding out what, what is this brand, what are you launching, what's going on? And so that's what contributed to our first sale. And then I would say our next, like, or our first big wave of sales was a makeup influencer picking up one of our tweets and reposting it. In her call out, she was like, now this is what you call range. And that went super viral and brought like my first real wave of orders. And so then it was on me sustaining that with emails, sustaining that again through social. But yeah, the first email was. Or the first order definitely came through my social media presence.
- [12:10]
B
Yeah. Okay. And talk me through kind of. So you were hand making the product still at this stage, right? How? Like, yeah, that's crazy. So. So talk me through any crazy stories where it's just like, you can't keep up. Were you making the product like through the night, like, like when you would you.
- [12:28]
A
Oh, yeah, there were so many times. And mind you, at this time, I'm still working my 9 to 5. So I was working my 9 to 5 two years before I ended up quitting range or. Sorry, I ended up quitting and taking on range full time. And so for me, it was like working a 9 to 5. I would come home, maybe have like an hour or two for dinner and kind of, you know, taking off the load from work and then basically working on range for the rest of night, sometimes until like 2am, going back to sleep, waking up for my job, like that was pretty much the cycle. Everything was in my apartment. I think I utilized every single room except my bathroom and my bedroom. But like the kitchen, the living room, my dining area space, everything was covered with stations that had mixers and beakers and, you know, mailers and packaging and everything like that. Um, at the time, this to me was still a Side hustle. I really, even today, like where I am today, I never imagined where Range was going to take off to, like, no. So I was still keeping things very small in house, literally. And so I was ordering a lot of stock packaging. And for those who don't know, stock packaging is when you go to a packaging component manufacturer and they might say, hey, this type of 30ml glass bottle, which is very plain, doesn't have anything on it. We're selling these for 90 cents a piece. And so I would buy those in bulk and then I would buy my labels in bulk and then I would sit here and hand label the bottles and then hand fill the bottles and box them and ship them out.
- [14:14]
B
Yeah. Wow. So it's so crazy. You and I have such a similar story. Like, that's how I started founder. I didn't think it would turn into anything big and then it kind of just slow off. Did. Worked on it on my, on the side in my day job. I was even taking the magazine to job interviews in early days, then had a trademark issue, then eventually went full time. So I'm curious, how did you know that you were onto something? Was it some of those big orders, like from that tweet or like, when did you kind of go, yep, all right, this is going to be a thing?
- [14:47]
A
Yes. I will say I was fortunate to know pretty early on. So I launched Range in August of 2018, and two months later that October, I was contacted by a buyer for Target and who saw our social media presence, thought it was very cool. And she reached out and was like, hey, we're interested in seeing if, you know, we should carry you in store. Would love to set up a meeting and would love to come to you in Atlanta to do a line review. And of course I'm like, a line review? What, what does that mean? So again, I'm like scrambling online and I do feel like my experience in the fashion industry was helpful because my last role before I moved to Atlanta was as an account executive for an Australian women's ready to wear sales and PR showroom. So we would take a lot of Australian based women's ready to wear brands, bring them to the US Basically fix them up to be US market ready, and then sell them to major retailers like Barney's, even Marcus, even retailers like Free People. And so that gave me the knowledge around margins, that gave me the knowledge around, you know, writing pos around when we would do line reviews for the collections. And so I don't know, but hearing it, I was just like, in person, line review. It was like my mind started scrambling. I'm like, just take what you know from when you had to do it for clothing and apply it to beauty. And so I created this very blood deck. I made sure I had all my products. We met at a hotel here in Atlanta, and it was two buyers that came. I went, I presented the line. They. When I told them I just launched two months ago, and they were like, we thought you were here for much longer. I was like, thank you. I must be doing something right. But they broke it down. How expensive retail and especially Target can be. You know, they were very open to hearing that. I'm not ready right now, but I would love to get ready. And that was a very validating moment of, like, Target, once the brand. That's what. And so that's where I felt like, okay, if a major retailer is reaching out, that means I have something, I think, aside from the retailer. Yes. Seeing the traction come through in orders, seeing people speak about us on social media, we had really strong influencers reviewing our stuff on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter. So just seeing, I guess, the awareness that was starting to grow, I was like, wow, this is a real company.
- [17:35]
B
Yeah. And when you first start, in the early days, each. Each package that you sent out, did you attach a handwritten note?
- [17:44]
A
Yes. Even today I still have our. Our postcards, still have a note from me. Back then, I was handwriting every note, and, you know, now it's printed on the card. But, yeah, back then I was, you know, hi, Molly. Thank you so much for ordering, you know, the True Intentions Hydrating Foundation. Hope you enjoy. Here's, you know, another 5% if you want to come back and order, you know, things like that. But, yeah, making sure that there was some type of intention in every order.
- [18:15]
B
Yeah. And the early orders and hand packaging them, writing the note, it's really fun. It's so exciting. Like, I know those early days, I've built an E Comm business as well. But at what point, like, how long did it take before that became, like, tough? You know, like I said, you know, so much packaging. Yeah. Yeah.
- [18:39]
A
I think what that started growing. I feel like once we started getting probably like 20 plus orders a day, I called on my family and friends to help me with packaging and. But it would just be here and there when I'm like, oh, my gosh, you guys, I'm swamped. Do you mind coming over this weekend and helping me? It wasn't until, I believe it was 2020 when the pandemic occurred, and now we're looking at. This is my first year that I decided to go full time with range. So I left my job in December 2019, you know, starting full time with range. January of 2020, a few short months later, we get the notice about the pandemic occurring, and I'm like, wow, this is a tough time that I chose to go full time, but I had to rely on. I'm like, okay. I decided to go full time because it started getting chaotic. And I was like, if I could take this extra time and energy that I'm putting into this 9 to 5 and put it into just going full time, like, who knows what the results could be? And I just remember my dad, I was telling him I wanted to quit my job, but I was so nervous. And he was the. He was the big push because he was like, as long as you have a savings and you have some type of nest egg, like, who cares? And he's like, what's the worst that could happen? It doesn't work, and you have to get a job again. And I was like, yeah, that is basically the worst thing. That's not too bad. So took it on full time, and the pandemic occurred, and it ended up being, even though obviously very devastating time. This is when people are now forced to be home and they are just going crazy shopping online. And so that was proved to me. I'm like, wow. I already knew beauty was recession proof, but now we see that it's also. Also pandemic proof. Because I saw as the orders were coming in, we basically sold through three months of inventory in one month. And I remember we had 500 orders overnight, and I had two of my relatives helping me. And I have pictures and video of the way that my. By this time, I'm still in my house, in my apartment, and I don't think there was an inch from free, from packaging, mailers, products, whatever. We were working like a machine. And I was like, oh, my gosh, we need help. Like, I need help. This is crazy. And I think even then I was still nervous. I was so nervous to take it out of my hands, which I think a lot of founders, especially early days, feel where it's your baby and you feel like, I can't. I don't want to give this over to somebody else because they're going to mess it up. So even sometimes still, I did not move to a warehouse to fulfill orders. I was just making it happen with team. And it wasn't until the following year that we actually gave it over. To a 3 PL to fulfill for us.
- [21:35]
B
Got you. I. You got to show us. I'd love to see these photos and videos offline. You have to send to the team. I think that would be great. Just to just show like. That's crazy. That's crazy. So when did you go on Shark Tank? Tell us about the Shark Tank piece.
- [21:51]
A
Yes. So we filmed the episode in July of 2021. So we went and filmed July of 2021, but the episode did not air until February 2022. And so that was a whole experience because we started basically working with the production team. I think it was back in February. So from February to July we were prepping, getting everything ready, having discussions around how we want our set to look, making sure our product was there. And this was also a very crazy time because we had just decided to completely rebrand at the top of 2021. When we got the call from, it was like back to back. We received the email from Glossier that they were considering us for. It was a female $50,000 grant, which what? And then right off of that we received an email like, hey, we were reaching out to see if you would be interested in coming onto Shark Tank. And we had just started the process for our custom packaging. It wasn't going to be ready until like August. And so I'm completely pushing the team. I'm like, we need the actual real samples. And so having the Shark Tank once we sent the product to them and we were able to review the products with them and meet production and get ready. And then once the day came in July, we were very fortunate that we had a guest shark that day named Emma Greed. And she is the co founder of Skins Good American Anything. Basically the Kardashians put out. She is like a CEO or founder of. Her mind is crazy. And so she was our guest shark and we were able to pitch to, you know, I think it was four core Sharks, one guest and it was an incredible experience.
- [23:44]
B
Yep. And did you get funded?
- [23:46]
A
Yes. So we received a dual deal from Lori Greener and Emma Greed and we became the first black woman owned makeup brand to receive a deal in Shark Tank history. And Shark Tank has been on for 14 years. I think now it's 16. But at the time I believe was that was their 14th season. So that was very, very, very crazy. But cool.
- [24:13]
B
I know with Shark Tank. So we've interviewed Emma, she's amazing and she's super, super savvy, super smart work. But I know with Shark Tank as well, sometimes the deals at the End they don't always come to fruition. Did it come to fruition and what is it like working with Emma and Laurie?
- [24:30]
A
Yes, it did come to fruition. Emma. I think it's so special working with Emma because she is a black woman. She understands working with underserved communities. I think even when we look at what she's doing with Good American, where her and Khloe Kardashian really pushed inclusivity, really pushed, you know, making sure they have inclusive size ranges, making sure that they told retailers, you know, we're not entering your stores unless you carry our full size range. We're not going to just let you take the small sizes. You have to take all of our sizes. And so knowing how she's a champion for inclusivity, knowing how much of a champion she is for black founders. Also, she sits on the board at the 15% pledge, which encourages retailers to support more black owned brands on their shelves. Like, it just couldn't have been a better match, truly. And so, yeah, and her marketing mind, she is just a genius when it comes to working through how to show up, you know, through digital marketing, how to show up in person marketing. So it's been amazing working with her.
- [25:40]
B
Can you share like maybe one or two pieces of gold or unlocks that you've had like a problem or anything you could share? Yeah. Okay.
- [25:49]
A
So I was able to meet with her at the Good American headquarters, which was very special to walk through. I had like sessions with the entire team and it was very cool. But my session with her, we walked through the range website, which has since been rebranded. But at the time she was showing me on the Good American website how they had started pushing this feature. It was like a try on feature where when you touched picked a size, let's say you picked a small, it would show the model wearing it in a small. Then let's say you picked a large, it would show the model in a large. If you it like, it would show you what it looked like on that body size, which I thought was very unique to the industry, especially going into plus sizes. And so it helped me think about how to shoot our, you know, future campaigns, how to shoot our assets when it comes to try on tutorials, when it comes to even just the photography assets, like what angles are we showing of this model with the makeup? And so it helps you with like our big thing is we have 21 flex shades of foundation, which means there could be three different skin tones that are very close together that could wear one foundation shade. And so making sure we had assets and imagery that showed like, oh, here are three different women who are able to wear this one shade. And so we did that especially now we're launching at Sephora. And that was a big new thing that we decided to try and do for our campaign shoot for that. And it was well received. So that was really cool. I think the second big thing she told us or shared with me was that there will never, as a woman, as a woman founder, to never try and focus on balance. So a lot of times I think society tries to push, like, oh my gosh, you have to balance your job and you have to balance your, you know, it has to be a work life balance. And a gem that she dropped was just like, you cannot have it all, all the time. And it's something she pushes. Anytime she gets a chance to talk about it, she talks about it on any platform she's on where it's just, I think a lot of times women were expected to show up in all these different ways. And when you're a businesswoman, when you're a founder, like, you have to take that cape off and it's like, sometimes you're going to be the best CEO today, sometimes if you have kids, you might be the best mom today, but then you're, you know, the work might, you lack a little bit, or sometimes you might have to miss this event because of this, but making sure that you are giving yourself grace and that, you know, it's okay, like you can have it all, but just not all the time.
- [28:36]
B
Yeah, no, look, it's great to hear that. I love to ask that question to a lot of founders because I think especially like successful ones, like super, super successful ones where you can look at them from an outside perspective and think they have it all right. Like, I loved us, you know, Joe Jebbia, the founder of Airbnb, like multi, multi, multi billion dollar company. Can you have it all? Right, I love to ask, you know how Steve Huffman, founder of Reddit, he's built one of the top most visited websites in the world. I think the top 10 or top 20. Like, can you have it all? Like, no, like you, you can't. But for whatever reason, society and in our minds that's, we're always striving to. And we, we beat ourselves up if, if things aren't going well in, in one area or many areas. And you do need to be kinder to yourself because it's just all the journey. And then when you look back, like now I look back on some things, like some of the funnest times, perhaps your mind, whatever. You forget some of the tough times, right. And you just. Yeah, you go back and you're like, oh, that was like some of the best times, you know?
- [29:47]
A
Exactly. And I think in a similar sentiment is we forget such great milestones and achievements where it's like, even I've had to take a pause, and I'm like, the things that I have been able to do when I'm beating myself up and I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'm not as far as I thought I should be. Or I might see another founder or brand where I'm like, why am I not there? Or how were they able to do this? And I have to take a pause, and I'm like, I quit my job and I have been able to work this full time since 2020. Like, that is a huge accomplishment. I survived a pandemic. That's a huge accomplishment. You know, and a lot of times we forget. I'm like, these are things that we could have never imagined accomplishing, whether as a person or as a brand. And we just. We get distracted sometimes about chasing after the next big thing, where it's like, no, give yourself, you know, like, give yourself that pat on the back. Give yourself grace. Yes. Be kinder to yourself and sometimes take a pause to just reflect on what you have been able to do so far.
- [30:54]
B
Yeah, I agree. So talking about setbacks or tough times and staying resilient, do you have any stories where perhaps things were really tough or has it just been booming ever since?
- [31:07]
A
Oh, I mean, I say last year, 2023 was my tough year yet. And I think that it's probably due to me feeling like I've always been going up and up on the roller coaster. There might have been some bumps along the way, but for me, I feel like I've. I've been climbing, climbing, climbing. And then 2023 came, and it felt like everything was halted. It made me. I'm like, oh, my gosh, why are things so difficult right now? Am I going to be able to keep on going with range? Am I going to have to close our doors? What does the future look like for range? It was a struggle, and I had to take again a step back and reflect. I'm like, you have been going hard, basically, since 2018. Like, these things have been just great. Amazing things have been occurring back to. Back to back where you haven't even been able to take a break and say, okay, what do I want my team to look like, okay, what do I want, you know, this to look like? What do I want my goals to be for the company in the next. I've never had a break in a time of just, like, pause with the business. And so that's how I had to flip it last year, where it's like, this downtime is good. Whereas I was looking at it as like, oh, my gosh, this is bad because things aren't happening as much as they were these last few years. But I'm like, no, this is. This is where we, you know, re strategize. This is where we take the time to organize. This is where we take the time to pause and figure out what we want with the business. Like, having downtime is not necessarily always a bad thing. But yeah, last year I was like, oh, my gosh, damn, I don't know what I should do because it was just so tough getting sales. It was very tough with my manufacturer, with the supply chain. It was very tough getting investment. It was just. Everything was hard at the same time. So I'm really glad things turned around this year. But it did make me, you know, remember that you shouldn't be riding every high and you shouldn't be riding every low. Like, you. You need to try and keep yourself pretty even keeled so that when these super cool moments happen, it's like, yeah, that's really great. Cool, cool, cool. Celebrate and then keep it going. And then when the really bad moments happen, you're not sinking yourself in this deep hole either. So trying to keep myself pretty level. And so that I am just like, here are the ebbs and flows of being a founder.
- [33:39]
B
Look, as part of every founder's journey, right? The highs are high, the lows are low, and you have to have downs, right? Like, you have to, like, it's. You have to have plateaus with the business. Things have to stop working. It's. And it's those things I found that that's where some of the biggest growth comes from. Because you're forced to look outside the box, sometimes you can get lazy, right? Like, oh, this channel's amazing. You double down, keep going, keep going, and that channel stops working. It's just like, oh, no, right? Like, what. What do I do? Right? Is this over? Like, I do. I have to, you know, but. But because it stopped working, you get it going, but then it's just like, okay, now we need to find another one, and that's what forces you. Or you have to find that other one while this other one you're rebuilding that other one. Like, so that's, that's just part of the journey, right?
- [34:31]
A
Yeah, exactly. And sometimes that, that pause sparks new inspiration. And so I think a lot of times, like you said, sometimes you can get stagnant, sometimes you might, you know, chase after like, oh, that brand did this and that was successful. Let me try and replicate what they're doing. And you lose focus of what it was that you're even building or what your mission is. And so I think it's, it's, it's good to just take a moment and say, like, oh, that's a new idea I need to bring forward or oh, this would be really great if we changed it this way or, you know, if we did this pivot, I think you can make, you know, downtime useful.
- [35:09]
B
Yeah, I agree. So talk me through kind of this idea of competition. Right. So in the beauty space, you've spoken about, you know, standing out in a crowded shelf. Right. Like, what are the most important things that founders should consider when it comes to differentiating in the beauty brand space?
- [35:30]
A
Yes. So the first biggest thing that you should consider is obviously, what is your niche? You know, for me, again, I started off so broad and once I niche down to acne and eczema and makeup for acne and eczema, which was not being done and still isn't being done on the level that I do it, that's where it really opened up the doors for me. And so that should be your first focus, I think too, is your messaging and how you identify as brand. Like, how do you show up to your audience? What makes you unique? Is it your.com experience? Is it your in person activations? Is it, you know, oh my gosh, they post so much funny, relatable stuff on their social media pages. Is it, wow. Yes. The performance of this product, but also the community they've cultivated. So what are the things that are actually enticing people to purchase you? And I say sometimes I'm like, you know, what is your packaging or what is your storytelling that is making someone reach for you on the shelf instead of another brand. But I also feel like now when we look at the landscape, it's like you have to understand that people aren't probably going to have a full drawer or vanity of your products. Right. So it's not someone who's like, oh, I'm going to buy the primer, I'm going to buy the foundation, I'm going to buy their eyeliner, their mascara and no one else's brand. It's like, okay, there might be some people who are cult fans. Like that, that's, that seems like a blessing. But you know, typically it's going to be, oh, I might get a primer from this brand because I love how they do their primers. I might get something from the lip category from this brand because they're always excellent in that category. So it's also, so it's not only like, okay, how are you standing out on the shelf, but what also makes you more of like a collaborative product or brand with, in a full routine. So if someone has a skincare or makeup routine, how are you fitting into that routine for them?
- [37:25]
B
Yeah, I love it. So I'm curious as well. When it comes to retail partnerships, you've. You've done really, really well. Like you're in Sephora. You even attracted like Target. Like, you've done so well. What advice would for founders would you give? And, and how soon should people be thinking about retail?
- [37:45]
A
Oh my gosh, do not think about retail too soon. That is the biggest mistake. I've spoken to founders who are like, oh my gosh, if I could do it again, I would not have launched in retail that early. The biggest, I think, incentive that people think about when it comes to retail is like, oh my gosh, I'm going to be making so much more money and now I'm at a big retailer, so my name is really going to be out there and we have to reel it in. Retail is very expensive. Retail, I feel like, is somewhere where you should only go once you have truly proven traction. And to me, that means building a true customer base. To me, I would say you should probably be at at least $200,000 in revenue through your own website before thinking about retail. I also am someone again, my background is in beauty, so I am a sponge when it comes to soaking up knowledge. And so for me with Target, after that initial meeting I had with them, I stayed in touch with them. I visited headquarters, I emailed with the people I met with. I did a Target related pop up where they came and saw me in person. I continued that relationship and then they pitched me. They were like, hey, we think that you should do our accelerator. We have a Target takeoff beauty accelerator where we take beauty brands behind the scenes for six months or sorry, I think for Target it was two months and basically get you ready and give you all the ins and outs of launching at Target. And so I did that and I truly advise other people if a retailer has an accelerator to join, definitely do it. It Gives you a leg up as a very low barrier of entry. Now onto the shelf. And then a lot of times they might also have special stipulations or incentives for founders that went through these accelerators. So Target has a beauty one, Ulta has one, Walmart, Sephora. A lot of these major retailers have accelerator tracks that you can do. And so I did the Target one. I launched at Target. I was there for around a year before I was like, I want to focus on an actual beauty destination. And so I pulled out and then again restructured, and then I applied for the Sephora program. And this is after I was contacted by Sephora in 2020. So we had a couple of meetings and I was just like, the timing. And they were like, the timing. And so again, took a step back, joined the accelerator last year and then graduated from the accelerator. And now here we are a year later, launching.
- [40:26]
B
Yeah, yeah. So you've done really, really well with partnerships, networking. You have such an incredible story and you have so much insights, knowledge. I could talk to you about influence. We're running out of time. We could talk to you about social media, influencer marketing, sample, kids, testing, like, like funding all these things that you've got, grants, you do it, you've got all this stuff and you've, you've created this incredible program on the Founder plus platform. Everyone's got to go check it out. But before we talk about that, I just want to say, like, how do you do this networking so well? Like, what, what advice can you give to people around that?
- [41:03]
A
Yes, I, honestly, it's a testament to how I grew up. You know, I grew up, up as a US diplomat overseas. We always had to be on and meeting people and representing the US Embassy. So I think that was a true, like, push for me to show up that way. I've always loved public speaking since I was a little girl when, you know, students were getting shy and nervous about having to do a class project. I was always like, I'll go first. And so I love presenting, I love speaking, and, and so I kind of just combined those two things. You know, I moved around every two years. I was always having to make new friends. I was always having, you know, to form these new friend groups. So I think bringing that into the industry where I try to find similar founders who, you know, are, whether they're in hair care, whether they were in makeup, whether they were in skincare, reach out to them, see if we, oh, can we get on a zoom? Can we get on a call? I'm here if you need me, you know, I feel like it started there and then it branched out to other industries. I feel like I have founder friends across a lot of different industries. But I feel like the biggest thing when it comes to networking is really putting effort in establishing those relationships. Not making it a give me relationship where, oh, I just want to be, you know, an acquaintance of this founder because of what they can give me or what they can do for me and making it a true like two way instead of one way relationship. I think showing up to a lot of these industry events, so I know like female founder world is a really great one that puts on different events. Looking at your local founder events that might be going on, going to your farmer's market and meeting founders there, like you can find people everywhere. I feel like it comes down to you having the confidence and the wherewithal to expand, extend that hand or extend that invite and create your network. And then I think also as I mentioned, accelerators, perfect, perfect way to build your network. These are other founders who may be in similar places as you in terms of your journey or beyond or maybe just starting. And that's also a great way. Like all of the cohorts I've been in, I still am in contact with those founders.
- [43:27]
B
Yeah, yeah, I think, I think what you're saying around kind of meeting other founders, it is so important to be surrounded by like minded people on the same journeys. You're a similar journey. Like I still have friends from all around the world. Early days founder that I met that were creating magazines and all sorts of different industries and niches and I love all these kinds of things. That's another reason why, you know, the Founder plus platform is so awesome. So couple last things, right? We can't go through it all. Like I said, you've created this amazing program. Really talking through all of your secret sauce. You've really kind of shared so much gold already in this interview and there's so much more to learn from you in our program. But I was going to say sample kits and testing products, they were a game changer for you. Why talk us through that and how you came about that? Is there any stories there?
- [44:22]
A
Yes, sample kits were huge for me because my first product was foundation. And so trying to figure out your shade online was in still is incredibly difficult. And so for me, two things that we had in place, we had a directory or a library of different brands and their shades and you were able to select what that match would be in our shade. And then if you wanted to Take a step further and actually try the product before you buy is what we call try before you buy. You were able to order samples and then we would give you a $5 discount to come back and purchase your full size. And so that was really great. Again, for conversions, that was really great for sparking loyalty and it just obviously made it a much easier buying experience for the customer, which you should always be pushing for. We used to sell sample pot, then we graduated and elevated to actual sample kits. But yeah, just to make it an easier purchase decision so that you know, the customer feels safe and secure in their selection and then hopefully to also cut back on any returns.
- [45:35]
B
Yep, got you. And when did you introduce those samples?
- [45:40]
A
Came out the first day that I launched our foundation. So literally from the beginning I've always.
- [45:47]
B
Offered samples and that's been a massive game changer for you. Talk to me around just the future vision, like what's next for range? Any upcoming products. I know you've got the Sephora launch. Any expansions? Like, what can you share?
- [46:05]
A
Yes, I'm excited for the Sephora launch. We launch on December 23. Very special holiday gift. And then for next year we do have a special release, a new product coming out that I'm like, I'm very excited for. And in the pipeline we have I think already like five other products that we're trying to release, but still maintaining the skincare makeup hybrid. And then eventually we're introducing just skin care only products so that you're hopefully building out some type of routine with us or incorporating us into both your skincare and makeup routines. And yeah, I think our biggest project right now obviously is the Sephora launch and growing with them.
- [46:53]
B
Yeah, lots happening, lots happening. And you. We're just about. We just released your program on the Founder plus platform, how to build a million dollar beauty brand. You did a talk for us on our summit. Everyone loved you. So many questions. How do you do this? How do you do that? How, how do that? And you've like. And when I say how do you do? How do you find manufacturers? How do you stand out? How do you, how do you build a social following before you launch? How do you differentiate your product in this space? How do you find suppliers? Like all these incredible things that you need to know when it comes to launching a beauty brand. Alicia's detailed all of this. She's given a lot of source on this interview, but give so much more on this program. How to launch a million dollar beauty brand. I was gonna say, like, why did you decide to give back and teach on the platform and give back.
- [47:42]
A
Oh, I feel like the program is a true playbook that I wish I had when I was launching range. I'm like, the wealth of knowledge that I now have and that I'm able to share is what I wish I had in the beginning and early stages. I had to figure it out on my own. And so I'm like, listen, I want people to be able to have a great launch pad and not to feel so overwhelmed. I think now more than ever, there's way more information and different touch bases than I had to go through even. And so just being able to break that information down into different segments and focus and keep your focus on how to truly go from A to Z with launching, I feel like, like I think this is the best playbook ever. And I just hope that it helps other founders the way I wish it would have helped me.
- [48:38]
B
Yeah, I can't wait to go through the program, but I've heard fantastic things. We've given him a little bit of a sneak early access to our founder plus students and the, the, the response has been incredible. So I'm super, super excited to really, really get this program out to as many potential up and coming beauty brand, brand founders out there. So I was going to say thank you so much, Alicia, for your time. I have one last question, and that is, you know, like I said, I could ask you so many other questions around social media marketing conversion all. We can't talk about it all. We've created this incredible program to help really solve a lot of people's problems around launching a beauty brand, launching a successful one. But you said a lot of founders come to you with a lot of questions. If there was one thing that you could boil it down, what's the number one question? And what's like, what is it something that you wish you could share with founders more that you keep coming. People keep asking you this question, what is it? And what would you say?
- [49:39]
A
Oh, I feel like the number one question is, do I need thousands or do I need a million dollars to start this brand? And my response is always, no, just start small. I feel like I did it in a different way. I took it the hard way. Launching with foundation, that's a tough, tough, tough product to launch with. But if you start small and think through a product category that you can actually solve in with one initial launch product, like, you know, a skincare product or a hair care product and build your budget around that, you do not need thousands or millions or whatever, people are saying to start you are able to start small and the the biggest thing is just to start small heart and stop waiting.
- [50:27]
B
Agree. Well, thank you so much Alicia. This was awesome. You are fantastic. Thank you again. Thank you for giving back to our community and the founder platform and can't wait to do more exciting things with you. So thank you again.
- [50:41]
A
Yes, this is great. Thank you for having me.
- [50:43]
B
If you love this episode, make sure to check out my interview with Emma Greed on how solving a problem she was so passionate about led to the creation of Skims and Good American.
- [50:53]
A
And so I do think it's so much of it starts with like addressing things that bother you that you find you know you've got to create a.
- [51:01]
B
Solution for because you know at the.
- [51:03]
A
End of the day you've got to be passionate enough and sometimes crazy enough to go round and round and round to actually solve a problem.