Dec 19 2023 38 mins
Description:
Joining the show today is Fiona Chan, the Founder and CEO of Youthforia, a beauty brand creating innovative makeup that acts as a part of your skincare routine. Join us as she shares her story of starting a business during the pandemic, self-funding before finding Shark Tank support, and much more!
Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:
AWESOME CX by Transcom provides high-touch, personalized customer experience services to consumer brands of any size! Email Lee at [email protected] to learn more about their award-winning services and Awesome Coffee Chats.
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- [01:56] Fiona paints the picture of her early life, education and early jobs.
- [10:44] Working in tech and a startup accelerator before becoming a founder.
- [14:41] How travel inspired the Youthforia brand and the hands-on process behind perfecting the product.
- [21:06] Building the brand on social media through storytelling and education.
- [24:49] Solving the funding problem through prioritizing inventory.
- [25:48] The Shark Tank experience and the story of getting funded.
- [29:21] Navigating new ways to get necessary data in a B2B context.
- [31:32] Product development and what’s next for Youthforia.
To Find Out More:
Quotes:
“You learn so much through osmosis.” [0:12:13]
“There was something about the pandemic that really made me think about what I actually wanted to do.” [0:14:13]
“The sharks, the way I perceived it, really love and support entrepreneurship and enjoy what they’re doing. They’re really happy to see deals go through” [0:27:24]
“When I had the idea to create makeup that you could sleep in, my first idea was to make a really nice foundation.” [0:28:42]
“When you switch from a purely B2C business to having a few sales channels, you don’t get data the same way as you would directly from Shopify.” [0:29:22]
“Once you have a retail partner, there are more complexities, especially on the operations side.” [0:30:06]
“I did not start this business to be in legal docs and spreadsheets all day, but it is a big part of fundraising.” [0:30:58]
“I am always in a state of product development. I would say that product development is my number one passion in what I get to do.” [0:31:39]
“I always like to tell people exactly what to expect from me.” [0:32:18]
“Finding people whose working style aligns with mine has been really helpful.” [0:34:24]
“I really love sitting down and just defining what I expect in a role and what the best outcomes are. Doing that really makes the hiring process a lot easier” [0:34:52]
“When I onboard people, I tell them, this is what you can expect from my personality and my working style.” [0:35:07]
“My biggest advice would be just to start. It’s never going to be the right time.” [0:36:28]