Launching a beauty brand is a popular venture in the creator space, and while some have nailed it, others have flopped – and of course, many creators are still dreaming of taking the risk. But the interest comes as no surprise. The beauty industry generated more than $430 billion in revenue in 2022 alone, and the space is only getting more saturated and competitive.
To get more insight and perspective on the space, we talked to Priscilla Tsai, the founder of Cocokind, about what she learned while building her beauty brand. Here are some key takeaways.
- The stakes of who you are, what you are and how you’re going to market are higher every year, and the same thing goes for creators. The authenticity of a creator is super important.
- To have real influence, you definitely have to speak to your followers in a real way – whatever message that is or whatever lifestyle that is. It’s pretty easy to tell what is an ad and what is a genuine love for a product.
- If you’re self-funded, you have to make smaller bets and put more time and dollars into the bets that you’re making, especially when it comes to the product.
- Going to market requires a really clear point of view and a clear differentiating factor. You have to be able to get attention, and it’s hard to do today.
- For a lot of companies who had overnight, scaled success, they don’t really have room for error. If a mistake happens, it may really end up hurting the company.
- My first hire was a recent graduate who helped with so many different things – selling to the accounts, calling up stores, delivering products, making products and labeling products. I would not do that today and wouldn’t advise on doing that today. Save up for someone who can really be a general athlete in the beginning stages if you are a bootstrap company.
- The number of people you hire is not important at all. It’s just about finding the right people who are able to flex and grow, especially in the beginning stages.
- You want to have chameleons on your team who can react and still thrive. Hiring should not be taken lightly, even when you’re desperate to get more hands in. It’s super important to take it slow when it comes to hiring.
ALEXIS BENVENISTE IS A NEW YORK-BASED WRITER AND EDITOR WHOSE WORK HAS BEEN FEATURED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, BLOOMBERG, VANITY FAIR, AND OTHER OUTLETS.
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