Kate Morris- Adore Beauty

How do you build a successful business before the market is truly ready? Kate Morris is the founder of Adore Beauty, the online beauty retailer she launched in 1999 at the ripe old age of 21. It took almost a decade for Adore Beauty to gain momentum and for customers to become comfortable with purchasing their beauty products online. Lucky for Kate she persisted, because 20 years on, Adore Beauty stocks over 200 brands and is forecast in 2020 to turn over $100 million in revenue. We covered a lot of ground in this chat, including: How she built out a team in the beginning, and what tasks she outsourced first How Adore Beauty acquires new customers through focusing on content marketing  Why she’s decided to invest heavily in AI technology The key ingredients to a killer pitch Why she decided to sell 60% of her stake in the business to private equity in 2019 Dealing with serious cash flow issues as recent as 2014, and the tactics she used to generate enough funds to make the following week’s payroll  

Jo Horgan - MECCA

How do you build a multi-million dollar retail empire by becoming best friends with rejection?  Jo Horgan is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs – she is the founder and driving force behind multimillion-dollar beauty giant MECCA. At 27, Jo had an idea to create a new beauty concept in Australia, BUT she had no retail experience, no distribution experience and only 4 years’ in beauty…yet, she succeeded in getting some of the world’s biggest brands to buy into her vision.  22 years on, MECCA has emerged as the global leader in beauty innovation, and Jo, as one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs.  In this chat we covered: How being persistent and unrelenting got brands like NARS on board in the beginning The unique way Jo deals with rejection, and uses it to her advantage How ‘fake it til you make it’ still applies, despite the fact she’s achieved incredible levels of success Her top tip for bringing a deal to a close The key drivers of MECCA’s growth over the last 10 years How Direct-to-Consumer brands are revolutionising the beauty industry How to build a good reputation, and keep it.                                                                       Find out more about the show and join the gang at www.ladybrains.com.au Follow us on Instagram at lady.brains  

Holly Cardew - Pixc

Have you ever had an idea but parked it because you feel like you don't have the right skills or knowledge?  This conversation with Holly Cardew is a fantastic example of a non-technical founder building a multi-million dollar tech business. That business is Pixc - a platform for online retailers to edit their product shots. And...she's managed to build this with an entirely virtual team.  Holly is the product of accelerator programs both in Australia and in the US, and she now splits her time between Silicon Valley and Melbourne.  We covered a lot in this chat, including: How to build a completely remote workforce What to think about if you're considering to be part of an accelerator program  The dos and don'ts of operating in Silicon Valley How she managed to find out how Mailchimp's founder built his list from 10k to 1 million The future of software, and how Pixc is building an AI capability  How to get traction on your landing page 101

Sasha Benz - Cinq, All My Friends Are Models, Wyld Blue, Baybi Pop

How do you build a rolodex with high-value contacts and keep these relationships warm so they pay-off in the long run? Sasha Benz is the Aussie Born, New York based, founder of four businesses, as well as the Creative Director of The Surf Lodge – Montauks “it destination” (no joke…when we were there, Beyoncé was in town).  At 24, she moved to New York to pursue a career in fashion and styling before starting two businesses, both of which failed to get off the ground. After experiencing these setbacks, she dug deep and went on to launch fashion blog ‘All My Friends Are Models’, social networking app Cinq, and two retail stores in Montauk.  In this chat we cover:  Why two of her first businesses failed, and the lessons she learned The importance of building your rolodex, and how every opportunity has come through one of her contacts The challenge with transitioning out of a creative industry into tech, and how she’s managed to quickly up-skill The importance of brand partnerships and how to make sure you’re pursuing the right ones  The power of word of mouth The process of raising money for her tech start-up   Why relationships are the most important thing and should be invested in above all else  Find out more about the show and join the gang at www.ladybrains.com.au Follow us on Instagram at lady.brains

Bec Donlan - Sweat with Bec, Go Basic

How do you recover after losing your life savings? And what affect does this have on your business? Bec Donlan is a personal trainer and health coach, and is better known as Sweat with Bec. She’s also the founder of Go Basic, a natural healthy snack company. After years of hustling in NYC as a trainer to some of the biggest celebrities and models, Bec realised an opportunity in a rapidly expanding CBD industry and decided to infuse many of her Go Basic products with small doses of CBD (the non-intoxicating compound of the cannabis plant). This is a very frank and honest conversation with Bec, where we cover: Her personal motivations for starting Go Basic Money pressures and how to navigate them How spending her life savings on back surgery led her to starting Go Basic Navigating an unpredictable landscape around CBD-infused products in the USA Find out more about the show and join the gang at www.ladybrains.com.au Follow us on Instagram at lady.brains

Babba Rivera - ByBabba, HER Network

What does it take to market a product to the millennial audience? And how do you make it meaningful?  In this episode of LADY-LAND we chatted with Swedish-born Babba Rivera – the brand marketing guru!  At 21 she launched Uber into Sweden, making Stockholm the fastest growing launch city ever. At 25, she landed herself on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. She’s been the Head of Marketing at Away, the direct-to-consumer luggage start-up that was recently valued at over $1 billion. And as if that wasn’t enough, she founded her own brand and marketing agency ByBabba, and is the co-founder of HER Network, a global community that supports women in the workplace.  Her insights are inspiring and are great food for thought. We covered a lot in this chat, including:  How she created the opportunity for herself at Uber at such a young age How she built Uber in Sweden by targeting early adopters in the tech community  How she landed a role at Uber in NYC by pitching herself a new role to her boss  Working as head of fashion partnerships at Uber in NYC  Transitioning to Away at a time of insane growth, and how she coped working in such a chaotic environment  The decision to quit her full-time role and start her own brand marketing agency  How to market to millennials, and how to make it meaningful  Her experience working with huge brands like Bumble & Glossier  Co-founding the HER Global Network, and how she landed on the decision to introduce a paid membership model   Find out more about the show and join the gang at www.ladybrains.com.au Follow us on Instagram at lady.brains