EP 391: Why Gary V Led $1.5M Round In This Cosmetics Company

Julie Fredrickson from Stowaway Cosmetics. Have you ever felt like your purse was so heavy it could take someone out with one swing? Every lip gloss, concealer, and eyeliner really adds up! Julie has a found a solution to this problem with Stowaway Cosmetics, which focuses on creating a more mobile product for women on the go. Listen as she tells us how she has transformed the beauty industry with products that actually get used.

Famous Five:

• Favorite Book? – Five Dysfunctions of a Team
• What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuck
• Favorite online tool? — Google Apps

• Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Religiously.
• If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don’t be a jerk. Being kind costs you nothing.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:05 – Nathan introduces Julie
• 01:30 – Stowaway Cosmetics is about mobile products that women can use anywhere
• 02:10 – Launched 18 months ago
• 02:25 – Learning to run an effective ecommerce business
• 02:35 -- $1.5 M in capital
• • 02:45 – Equity
  • 03:15 – Valuation is private at an early stage
  • 03:45 – A good valuation is a balance
  • 05:15 – Gary Vaynerchuck
• 05:40 – The beauty industry has been giving out products that people don’t finish
• 06:50 – Brands need to see more repeat purchasing
• 07:25 – Margins for a palette of eyeshadow
• 08:10 – Effective and a better value than their competitors
• 08:30 – Direct consumers
• 08:45 – A normal margin is about 50% through retailers
• 09:20 – Their margin is about 85%
• 09:45 – Monopolies in the makeup industry
• 10:15 – “You should have a choice as a consumer to carry a product that fits your lifestyle.”
• 11:00 – Weighing down your purse with cosmetics
• 11:35 – Launched in Feb 2015
• 12:00 – Fundraising started in early 2014
• 12:15 – Valuation was based on pre-sales
• 13:25 – Influence in the marketplace
• 14:05 – Passed $100k in lipsticks sold
• 14:20 – Their focus changed to repeat purchasing and having a comfortable growing rate
• 15:20 – Now they spend nothing on marketing
• 16:25 – They care more about repeat customers than getting more customers
• 17:30 – On average, women come back to purchase again in 90 days
• • 18:20 – 40% have made at least 3 purchases
  • 19:00 – minimalists vs. maximalists
• 19:30 – Follow at Julie at @stowaway on Twitter and on Anchor
• 21:55 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

• Find a problem and do the research to come up with a good solution.
• Look at a particular industry and evaluate where its setbacks are.
• Develop a relationship with your customers.

Resources Mentioned:

• Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
• Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
• Leadpages  – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
• Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
• Google Apps – Julie’s favorite online tool for her business
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives