In this episode of How They Scaled It, host Courtney sits down with Rochelle Jacobs, Co-Founder of Naturally Serious, a clean beauty brand that blends clinical efficacy with conscious simplicity. If you’ve ever seen Naturally Serious pop up on Sephora.com or been intrigued by clean skincare that actually works, this is the story behind the brand making it happen.
From Wall Street to Skincare: A Pivot Years in the Making
Before Rochelle Jacobs was formulating serums and launching innovative beauty products, she was deep in the world of finance. A self-described “die-hard” for Wall Street, Rochelle’s career started in corporate finance, fueled by early subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal and a passion for business.
But behind the suits and spreadsheets was a different kind of inheritance. Rochelle grew up watching her grandmother, mother, and their extended family craft their own skincare products at home. “I was raised watching them do that,” Rochelle says. “My mother was born into this, also. So she really was the pioneer in this. And I’m kind of riding on her coattails to a certain extent, because she really came up with some of these great ideas.”
When her mother co-founded Peter Thomas Roth with Peter in the early ’90s, Rochelle finally saw the opportunity to merge her business savvy with her roots in skincare. By 1999, she joined the team and on day one was told she’d be launching their New Jersey manufacturing facility. The hands-on experience became her business bootcamp: from ingredient sourcing to machinery, quality control to packaging, Rochelle learned to scale beauty from the ground up.
Building a Brand That Does Both: Clinical + Clean
By the time Naturally Serious launched in late 2018, clean beauty was gaining traction, but it came with baggage. Clean products weren’t seen as effective and many consumers equated “natural” with “not powerful.” So, Naturally Serious set out to change that perception.
Rochelle and her co-founder, Sarah McNamara, developed a tightly curated line designed to simplify skincare without compromising performance. Products like C Your Glow (a Vitamin C oil) and Zero Baggage (an eye cream) boast cheeky names but serious ingredients. Every item in the lineup contains their patented anti-pollution blend: a mix of red, white, and green tea, goji berry, pomegranate, and grapeseed that acts like a “natural steroid,” boosting the effectiveness of other actives while protecting skin from environmental aggressors.
Naturally Serious wanted the brand to be accessible. That meant consumer-friendly names, simple instructions, and price points that didn’t sacrifice quality. It also meant avoiding the endless SKU creep. Rochelle emphasized that Naturally Serious wasn’t built to have 80+ SKUs or chase trends—it was built to do fewer things, better.
The Sephora Seal of Approval—And Scaling with the Right Partners
For Rochelle, the journey of scaling Naturally Serious has hinged on one key factor: partnerships. Early support from Sephora proved instrumental, not just for visibility, but for credibility. “They were really in the kitchen helping us make sure we were coming out like that. Everything we were doing was on the right track, making changes where we might have been off,” Rochelle says.
Sephora’s endorsement helped validate the brand in a crowded market. But Rochelle didn’t stop there. She also leaned into gifting strategies to fuel word-of-mouth and create authentic buzz. Whether it’s a macro influencer or a friend recommending the line to a group chat, Rochelle values grassroots momentum over paid hype.
Another unexpected but game-changing partnership came via Northwell Health, the largest health system in the U.S. Naturally Serious worked with them to create curated overnight kits for patients, tailored based on real feedback. Rochelle shared, “If a hospital says it’s okay to put this product on your face or your body that will be touching your brand new baby, I think that’s a huge yes.”
What It Really Takes to Lead (and Let Go)
In the early days of her career, Rochelle was what she calls “a control freak,” the kind of founder who wouldn’t even let someone else book her flights. But over time, she’s embraced a more empowering leadership style.
“Now I realize I don’t have to do it all,” she says. Instead, she’s focused on building and trusting a team that’s as committed as she is. Rochelle shared how empowering her team has become a new joy: not doing everything herself, but watching others grow and fly on their own.
That mindset also extends to how she hires: almost every great team member has come from word-of-mouth, friend-of-a-friend referrals, or retail connections. “Good things happen to good people,” Rochelle says. “Good things happen to the people that put that energy out there.”
Navigating Challenges: TikTok, Timing, and Tech Trends
Despite their strong start, scaling Naturally Serious hasn’t come without challenges. Launching just months before the pandemic made it tough to build in-person brand momentum. And like many beauty founders, Rochelle faced the brutal reality that not every brand can win on TikTok.
While TikTok wasn’t the magic bullet, Rochelle sees that as part of the learning curve. “Just because something doesn’t work doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or a failure. It just means you’ve got to try something else,” she says.
She’s also become deeply attuned to evolving tech and consumer behavior. “The average person picks up the phone 150 times a day. And that’s the average person. If you take from someone 20 to 30, I’m sure it’s like 300 times. These types of things are fascinating to me,” says Rochelle.
Advice for Founders: Don’t Underestimate Digital
If she could go back and give herself one piece of advice before launching Naturally Serious, Rochelle says it would be this:
Don’t underestimate how much digital will drive growth.
Quality products matter, but in today’s landscape, if you’re not thinking like a digital-first brand, you’re behind. From AI to social media trends to evolving consumer expectations, staying relevant means staying nimble.
For Rochelle, the goal isn’t just to sell skincare. It’s to help people feel better in their skin and build a brand rooted in trust, efficacy, and a bit of fun.
Want to hear the full conversation?
Listen to Episode 25 of How They Scaled It on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3b3xQpobBUY0QcokKDGgKG
If you’re a DTC founder looking to scale smarter, let’s talk. Right Left Agency helps brands like yours harness psychology-driven marketing for real growth. Get in touch today!
To learn more about Naturally Serious, visit www.naturallyseriousskin.com.
