(0:00:00) Elina: We host a lot of skincare parties for our college societies. We have college ambassadors. They host events and they create content. So I think working with college is a big part of our strategy.
(0:00:12) Courtney: Hi, my name is Courtney and welcome to how they scaled it. We’re scaling is done with both sides of the brain. Today I’m excited to welcome Elina Wang, co-founder and CEO of ESW beauty. Elina’s journey is a story of turning wellness and personal passion into a brand that’s now on the shelves of major retailers like Whole Foods, Walgreens and target.
(0:00:33) Courtney: She launched ESW beauty in 2019, inspired by her own wellness journey and a love for skincare and healthy beverages. From landing her first big retail account to navigating unique challenges as a founder, Elina’s experience is one every aspiring entrepreneur can learn from. Elina, it is such an honor to have you here today. Welcome to how they scaled it.
(0:00:54) Elina: Thank you so much, Courtney. I’m really excited today to chat through our journey. And share a little bit more. Hopefully I can help some people out.
(0:01:02) Courtney: Amazing. Well, why don’t we start with how ESW was inspired. I know it was kind of triggered by your own wellness journey. But what was that initial spark that led you to create your first products which I think was the Rogers mask.
(0:01:16) Elina: Yes, the Rogers masks. So I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I mean, since I was 16, that I knew set in stone was my journey, but I was unsure what. So I’ve had a couple of years of experience in the beauty industry. I started working for my mom when I was 16, for a K-beauty distribution company.
(0:01:38) Elina: So that’s what she did. And from that experience, I was able to try countless of skincare products. I fell in love with sheet masks in particular. I think they were so fun. They were so easy to use, very targeted towards skin concerns. And you know, one thing I discovered was there wasn’t something that I felt like resonated with me emotionally, and I felt like there could be something that would be really unique for the US market.
(0:02:05) Elina: Along the same time I was working through my own wellness journey, I struggled with stomach ulcers for many years, and I decided I need a reset in my diet. From that reset, I discovered better free beverages. Raw juices is one of them. And so I thought, wouldn’t it be really cool to combine the two together? Skincare, after all, is all made from water, so it made sense to have a skincare inspired by beverage.
(0:02:29) Elina: And I thought I loved sheet masks and raw juices were so much fun. They had a medley of ingredients that were great for a skincare products, so that’s how I decided to create the first line. And that’s how the concept was born.
(0:02:44) Courtney: Amazing. Yeah, no, I, I love that. I think that it aligns with like a very specific type of audience because they are so accessible to people. Like it’s like the easiest type of skincare and then also like raw juices. I feel like that’s like such a huge trend. And so combining those things seems obvious now. So when you started that business, you were you were still in college, and you took out a $25,000 loan, which must have been really scary.
(0:03:14) Courtney: But can you take us back to those days and, like, what that leaf felt like?
(0:03:18) Elina: Yeah. So I knew I had to do it. I love the idea. I was in my junior year and actually, conveniently, was taking a year off, to help my mom with her business. And, you know, I just had a spark one day, this is the day I had to do it. And sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason.
(0:03:37) Elina: It’s been sitting for a while, and I was learning a lot, and I did it, so I decided to work with my co-founder, And we took out a bank loan. We didn’t have much. No one funded us. $25,000 bank loan. First step was to register the business. And then obviously we needed a. So we made samples. We decided to sign up for a trade show.
(0:04:02) Elina: We went to Cosmo Pop in 2019, a showcase there. And that’s how we decided to start the company once we got interested. And that’s where we landed our first few retailers.
(0:04:15) Courtney: Amazing. How did you how did you make those initial samples? Like, how did you figure out what exactly the product was going to be?
(0:04:22) Elina: Yeah. So my co-founder has a background in biochemistry. So with his background and also mine in branding and K-beauty, we knew what formulas we wanted and we knew what active we wanted in there, what ingredients we wanted. And we worked with our manufacturer. We did make a trip to Korea and we negotiated making samples and started working through them.
(0:04:47) Elina: We had multiple rounds of samples before they were finally approved and we made it.
(0:04:52) Courtney: Yeah. So that that feels like a lot of a lot of work. You didn’t just make samples like you had to, like, go through like a pretty long process to get that, to get ready for that trade show. So, I think that is and downplay that too much too is.
(0:05:05) Elina: I know, I know, it was a lot, trust me. A lot of hard work, a lot of time. I’m making it easier than it sounds condensed into a couple of bullets. But, yeah, we actually did use, an existing formula. So a lot of brands do that. Everything was a custom formula. It’s our own formula.
(0:05:23) Courtney: Yeah, yeah. Is that and which because your co-founder had biochemistry experience, I feel like that was probably really important to you guys because if you have those skills, why not use them?
(0:05:33) Elina: Exactly.
(0:05:34) Courtney: Yeah. So at that first conference or trade show that you went to, is that where you landed Kohl’s, which was your first major retailer?
(0:05:41) Elina: Yes.
(0:05:42) Courtney: Was that. Yeah. Tell me about that. Like because that was like your first time pitching the product. Did it just come pretty easily to get Kohl’s to sign on or was there like a longer sale selling process?
(0:05:54) Elina: It wasn’t easy at all. So what happens at a trade show is you have a booth. The booth is designed and branded, and you have all sorts of people that walk the hall of the trade show. And, you know, there’s everyone from buyers to, the investors. Right? People and trade service providers, media. So you don’t know who you’re talking to.
(0:06:19) Elina: So I was just this college girl with this big dream, and I would aggressively pitch to anyone, everyone who was walking semi like, you know, close to me. I would just, you know, pitch to them. And then I remember the Kohl’s buyers, they were walking and actually a little further actually go out into the hall and be like, hey, I’m Aleena from you beauty queens for your brand.
(0:06:41) Elina: Do you want to try our products? And then, they were reluctant because they don’t want to get pulled in, but then they saw the packaging and they were like, yes, I would love to come in. I didn’t know who they were until we started talking. I said they were interested and they wanted to make it happen.
(0:06:58) Elina: They had some shelf space available. Let’s make it happen. And the confirmation came, you know, all the pillows come afterwards. So there’s a lot of follow ups. You email them the brand can email them your pricing, and then they will then set up a call from there, negotiate terms. And they placed the plan we launched in January of 2020.
(0:07:20) Courtney: Amazing. Yeah. That’s that’s really incredible. For from your first trade show to land such a large, retailer, do you think that it was your brand? Because it sounds like the packaging was really what grabbed their attention. So tell me more about, like, how that process worked for you developing that packaging.
(0:07:38) Elina: Yes. So I am a packaging girl. I think I think is one of my strengths. And basically, you know, I knew I wanted you the broad use masks. And then at the time for my mom’s company, she actually had a designer on staff. So we worked with her. And basically, I’m not a graphic designer, but I essentially sat with her and we went hand in hand.
(0:08:04) Elina: You know, we figure out the colors together. And I told her, I don’t like that pink. Is this pink? Try this one. Darker, lighter, this shape, not that shape. So we went through rounds and rounds and rounds of edits. I don’t know, maybe like a hundred different rounds of little detailed edits until it got to where I wanted to be.
(0:08:20) Elina: Obviously, I needed to be a bottle shape packaging. I knew I wanted it to be very minimalistic, very clean, because the branding is all about clean formulas. It’s cruelty free, has to be very simple and easy to digest, and color was very important to me to so around that time, not only were we figuring out the product line, but we had to figure out the whole brand, a logo, the brand mark, the brand colors.
(0:08:45) Elina: But I’m always very much involved in that process. And then step by step, hundreds of edits later, we had our first line.
(0:08:54) Courtney: Yeah. And your have you made more tweaks to it since you launched or. Yeah, I really get it right. You’re like, this is it?
(0:09:01) Elina: Yeah. We have so little tweaks. A couple of years ago when we, actually had a second round update because we changed from a, biodegradable material to a compostable mask material. So we made a couple small updates there.
(0:09:16) Courtney: That got it. So, this is a pretty, competitive industry, as I’m sure you know. So how are you differentiating used from all the other skincare brands and sheet mask brands out there?
(0:09:32) Elina: Many ways. I mean, right away when you see a snapshot of our whole brand, you’ll know that it deserves its own space anywhere. It’s all very much healthy beverage inspired. I know a lot of brands are clean, which we are as well. You know, but I think that alone sets us apart and gives us such a great opportunity.
(0:09:54) Elina: We’re sustainable. Our masks are made with a compostable fabric. You know, we both stay true to ourselves with our branding, but also are consistently innovating with new product lines. And actually, this year is the one where we have experienced and will continue to the newest amount of growth with new products launching. So I’m excited to really transform the brand and continue to grow it.
(0:10:18) Courtney: Saying, well, you have like a very interesting relationship with your co-founder, with your first relationship versus your business relationship. But I want to highlight it just because I think it’s so impressive and so thoughtful because every entrepreneur I talk to tells me, you, you just especially the successful ones, you need a really good co-founder. So why don’t you tell us a little bit about your story with your co-founder, kind of how you guys came together and how that’s been?
(0:10:45) Elina: Of course. So we actually were dating before, for, I think two and a half years, and he was on his way to med school. That was his career track. And again, I was working at that time for K-beauty distribution company. And so he actually had a break in between where after college, you take your mcats and you apply.
(0:11:07) Elina: So I said, why don’t you work for us as well? And you can do some buys, you know, lyrics, you know, because that was something he was interested in as well. When I decided to start the company, I said to him, we should do it together. You know, I said you had a biochemistry background. Even though he wanted to go to med school, he was a little bit hesitant, and I thought, why not pitch the idea?
(0:11:32) Elina: You know, because I think one thing, as an entrepreneur, you want to feel purpose. And both of us are people who want purpose and want to grow something. And so that’s what happened. He said. Yes. Started the company. A couple years later, we realized that we could not work. We weren’t good partners long term, but we’re very, very good co-founders.
(0:11:55) Elina: Yeah, he has his strengths. I have my set of strengths, and we work very well. We don’t step on each other’s toes. He supports me. And, you know, I support him. And we both are running our teams and operating in a very strong way. And I would say or best of friends, we trust each other. We’ve been through the highs of highs, the lows of lows.
(0:12:19) Elina: And we’re still very strong. So yeah.
(0:12:22) Courtney: I think that, being a co-founder with someone is there’s just something that’s like very intimate about it naturally, because you’re, you’re in it together from the beginning to the end, from all the highs and the lows. And so it kind of makes sense to me that, like, there would be some kind of like deeper relationship behind it.
(0:12:39) Courtney: But I always joke that my business partner and I, we’re, we’re business soulmates. So we just, like, get each other on how we want to run this business. I feel like that’s probably kind of what you have with your co-founder.
(0:12:52) Elina: Exactly. Like, we’ve been through so much and, you know, had crises together where we were, like, thinking, how are we going to get through this? What’s the next step? You know, and so celebrated when we were launching in our dream retailers, he’s the first one I call when it’s, we’re going through a really rough time, but,
(0:13:15) Elina: Yeah, I mean, I think we both have learned a lot throughout the years, and I would not do this with anyone else.
(0:13:23) Courtney: Yeah. So, what? Your business has scaled pretty rapidly over the last couple of years. Because it sounds like as soon as you got into calls, you’ve just been, like, adding on these, like, big, heavy hitter retailers. So your role has evolved quite a bit as the business has scaled, while you’re close handling operations and you’re on sales, marketing, product development, how has that changed kind of the way that you approach the business?
(0:13:53) Elina: Yeah, well, you’re one it was just my co-founder and myself. So I did everything on one end and he did everything on the other. Now we have more than 15 people on the team. And so we find ourselves we don’t talk to each other anymore as much about every single thing. It’s, you know, work with this person to relay that information.
(0:14:15) Elina: But I think now it’s a lot of managing people who are actively working on the day to day. We have strong teams in each realm. So in sales, marketing, design and PD is what I manage and we share finance and he manages operations. But I think it’s learning that, you know, how do you manage people? How can they work collaboratively, work with you towards achieving your goals together?
(0:14:43) Elina: Yeah. So I think that’s really where the changes. But I’m still, you know, very much involved in, you know, everything detailed down to what color we’re using to act to strategy for new retailers. I think I’m just, you know, a very involved person. It’s my baby. And, I want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can, the best possible.
(0:15:08) Courtney: Yeah. I think a lot of times, entrepreneurs, like, once they start getting a little bit of success, they, they zoom out too much and they start paying attention to those smaller details. And that’s when the brand starts changing to be not what you launched it as, which sometimes is okay. But I think for things like skincare, people are really craving authenticity.
(0:15:28) Courtney: If you lose that and you lose that attention to detail, that’s when the you start to kind of fall off. So, lately that you’re, you’re sticking in it.
(0:15:38) Elina: Yes. My I’m all in. But I completely agree. I think the only person truly who cares the most, you know, obsessively is the founder. Yeah. You know, and I think we were able to achieve the success today and the love from our community because of the products, the formula. And I think now, you know, still, I have a bigger team.
(0:16:02) Elina: I’m growing a bigger team. But, you know, I’m in the weeds of it a lot. Yeah, yeah. And you have to learn how to let go and find that balance.
(0:16:11) Courtney: Yeah. It’s hard though. It’s very hard. So as you’ve expanded to more retailers. So Whole Foods, target, Walgreens, what has been your strategy to get into those retailers? Does it kind of a snowball effect or is it a targeted, strategy for each one of them?
(0:16:31) Elina: It’s different thing. So there’s the push and pull. For many of them, we, you know, went to trade shows, they met us and sometimes they pick us up right away. And for some of them, it took years before they finally said yes to, for example, target took three years to finally launch in stores. For Walgreens.
(0:16:53) Elina: We actually met the buyers at a previous trade show. And last January, out of the blue, we got an email from their team saying they have an opening, and I didn’t even think about them for like a couple years. I didn’t even think we would get that opportunity. Is what I mean. And, it just really landed in our inbox and of course, we took it, you know, going.
(0:17:16) Elina: And I think for now, it’s a lot of, getting in front of the retailers over and over again. You have to go out and meet, I think you have, you know, I’m a very old school person when it comes to that and consistently following up, consistently pitching, and they’ll come around. So I don’t say no, I think it’s always a not yes.
(0:17:38) Courtney: Yes, I love that it. So when you were kind of working target for three years, took three years from when you met them to when they launched during that time, were you how often were you following up with them? Was that like on a monthly basis, on a quarterly basis or more than that?
(0:17:55) Elina: I would say quarterly basis? Yeah, yeah. So we they have us how large retailers work is they have a yearly pass set. So they set their stores and how they want to merchandise their products. So you really get one opportunity a year. You have to be in that review timeframe where they’re actually looking at your brand and seriously considering it.
(0:18:19) Elina: So obviously during that time making sure we’re following up consistently. But I think always letting their team know what we’re doing, our new products throughout the year is also important.
(0:18:29) Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. It does feel like, three years is a really long time sales cycle, essentially. To not give up during that time period, I think takes a lot of gumption. But that it’s just what it takes, right? You just have to slow down your own time timeline because I’m sure you’re like, okay, let’s get in the store.
(0:18:49) Courtney: Like, we’ve got all these great products. But they came around eventually.
(0:18:55) Elina: They did. So it’s patience. You have to be patient. You know, but there’s a lot to keep me busy in my life. Yeah, a lot of different things to be working on. But, you know, they want you to build your community. They want you to build out your product lines, your brand. So in a way, it’s also them being very smart and want to make sure it’s the right time.
(0:19:15) Elina: Are you ready to handle this? Do you have the budget? Those are all questions that are part of this decision making process.
(0:19:24) Courtney: Yeah. Well, how how have you been able to, kind of grow and, like, prove that to them? Is there certain things that worked really well to show them that you were ready to take it on, or was it pretty much just whatever they asked for? It just deliver it as a they gave it to you.
(0:19:43) Elina: I think it’s consistently being our best selves and proving ourselves. They’re always watching, you know, these buyers, they have their social media. They’re watching, their teams are paying attention. You know, there are, you know, industry reports so continuously working on ourselves. And then, you know, obviously when the timing is right and we’re given the opportunity, they will reach out.
(0:20:04) Courtney: Yeah. Well, you talked a little bit about kind of staying in the weeds and staying like attention to detail. Is there anything that you’ve been doing to make sure that, like as you launch new product lines and you grow, that you’re keeping the brand really cohesive and fitting your original vision?
(0:20:20) Elina: Of course, every single formula, I’m always making sure that it checks off. I’m testing them, trying it out. So I think paying attention to that first and foremost. And then of course, when it comes to packaging and design and branding, nothing goes out unless I sign off on it. So and I usually, you know, if it’s great, fantastic.
(0:20:42) Elina: It’s at least five rounds, but still I can take there’s so many details in one product, from color to material to shape to typography to, you know, the little designs and the tropes. And they could be hundreds of brands.
(0:20:58) Courtney: Yeah. And then it’s like once you have the product, okay, then with marketing, all the different social posts have to match the ads has to be very much an email and your website. And I mean, it’s it’s a massive undertaking to launch one single product and make it look good. It’s really easy to launch a product, but to do it correctly takes so much effort and so much thoughts.
(0:21:20) Courtney: So I’m sure that’s all.
(0:21:22) Elina: There’s a lot when it comes to marketing, and especially at s w. So not just the product. Once that comes out, then you need to create the branding and the campaign vision for that. So everything from the photo shoots we have product shoots, lifestyle shoots, model shoots, everything has to be from point or on point. And then from there I like you mentioned the ad strategy.
(0:21:44) Elina: Also our event. What is our event going to be? What’s the theme? You know that whole campaign as well. You know and then of course digital marketing. So the email campaigns and then the website, I’m missing many by all PR boxes. Can’t put strategy. And we do have a team. So I really work with them, guide them on, you know, high level what we’re looking for.
(0:22:11) Elina: And then they of course send over proposals and then we then review meetings. That’s why I’m meetings a lot. Lots. Scott’s and yeah, absolutely executed.
(0:22:22) Courtney: Don’t start a brand unless you love being on meetings all day. That’s all it is.
(0:22:26) Elina: Yeah. No, honestly, like, my voice is so cracked by the me, have really, like, minimal left energy right when he comes home. But, yeah, we’re working on it.
(0:22:42) Courtney: So tell me, what has worked the best for you or any unconventional, marketing plans that have worked really well to get you out there? Because you really got to stand out in this industry, for the consumer, not just for the retailers, but also for the consumers. So how do you guys how do you guys find success there?
(0:23:01) Elina: Well, for one, last month I wore a costume in the Santa Monica pier and was handing out our new mocktail masks. So that’s why. Unconventional. Yeah. But yeah. So basically we made this life size costume and it was, in the shape and design of our mocktail mask, and we had a whole week long event the first time we did an actual event to launch a new product, not local to us, in L.A. and it was for pre Coachella weeks.
(0:23:29) Elina: It was in April. We had a pre Coachella house event afterwards, our own mocktail event, and then we had a day where we did like meet and greets, and we handed out products at Santa Monica and Venice Beach. I thought that was a really fun and unique marketing campaign. But I mean a couple other things. One, we are we love our college community.
(0:23:49) Elina: So I think it’s common but mostly unconventional. We host a lot of little skincare parties for our college societies. We have college ambassadors, they host events, and they create content. So I think working with college is a big part of our strategy. And then something I personally dabbled into more in the past year before I refused to be on social media, I just I was not my personality.
(0:24:14) Elina: I was always a very, very shy girl growing up. But last year, something clicked and I decided to start making content. So, I am working on it by making content, you know, creating, sharing videos of my day in the life. Those are things that I start doing and that helps resonate and build a relationship with our community.
(0:24:37) Courtney: Yeah. I think, but doing more in-person events and getting out and like seeing people in real life is becoming more important for, for, consumer products. Just because people get so much online, they’re just being attacked constantly with ads. And to have like more of, like a human connection seems to be really important. It also just feels like more, you know, like local and and interesting.
(0:25:03) Courtney: So do you. Most of your events are in LA, like local to you because you said you are doing some kind of outside of your own locality.
(0:25:12) Elina: So I’m based in New York, but L.A. was the first event that was not local New York, in new Jersey. So have our teams in Jersey hats in New York. But, I completely agree with you. I think that event is event marketing is so huge for us. This next year that, it’s something that just clicked honestly, like we’ve always done events, but every time we really build relationships and it every single customer is a one on one relationship with you.
(0:25:44) Elina: So you might think you’re only, you know, building it with ten people, but when you see them in person and other people online see that you are putting a lot of genuine effort and time and care to explain the products and, you know, get to know them, I think that makes a big impact. Yeah. But I think this day and age, especially the past two years, beauty brands in particular, really need to go out and, you know, meet their fan base and their community.
(0:26:11) Elina: It’s all about experiential marketing. And I think it’s very common in the industry, and we’re excited to do more of that. So we have a lot of event plans coming up in the next few months.
(0:26:23) Courtney: And you have a costume for each one of them.
(0:26:24) Elina: I’m sure I need to work on that, but yeah, I need to think about that one. But we definitely have a unique campaign for each one. Love out of the box.
(0:26:37) Courtney: Yes, yes, just trying to be creative. Just look different than other brands, which I think honestly, your packaging really stands out from other brands. That’s such a good start and you can just keep playing on that. I think it’s because it’s helps people identify you in the stores, too. I think a lot of times people, they don’t spend as much time as they need to on packaging.
(0:26:59) Courtney: Well, so think about kind more zooming out and looking is you as a leader, as a founder, and your own well-being as founder. How are you able to kind of give yourself time and make sure that you’re taking care of yourself in such a demanding industry? With such a busy schedule?
(0:27:18) Elina: Yeah. I’m still trying to figure out work life balance myself. You know, I think one I have recently love with the weather being nice. I’ve been loving walks, and dogs. So, you know, I’ll work, have meetings 9 to 6, grab the day, and then afterwards, take some time. You know, I walk to our local, park by the waterfront, you know, make some dinner, have some dinner, and then I’ll log back on at night and I finish up all of the computer work.
(0:27:48) Elina: Anything else that I need for people? I’m showing them, emails, but I think exercise, fitness and whatever you whatever form is very helpful is important. And then two is for me, meditation is very important. I love meditation, it helps with really giving myself peace of mind, which is also what I’m working on, finding peace. And I think, obviously a very healthy diet, you can have cheat days, but making sure that you are eating clean, it will help you feel more energized.
(0:28:25) Elina: And a good social life. I mean, I love my social life. I think I have a pretty big one. Lots of friends. I love spending time with them, meeting new people. You know, and I like eating, so I’m like, I’m a big festival girl. And I love music and dancing and just spending time with friends.
(0:28:43) Elina: So those are just a couple of things that I do, to find some balance. Yeah.
(0:28:49) Courtney: I do think it’s hard for for founders because, like you said, it’s your baby. Like, it’s you can’t just turn it off. Or like, go on a vacation. But hopefully over time, you’re able to bring on the right team members to allow you the space to be able to kind of like, step out for a couple of days and, like, fully recharge.
(0:29:11) Courtney: Do you feel like your team is kind of getting there? Like, how is your hiring process like.
(0:29:16) Elina: Yeah, I have a great team. I pride myself in one talent. I’m very good at finding good people. For the most part, but we have a very traditional hiring process, LinkedIn. So I’ve been most of my team has been hired through LinkedIn. Put out the posting interview rounds. If it’s more senior, obviously more rounds that are more challenging, if it’s a younger or junior role, then obviously, you know, still like because there’s so many applicants, it’s crazy.
(0:29:47) Elina: Now, a lot to weed through. We want to find the best, but we want to make sure that this is a role that they that is best for them too. Right? It’s a two way street. But, you know, I think recently as the brand has been growing, which is great. Also because I’m on social media, have a lot of people DM me right away.
(0:30:04) Elina: I’m looking for a role here, and I wish I can give everyone a role, but I don’t have that. Those that many openings right now. Yeah. Like my team is great. You know, I think I’ve been very strategic with hiring. Obviously we don’t want to over hire, but also make sure that everyone has a balanced work load.
(0:30:27) Elina: You know, but very, very strong. And I’m happy with it.
(0:30:30) Courtney: I mean, yeah, I, I think that’s the hardest thing is to find the right team. So your skill being you can find good people, that’s huge. I think that that I think a lot of times people just hire just because they’re overwhelmed. But, taking the time to hire the right people, I think it’s probably making a huge difference in your business.
(0:30:49) Elina: It definitely does. It’s people. People drive for business. You have to have good people.
(0:30:55) Courtney: Yeah. Well, what does the next five years look like for TSW?
(0:30:59) Elina: Yeah, lots of growth. I’m very excited. New product lines defining the brand. Furthermore, in the skincare world, being able to grow more products on shelves, being able to build our community, and building more relationships with each person and hopefully becomes a skincare staple for, you know, every other, you know, beauty lover, in the US.
(0:31:24) Elina: And then obviously from there growing internationally, you.
(0:31:28) Courtney: Well, I, I’m looking forward to that. The last question I have for you is, ask everybody is if you could give yourself one piece of advice when you were just starting SSW, what would it be?
(0:31:40) Elina: Yeah, I think I know it’s a good one. Retailers which early this is very technical, but, retailers have always been. So it’s not one of those like very, you know, like automatic inspiration.
(0:31:56) Courtney: Right. Tactical advice.
(0:31:58) Elina: Like, I guess a few things. One, I’ve always knew that working with retailers was my strategy, but I wish I knew how expensive it was. My, you know, to really be ready to spend money to make money and do is have a very strong back that up, financial plan. So coming in, I took a $25,000 bank loan.
(0:32:20) Elina: But to be honest, I knew my luck. I was very, very lucky. I don’t I think that it’s like a 20% chance. I think if I wasn’t strategic and I didn’t have that luck that, you know, Coles, you know, and the other ones following, I don’t think I could have sustained it. So if I wasn’t that lucky, you know, and I didn’t have a very strong plan of how am I funding this business, I wouldn’t have made it.
(0:32:46) Elina: But I think in general, I would definitely make sure if you are starting a company, you know how to fund it.
(0:32:52) Courtney: Yeah, I think that’s really good advice because I think you’re right. It is extremely expensive. It’s always more expensive and takes longer than you think it’s going to, and especially like trade shows and events like that. So you have to like set up your booth, you have to print a lot of stuff. You have to, you know, you want to provide these beautiful PR boxes and all of that stuff if you want.
(0:33:16) Courtney: You want it to be quality, to really represent your brand. It costs a lot of money. And then obviously working with retailers directly, like you make a lot of money in the long run, but it’s a ton of upfront costs.
(0:33:26) Elina: So yeah, and life throws you curveballs. We never expected the tariffs to happen. But now we have that challenge to deal with. So you know Covid was a big one. I started the company in 29 late 2019. And even though it was just my co-founder and I working together, we didn’t take any salary at all for the first few years.
(0:33:52) Elina: We launched in a couple stores, Q1 of 2020, 2020, and we knew what happened. So I think, another piece of advice is just to be agile. And to think quickly.
(0:34:06) Courtney: Yeah. So with the tariffs, how much will that affect you? Do you feel like I mean, you don’t have to say you don’t want to, but do you think that it’s going to have to increase your prices or how will that impact your business?
(0:34:19) Elina: I really don’t want to increase my prices. As of right now, I don’t think I, I don’t intend on doing so. But yes, it definitely is a curveball. And, you know, we have to be smarter with budget. Yeah, for sure.
(0:34:34) Courtney: Yeah, well, I’m hoping I mean, things seem to be in flux right now, so I’m hoping it swings, in a better direction for businesses because it does feel like it’s, it’s really painful for businesses that, like yours, who you don’t want to increase your pricing, but you just have to get really creative with your budget. I know you can do it.
(0:34:54) Courtney: If you survive the pandemic, I think you can survive this. Do.
(0:34:58) Elina: Thank you, thank you, I yeah, we’ll be fine. Yeah. It’s a little bump.
(0:35:03) Courtney: Yes. Well, where can people find you? Online?
(0:35:07) Elina: Yes. Beauty.com. And on social media, Instagram and TikTok. I used to be dot beauty. And if you want to find me personally, I’m on Instagram and TikTok. You, Lena Sophia Wang.
(0:35:19) Courtney: Amazing. Thank you so much for your time, Elina. And we’ll go ahead and link all those things, when we post. So everyone go follow DSW Beauty and and if you see them in store, give them a try because it’s a really cool product. And thank you to everyone at home or on the go for listening. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please make sure to subscribe, share with a friend, or leave us a review.
(0:35:41) Courtney: And if there’s anything you’d like to hear on an upcoming episode, just let us know. For more insights, follow us on LinkedIn or visit Right Left agency.com and we’ll be back next week with more stories of success, innovation and marketing strategies to help you grow. See you on the next one.
