Latest / Skin Anarchy / Rose Fernandez, CEO of ALGENIST

Transcript

Rose Fernandez, CEO of ALGENIST · Skin Anarchy

• 0:01
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• 0:35
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys, happy September.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so excited to start off this month with our newsletter, which we sent out this morning.
• 0:43
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• 1:02
  SPEAKER_03: And we will definitely make sure that you get that newsletter every month.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_03: It's just a place for us to highlight, you know, some of our special guests, some, you know, really extraordinary guests that we've had and share some quotes with you guys about the show and just what they've you know shared with us about their visions and their journeys.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_03: So it's you know, just some added bonus content there.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_03: But thank you so much to everyone listening.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um, we've just gotten some great advice, feedback, comments, you know, um, and responses from all of you.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I can't thank you enough, but stay tuned.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_03: I hope you love this episode.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_03: Alginist is definitely a you know a line for me that uh has been there from the beginning of my skincare journey, and I hope that you guys learn as much as I did from Rose because it's a really great episode.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_03: Anyways, thanks guys, stay tuned.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_03: This is your host, Ekta, and I have such a special guest today.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_03: I am a huge fan of this brand, and I have been for quite some time now.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm super excited to introduce you guys to the CEO of Alginist, Rose Fernandez.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_03: Rose, welcome to the show.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much for making the time for this.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, Edgar, thank you so much.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: I've really been looking forward to being able to have this conversation with you.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for reaching out.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's I'm I'm so glad that you were able to, you know, come on the show and make time.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_03: I I want to get started though, and I want to talk about you um first and foremost, because um, you know, obviously I'm gonna be ranting all good things about the brand throughout the episode, but I want to know about you and how you got into the skincare space and um, you know, everything, all the good details.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, gosh, I have been in skincare my entire career.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um if you can imagine, I started my skincare journey on the retail floor um with a pretty well-known skincare brand and fell in love with I think everything that we all fall in love with at the start, right?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's like beautiful product and um it was, you know, being in the store environment and engaging with the customers and and really being able to just see the impact that you make with someone, you know, helping them with their skin or with, you know, at that time I was also doing makeup.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I fell in love with that part immediately.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then as I as I spent more time in the business, I really started to love the business side of it, and you know, I was really I think impressed by the women leadership and and saw an opportunity for me to develop and um you know worked my way through the ranks um of those store positions.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I one of my I think favorite positions was an account coordinator, and that's really kind of a jack of all trades and um working in lots of different environments.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: But from there, I I moved into more of a corporate role, working on a brand um by the name of Murad for a big bulk of my career.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think I was there for 12 or 13 years, and you know, it was great to be able to really develop and hone some skills there around uh account management and you know marketing, um, you know, getting insights into product development, uh, channel management, like you know, working across the business in every area from the retail side of the business to the professional side of the business.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and then from there I, you know, went and spread my wings and and became um a VP of sales um and you know was a VP of sales on a couple of different brands.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: I you know, always had the luxury of working on brands that had really strong um IP, really strong technology, um, very, you know, science-based clinical backgrounds, um, even if they were on the more organic or natural side.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Which was was interesting too, to see how you could make a really efficacious product and do that, you know, through with nature.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I had an opportunity um to join Alginist in, I think it was September of 2016.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I I was super thrilled to be able to do that because I I remembered my first experiences with Alginist.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I at that time was on another brand, and I remember walking through Sephora and seeing the brand on the floor and almost wondering if it was like a Sephora uh-owned brand, because it had such like good presence and space, and um and it kind of came out of nowhere for me.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: And then as I spent time looking at the brand, I was so impressed with the clinicals and like the claims that were made in a short amount of time, you know, 10-day time frame.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: And the um the story was super interesting to me, right?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, that was born from an ingredient discovery around microalgae.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so again, it kind of like ticked that curiosity that I was talking to you about of you know, you know, being able to look to nature but deliver really clinical results.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so the brand was um part of a biotech lab and it had been sold off um to Tangram Capital in 2016.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I joined as the SVP of sales and was so excited to do that for all the reasons that I just shared with you.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, was part of what's called a carve out.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: And that's that was a new term for me.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know what that is?
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_03: No, could you explain that?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was a new term for me, and um, it was explained to me, but until you actually start to go through it, it's a it's a wild experience.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so basically it is that you know, Tangram Capital purchased um Alginist from this biotech company.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so we were carved off of that business.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: And if you can imagine, we were already distributing, we had customers, you know, we were in Sephora and QBC, um, you know, we had international distribution and in China, and we needed to set up the company on its own.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we needed to set up all of its finance and accounting operations, manufacturing, um, build out the sales teams, build out the reporting, um, get a bank account, like just the most things that you would never think you were doing on a business that was already operating.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_03: You think it's established and everything's ready to go, and here we are doing it all over again.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's crazy.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: So so you're you're having to, you know, we were having to do all of that, and you know, we're launching product and we're at retailer meetings, and so it was so wild.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and hectic, I'm sure.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: It was, and I have to tell you, it was one of the more exciting times for me um in my career because one, it was super new.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: I had never done it before.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was really invigorating just to be able to be a part of something that different from you know what I had I had been doing.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but then also just like to see everything coming to life right before your eyes.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I always liken the experience to being on a freight train that's moving and that might slow down once in a while.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, but like isn't stopping.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_03: So I mean, you're basically like, you know, I I hope I don't step on any toes, but it's like you're like another founder for the brand because you've like established it, like re-established it after it was already established.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_03: That's crazy.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so exactly all the team members that were on the brand at that point were like new, they were like new founding members.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: You you're you're totally correct.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so you know, we did a lot of work um during that time also because we wanted to make sure that we were pulling forward the DNA of the brand, right?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like I shared with you that it was born from you know an ingredient discovery out of a biotech lab.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: And we had an opportunity to do that with a product that um, well, actually with a formula that I think um you're familiar with, which is um liquid collagen.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: And liquid collagen for us had so many levers of storytelling available.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like we were able to pull forward, you know, we brought another ingredient to market.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we were born from an ingredient discovery with algorithm acid, which is our patented ingredient, but now we did it again and we brought a brand new molecule um to the cosmetic space with liquid collagen, which was a which is a vegan collagen.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: And and that was pretty compelling because up to that point, you know, any collagen that was used in cosmetics was really derived from animals.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: And that was that's wrought with all kinds of issues.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot of issues with stuff like that, yeah, especially with like allergies and stuff and compatibility and consistency, right?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like quality, consistency, um, you know, at this the source, animals, right?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like from a precious resource.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so for us to be able to bring vegan collagen to market was really big.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so that that really helped us pull forward a lot of our messaging in that, you know, it was a clean formula, you know, made you know, we we we rely on the lab and we brought a new molecule, and we were talking about collagen and again, high performance ingredient.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we were able to deliver amazing results um in 10 days.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: And that that particular skew really was but it became beloved immediately.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's a holy grail formula to this day.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's been around for five years and it still sits, you know, in our top, top skew position.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, the following year we launched the lip, liquid collagen lip.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And at that is my favorite.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Is it that I'm so happy to hear that?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, everyone listening, we were talking a little bit before the episode started.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_03: And um, that liquid collagen lip product you have is genuinely it is one of my like guilty pleasures.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_03: I literally have it like in my in my bag always because it just it cools my lips down, but it's like, I don't know, it's just the feel of it, you know what I mean?
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_03: It just feels really nice.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like I use it rather than like a chapstick, I use it rather than a lipstick.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_03: Like I'm always I reach for that before I reach for any other lip product.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_03: So I really love it.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, thank you for that.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: We were really, really cognizant to not make a formula that was uncomfortable.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like often when you think of like a a caught like a lip collagen product, something that's going to give you more balance and resilience in your lips, you usually have an uncomfortable experience.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: It might be like a little stinging or burning, or it might be drying.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and this this exceeded all of our expectations in that it's a lot of what you described, it's cooling, it's soothing, it plumps your lips, um, it helps with feathering and it's collagen.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so when by the time you know we got to to Liquollagen Lip, we really felt like we needed to really tell that story about relying on biotechnology, you know, how important um looking to nature for inspiration and and um I think you know results was was prominent.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so we really worked hard to make the brand 100% vegan and we accomplished that by 2019.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I would say that was ahead of the curve.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um I was just gonna say that.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_03: That's like before vegan became a thing, like in beauty.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I mean, you weren't really hearing that a lot, that word, you know, in the beauty space.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, if you were, I wasn't aware of it, you know.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and the other thing that I think that we were really that we're really committed to when it comes to that 100% vegan positioning is being able to educate around how important that is for the planet, right?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: How important that is for not taking from natural resources because we can't continue to do that, relying on the lab, you know, um, vegan formulations are really important from that perspective.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that that's you know, those are those are some key messages that I think you know we've been successful at pulling forward.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then true to our DNA, we've remained inspired and curious and looking to algae and plants to see, you know, what else we can what else can you know we bring to to life.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: And and we just did that again.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we brought a brand new ingredient um to the cosmetic space, and it is a um vitamin C derived from blue-green algae.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, which is incredible.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like, again, like thank you so much for having the space to tell this story because I don't think a lot of people think about algae or microalgae as being these incre this incredible source of you know vitamins and minerals.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can get some really valuable things like vitamins.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it makes sense, right, Rose?
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_03: Because it's like, you know, it's crazy to me.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_03: We have this like conversation in the world about you know, just like natural resources and where should we look next for you know, like new and innovative um ways of like doing what we're still doing, but doing it in a in a more you know, resourceful and more conscious way.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm sitting here thinking, like, well, you've got all of the ocean, you know.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: So like, why don't we kind of you know just do a little bit more digging for lack of a better term, and you know, go and and figure out that you know, plants that are literally growing in water, I mean, how much more rich in resources could you get?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_03: You're you're growing in the biggest resource that we have, you know.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I I really love that you're you're talking about this.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't want to interrupt you, I just wanted to put that in.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: No, I love I I love your enthusiasm, and and I love where you're going with this because I'm gonna share something else with you that I don't think most people realize.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: But when we talk about microalgae, microalgae is a really microscopic, it's like a single cell plant organism, yeah, and it is regenerative, so it repro it makes more of itself.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, like it's it's to me, it's the the next level of sustainability.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's like a stem cell, yeah, it just makes more of itself.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, like our algorithmic acid, you know, we have the retains for that that particular microalgae out of like hundreds of millions of strains.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's super debatable how many strains there are out in the world, but like, you know, I I can even dial it back and say hundreds of thousands.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but there's one strain that's unique to us, which is um what we use in our algorithm acid.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: And we basically, you know, that ingredient regenerates itself so that we can make more.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: We'll always have supply of that.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: And we wouldn't even be taking from a kelp bed or something of that nature because it's just it's reproduced in the lab.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's what's so powerful about microalgae.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, like it's so unknown, even to this day, what we can do with microalgae.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it just keeps delivering in ways that I don't think we we, you know, we often consider like you can make textiles with it.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: You can we know it makes, you know, you can do biofuel you can make biofuel.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it makes a powerful anti-aging ingredient.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we've seen companies making, you know, uh skis with the material, you know, with a material derived from microalgae, so microalgal material.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I just think it's it's impressive.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_03: It is well, it's an untapped, it's an untapped resource that I think people are just not, you know, realizing.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I love that you guys are at the forefront of this because I know firsthand that Alginist has inspired so many brands.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you know, I my first episode for this podcast was with Alison McNamara and she's the founder of Mara Beauty, and she even paid homage to Alginus because she said, you know, they're like we she really got a lot of inspiration from your brand and you know, the whole idea of using algae to um create wonderful products, you know.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_03: So I know that a lot of brands have been, you know, very much inspired by what you guys are doing, and you are continuing to be a leader in this area.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, I'm not gonna lie, you know, like every other um little kid in kindergarten, I wanted to be a marine biologist.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_03: So every time I look at your yeah, every time you know, every time I look at your packaging and see how beautiful your products are, it just takes me back to that feeling.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_03: And I just, you know, I love it.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_03: I love I love how innovative you guys are and how accessible you are, you know.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um I wanted to talk to you a little bit more about that because I know like when you were talking about Sephora, that was actually what um one of my first experiences, you know, um actually seeing the brand like in person.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I was just like, oh my god, it's so beautiful.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know what I mean?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: Same.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: It was my same experience.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_03: So like I I, you know, I want to I want to talk about that.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_03: Like in terms of like, you know, when you were you wanted to put this onto the world, so like what was the real like um I guess business plan for making it accessible to people and like really spreading the word about the brand?
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: So Alginist has a remarkable story in that it was born at Sephora and QVC at the same time.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, which is unusual.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Normally, you know, you would start in one place, but it was actually born in both places.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, Sephora, I think it Sephora is a great partner and has been a great partner um since the inception of the of the brand's life.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think we're into almost into 11 years with them now by next March.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and same with QVC, you know, and they're two very different customers.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: So we we were able to really access um, you know, two different, two very different demographics.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and they they both play really different roles in in the brand's life, but they're they they are very compatible with one another.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I would say that there's some customers that shop both, but I would, you know, like QVC has a very um, I think you know, broad audience, you know, obviously wants a lot of information um that they can get from a host while they're on air.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then um, you know, they're very loyal to QVC.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then Sephora is always kind of at the cutting edge of bringing what's new and cool and um, you know, helping to build a brand from that perspective.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I think, you know, those were the two kind of core um business objectives behind both of those brands, and then and be behind both of those retailers.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and then beyond that, you know, we have our we have our own website where we're able to engage with the customer, you know, directly, um, get really great feedback and insights, um, and our customers share a lot with us.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I'm as the as the CEO, I uh there's a couple of data points that are really important to me when I look at the site performance.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: And one of them is an NPS score, which is you know, how like what how many of your customers will basically refer you to a friend?
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you know, our scores are really high.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: They're like between 82 and 85 um points, which is incredible.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we, you know, and anytime we do get like a negative sentiment, it's usually, you know, something along the lines of like the maybe maybe something didn't arrive as quickly as they wanted it to.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so we always try and and you know make that better, of course.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um but it's very rarely about the product.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um the product always gets great um feedback, and then the other.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Another one that is really impressive score is the repeat purchase rate on the site.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: So people, you know, we have about a 60% repeat purchase rate on the site.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: So if you can imagine with all the places, you know, that you could pick up some Alginist, you know, 60% of the people that buy from us continue to come back and replace it.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's a great product, it's a great series of products.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you know, I don't think I've heard even one person, you know, just in my group of friends or anyone that loves skincare, like say anything negative about the brand because you know, you can't you can't, you know, argue against results, right?
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_03: At the end of the day, like we are all gonna notice like if a product works, it works.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_03: And and the products that you guys have created are clearly backed by, you know, true innovation, true science.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_03: And that's not that's gonna be the driving force.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I think I I try to like my try my best to like resonate that message on this podcast is that you know, quality is always something that's never gonna be able to, you can't duplicate that, you can't bury it under marketing.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_03: You can't, you know what I mean, put a pretty label on it.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_03: If it's doesn't, if a product is not quality, like there's nothing that a brand can do to like sell it, you know what I mean?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_03: So it's it's it's just like it speaks for itself.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I and I want to talk to you a little bit more about the science because you really intrigued me when you were um speaking of the regenerative potential of um the strain that you're using, because you know, it took me to a place of you know, thinking about, for example, in medicine, we have grafts, right?
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_03: We use grafts and surgery and we use things like you know, biocellulose for um helping with like burn wound regeneration and stuff.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_03: So um is the brand involved at all in like other areas of science, or have you guys not branched out like that yet?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: No, we haven't branched out like that.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're we're really focused on the science of algae, of microalgae.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and for and for, you know, you said it earlier, like it's just so untapped.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many things that that are possible.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think that's one of the things that I love about you know, microalgae and this brand is that is that we get to live in the possibilities.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like I have, you know, I have some I have some dreams on some things I think we can probably accomplish in the next few years.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and I promise, I promise and care, you know, we'll someone will follow up to make sure that we we hold true to that, but I promise we will share with you as soon as we can.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I have I have something coming that I think will um be important for the industry, like not just for us.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, when you were talking a little bit about um, you know, Alginus being an inspiration to other brands, that's a really beautiful sentiment for me.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think that if we think about the broader world and you know, if we think about the planet and sustainability and where we get ingredients from and transparency and all of those important things, yeah, that's that should be shared.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: That shouldn't be something that is only, you know, for one brand.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like we're not gonna get anywhere as an industry or as a society by one by one brand kind of having the you know, holding the space for that.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think, I think we need to be able to share ideas and innovation and serve as inspiration for one another.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and be it just has to be more collaborative.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's how any kind of breakthrough and innovation, like true, you know, motion forward happens.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_03: So I completely commend you for, you know, saying that and really putting that um that out there because I I wish more brands thought like that.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: I really do.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_03: I think there is, you know, for me, like I can tell you as a consumer, obviously I love skincare, but as a scientist, I love it even more because you know, oftentimes I have these conversations with like my research colleagues, and we'll be talking about things like, you know, for example, like we're talking about algae here and we're talking about microalgae.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you know, you can you there's so much potential in terms of just like the um, you know, like properties of how like plants take in light, process it, and then still are able to protect themselves.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, often I'm always wondering, like, well, why isn't there a sunscreen that's based on a completely plant-based sunscreen instead of minerals?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_03: Or like uh zinc, like you can do so much, and I feel like the research for this is just so there, there's just untapped potential from the research side.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_03: So, like, I have such a great appreciation for your brand, and I have such a great appreciation for your mindset because you know, as a scientist, I think you're really hitting you know the heart of innovation with it, and I and I love that.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you for that.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you're I I think it'd be cool to bring to make a sunscreen from algae.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, I think so.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: You make a great comment, like you know, and then you you made me think about something else, and you know, uh in the I think in the science world, you know, when we think about nature, and it's not a it's not a new practice, but like biomimicry is super interesting too, right?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like just kind of what you're talking about, plants and how they the way that they are engineered naturally, um, to be able to take inspiration from that and and to apply that in a uh you know, a product or a platform is is I think you know, definitely a reality.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_03: I, you know, and I Rose, I want to actually uh take this a little bit further because I want you to give some advice because obviously, you know, you've seen the world of you know, just like business from the inside out.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: You've done so much work and your career is phenomenal.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I want you to provide some insight for some new brands, you know, just people who are coming into business, new entrepreneurs, any advice you might have for them.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think yes, I mean, probably more advice than we have time for.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a big talker.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I like to talk.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think, you know, what we're talking about here, that the collaboration, you know, I think build your network, build your build people around you that you can use as a resource that, you know, you can that you have um shared passion.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, obviously it can't be a one-sided relationship.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like you need to be able to bounce things off one another.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: But I think any time that you can build out the circle around you with other experts that give you insight, whether that's on the financial side or that's on the product development side or on the consumer insight side, or just from previous experience, I think it's really important.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think one of the things that I've been really blessed with is to have really strong mentors, um, you know, and you you build those throughout your career.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: You that that's not something that you can just set up.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I think keep an open mind to all of the people that come into your your world and um see them for um who they really are, and you know, take that value and make sure that you know you build a good network of people around you.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I love that.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_03: I really love that.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I hope everyone listening, I hope you're really paying attention because I I couldn't agree more.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_03: And networking is honestly, I've learned the hard way.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_03: It's genuinely one of the biggest assets you can have in your life, is a good network, you know.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, I really I I love that you're putting that out there.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, the brand I think speaks for itself.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, everyone listening, if you haven't seen Alginist yet, then I don't know.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_03: I think you're living under a rock.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um, no pun intended with the whole Algenist thing.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_03: But um, you know, definitely check out Alginist, check out their amazing products.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think there's one product that I've tried that I haven't liked.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, really you could dive in and whatever it is, it's gonna work.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_03: So check it out.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna link everything in the art for this episode.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, Rose, thank you so much.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: This has been such a great uh conversation, and I've learned so much from you.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually it's really the highlight of my day.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: I've really been looking forward to this.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you so much.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_03: I'll be back next time, guys.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 30:33
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• 30:38
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• 30:41
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• 30:56
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• 31:16
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• 31:26
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• 31:33
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• 31:38
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