Latest / Skin Anarchy / Lindsey Martin, Founder of Kiramoon Skincare

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Lindsey Martin, Founder of Kiramoon Skincare · Skin Anarchy

• 0:00
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• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Hi guys, welcome back to Speaker Anarchy.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: This is Ekta, and I have yet another amazing guest for you guys today.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love her line.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm super excited for her to tell us all about it.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure you've seen it in a lot of places because it's uh Instagram favorite.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to the founder of Cure Moon, Lindsay Martin.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Lindsay, welcome to the show.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited you're here.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Super happy to be here.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's an honor.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, the honor is truly mine.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to get started by finding out a little bit more about you and your background and what really kind of, you know, um motivated you and inspired you to try, you know, creating your own line and actually creating it, not trying.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I think we're past trying, hopefully.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, happy to share a little bit.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: So CareMoon is actually my third uh career.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I've done a couple of things before I got here.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: I started out in fashion, uh, working for magazines in New York, and uh I decided to move back to my hometown of Austin, which is where I live now.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I had an eight-year career in software sales, which I actually really loved.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_02: It was a huge transition from, you know, fashion and the creativity, but I really fell in love with the business side of things.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: And um a few years into that, I again I fell in love with the business side and I thought, wow, what if I could have a career where I could marry my love for fashion and design um and brand with that business side.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: And that kind of happened at a time in my life where I was super busy.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: I was building my career, I was very focused on it, and I had very little time for myself at the end of the day.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: And skincare for me became this very sacred, special moment.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: It was so much more than skincare.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure you can relate with your busy schedule.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes just having five five minutes to yourself means the world, and it became such a special self-love ritual.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I had these formulas that I loved, these products that I loved.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I just felt like the branding and the packaging and the messaging of the products was so serious and so clinical.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, this is great.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, you want skincare to be effective in work, but it's so much more than that to me.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought there's something missing, you know, this element of joy that I'm experiencing isn't portrayed in these brands.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's really where the idea for Kira Moon was born.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I love that.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I, you know, I think that it's very interesting to like for me, you know, listening to everyone's journey and what really brought them to a place where they thought, you know what, let me share this part of myself that is so focused on self-care and self-love with the world through a brand.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think that's like the most exciting part for me as just the the host of this podcast.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I I love hearing that.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, and because I completely agree with you, I think that when we take that time, and you know, for me, it was also my inspiration when I started the podcast.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, oh, I want to take my skincare.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't I just get on, you know, my you know?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's amazing.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: I I would love to um talk about the unique um approach though, because I know that Care Moon is it's a beautiful brand and the aesthetics are beautiful and so bubbly and and just I mean, it just makes you happy looking at it.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I really want to talk to you about that vision and that um, you know, what really inspired you to go in that direction with it um so that when people look at it, I mean it just makes you smile, you know, when you look at it.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: So definitely.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: So I think so.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: When I fell so in love with my skincare routine, it felt like these magical potions, right?
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like I would open my vanity at the end of the day.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: And the only way I could describe that feeling to people was the feeling of being a little girl and getting a Barbie for Christmas.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: And it really felt that way to me.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so when I decided to move forward with creating the brand, I thought every single customer touch point needs to give them that magic feeling.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: Everything from the packing tape we use until they open the box, the copy, um, the fonts, the colors.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so that kind of like childlike wonder and excitement has been kind of the north star for all of the design and naming and copy point um decisions that we've made.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that it translates sometimes.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: I look at like, you know, our inventory and I'm like, oh, it looks like a Barbie princess room.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, that was that was by design.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's amazing.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: I love it though.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm the same way, Barbie all the way.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Hello.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like I feel like I remember when I came to America, the first night I came to America on my dad, because you know, I was five years old and my I'd always wanted a Barbie doll.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: And my dad actually had a Barbie, like a very pink, like typical Barbie, yeah, sitting on my my bed, my first bed in America.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: And at that moment was beautiful.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember like being obsessed with stickers and you know, like obsessed with these little things, and they and your brand, it brings me back to all these amazing memories as a child, you know, because you know, we forget, right?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: We forget like all the cute little things we left.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I really like that.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I like that you're you're really kind of showcasing that because I think um that part of ourselves is still a child, it needs that, you know, and it's like self-care and skincare is much more, you know, it's more than just like putting products in your face.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's like that's why I'm focusing on the brand's aesthetics because I just I think that's very important as well.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I love that.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I want to talk about um more about like the focus of the line and like really like the main skincare focus you had in mind when you were really kind of formulating the products or coming up with like your ideas of what you wanted to put out there.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like, uh, can you go into more detail about that?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: So uh again, with that idea of joy in mind, really thinking about formulations.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we wanted to start with a couple of uh traditional, you know, skincare categories that give you that feeling.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_02: So the first is a face mask.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: I associate a face mask again with that self-care ritual.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe it's the Sunday night and you're finally put your kids to bed or, you know, your shift is over and you say, I'm gonna have a self-care moment.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: So we had to start with a mask.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think also a serum, because serums are just that kind of like potent boost that you really buy for performance.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought that kind of fit that as well, that like, you know, hopeful feeling you get when you buy a new product.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: So that's the direction we took when selecting the first two formulas.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: But overall, as a line long term, again, the vision is to take something as simple as a moisturizer or a cleanser and formulate it in a way that it's super effective, but also package it in a way that when it sits on your vanity, it delights you, whether that's a unique bottle that we've used or the colors or you know, the the name of the product.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, as our as our line expands, it is, you know, it's really just those basics delivered in a way that delights the customer.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: I I like that.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: And there's nothing wrong with like, you know, brands keeping it to the point and like, you know, because I think a lot of consumers get lost.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like they get so lost in in, you know, I oh gosh, I remember like when I was first starting off um, you know, just at Sephora and like, you know, seeing all the brands and seeing the products, I was like, oh my gosh, I don't need plasma and I don't need this.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I was so lost.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I love that you kept it simple, you know, in that way.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: So that's really good, especially I worry about like Gen Z, I think, because for me, I when I look at Gen Z, I'm like, oh my gosh, I hope they're not using like too much on their face, you know, like just absolutely that scares me.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's something that is important to us too.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, we kept the active AHAs in our star jelly mass to 10%.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: You can put more than that and sell within the US, but we want it to be approachable.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: I think getting too advanced is kind of misaligned with the bigger brand mission.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, we're gonna we're gonna make approachable basics.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: And then I think one of the ways that we will innovate is with our self-care tools and accessories, right?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: So we have the moon globes, which are the freasable, glittery facial rollers, we have the heart mirror that says work your magic.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: So it's all part of a bigger mission to inspire joy and self-care.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: So even if we're not doing, you know, like all the most insane new advanced, you know, patented ingredients, our mission is a little bit broader than that.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I and you know, there's nothing wrong with that.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone doesn't need to be a clinical grade skincare line.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we have enough of those.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that there's definitely a need, depending on age as well.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a huge, um, kind of a hot topic, I think, to talk about in this industry because, you know, when people discuss skincare, they're always inclined to go directly to science and directly to like anti-aging and like, you know, just the needs of the consumers that's in their 40s or their 50s, or you know what I mean, or just really coming to the point where they're like, wait a minute, I I have to do something for my skin now, you know, because I'm starting to see wrinkles.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think that if we kind of allow for a space where it's like acceptable for, you know, younger consumers to feel like, okay, yeah, I have my serum and I have my, you know, my fun little stuff that I use and it works for me.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And that's really actually promoting preventative um, you know, measures that we can take at an earlier age to like make sure that we're being healthy, you know what I mean?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I like that.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: I really like that you guys lean towards that rather than this like sterile packaging and you know, like yes.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I think going back to younger generations, especially Gen Z, I think preaching science to them, they're way too smart for that.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: And they expect way more.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: They're educated.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, even now millennials like like people know what ingredients are, they understand ingredient lists.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: So I think they're really looking to, you know, just it should be assumed that your product is effective.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: Of course it's gonna work.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: What else are you doing?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: What's your sustainability policy?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like what is your give back program?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think those are the things that we're gonna see a lot more um from brands because I think customers are gonna be looking for that even more than that clinical science approach.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think a brand is definitely a lot more than just, you know, science.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's a lot of things, like, you know, in terms of like, you know, I have I with the psychology aspect, I think about it a lot.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I've mentioned this before on my episodes that, you know, people really when you shop a brand, you're not just shopping just a product, you're also shopping um for something that resonates with you, you know, on a psychological level.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a very important thing because part of self-care is mental health, you know, and a lot of that has to do with well, what do I feel comfortable with?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: What do I want to look at on my vanity every day?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: And and these kind of things play a big role in our days.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I completely, I completely echo everything that you said.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I want to move on though, because I I do want to talk about um, you know, just kind of like the feedback that you've gotten about your line and you know, like what like how is the whole like the overall look of you know where you want to go with it?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like what's the end goal or is there an end goal?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's really interesting.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think if you had asked me this a few months before I launched, I would have told you, um, you know, I really want to curate the customer experience.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: So D2C, you know, e-com is very important to me.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that was kind of where I was hoping to take the brand.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that was very naive of me.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: And now just seven months in, I've realized how important Omni is.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're focusing a lot more on retail partnerships.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I've actually found a lot less friction there than you know, the D2C.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: We're still so new.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: We're trying to optimize the website.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: And of course, with iOS 14 updates, everyone's struggling with, you know, ads on Facebook and Instagram.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think now where I see us going is um finding a home that's some really meaningful retailers that we can grow with over the next couple of years.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, our vision is to release two to three new SKUs every year until you know we have the funding that can support more of that or until the business takes us in another direction.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: We have a product launch in October.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and we're just gonna try to make it through the busy holiday season this year.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, those are some of the things.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thank you.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's really exciting.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I I hope everyone heard that.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: New products in October.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned for that.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um I you know, I I really like that.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to actually ask you, you know, as a smaller brand, I want to ask you what your journey has been like so far with trying to get retail partnerships because that this is an area of this industry that for me also is extremely um like a gray area and very foggy.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I think there's not enough information out there for entrepreneurs um in terms of like understanding like who to reach out to, how to reach out.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: So can you share some of those like details with everybody so we get a better idea?
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: Of course.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: So my experience has been unique, um, but I'm happy to share my learning.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I actually started our social media over a year before we launched.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so when we launched in January, I think we had 8,000 Instagram followers and almost 30k on TikTok.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: And so within just a couple months of launching, I had buyers from retailers reaching out to me, which is I think it sometimes happens that way.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think that's a good strategy, but that's how it worked out for us.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so um if I hadn't, if it hadn't happened that way, you know, the way that you go about it is you decide who your dream retailers are.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: And it's really not like throwing spaghetti against a wall.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: You really need to think about who your customer is, how you can have, you know, a unique value proposition for them within a store's current product mix.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: And then you put together a pitch deck, which you know tells a little bit about the brand, a little bit about the products, and then you reach out to the buying teams.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: And this is just cold emailing.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_02: You find their information literally on LinkedIn, you email them.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I think from what I've heard, what they're really looking to hear is what are you offering and how are you going to get your customers to come into our store to buy it?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I think for Kiramoon, an example of that could be like um your next Gen Z Lux product, because we do have Gen Z customers.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: We're priced a little higher than some of you know those other Gen Z brands that you think.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: So that may be something that I, you know, if I was reaching out to a retailer that didn't have a ton of Gen Z reach, that's how I could, you know, pitch Kiramoon.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: Or um I think our mental health aspect, again, there's a lot of retailers that are looking for that give back, like that more than just a brand.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I don't know if that answers your question, but I'm from talking to other founders.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's just cold emailing, it's just pitching.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that definitely, definitely answers.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean, I think that that's you know, that's really um something that it really kind of adds to the reason why there's this is a gray area, right?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's no like protocol in place.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: There's no like this is steps one, two, three, four that you have to do.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's a lot of hard work and a lot of, you know, just kind of YOLO, you know.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that we'll get there.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: I think I'm happy with the partnerships we've secured this year.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, of course, the dream retailers.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: If anyone out there is listening at Sephora or Ulta, um, you know, those are really the dream retailers, but I haven't pitched them yet because I really wanted to get our supply chain in place.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to get uh a really good understanding of who our customers are, what products they want.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: So come next year when I'm ready to pitch to those retailers, I'm not gonna, you know, make those rookie mistakes when I'm trying to build that partnership.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I will get there.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'll keep you updated and let you know how that pitching goes.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: But for this year, I'm kind of using our current partners to stabilize and to really learn because I've never done this before.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, you know, the best way to learn is to fail and then try again and get back on the horse.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I'm not saying that for failing because I think your brand is beautiful and it deserves all of you.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, like you know, anyone listening, I think, you know, definitely, you know, you need to check out Kiramu.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I love brands like this because I think they, you know, like I already said, like we have so many different demographics of consumers, and you cannot have three or four monopoly, like monopolizing brands in this industry.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: You just can't do it, you know, and it's not fair to the consumer who wants the, you know, they want the other look or the other kind of packaging or the other kind of approach.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like you have to have options.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the more options, the better.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I think if anyone's listening from Sephora or Alta, please let Lindsay know.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: And please, please get Keramoon in your store.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I, you know, I want to talk to you a little bit more about um just because I know you guys are very much about like, you know, being clean.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I've noticed on your website you listed all there that you don't have any extra added fragrance, no phthalates, parabens, and all that.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: So where did you um what you know, when you were coming up with this, like where did you really get your I guess go-to um vision for what you wanted in terms of the formulation for your products?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean, did you know like I don't want this, this, and this, or did you go with the chemist's idea?
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I started with I don't want this, this, and this.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: And um, we're currently uh clean by Sephora standards.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: And also as we formulate, you know, of course I go to my chemists and say, I don't want this, I don't want this, but if there's something that I don't recognize, I do the research.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: And if there's even the smallest hint of you Google this, and you know, there there's something that says that even at small amounts, you know, like I just try to stay away from anything that would give anyone even the slightest sense of concern.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: That said, we're seeing a s we're seeing a shift right now around the dialogue surrounding clean uh beauty.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's a lot of, I think we're gonna see a little bit of a shift because there are a lot of ingredients that, you know, people have labeled as dirty or bad, and they really truly are safe at certain percentages.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that right now, even now compared to when we launched seven months ago, there's a different attitude about it.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think that, you know, we're doing ethically what we feel is appropriate, but we're also listening to the consumer.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: What do they want to know about our formulas?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: What do they care about?
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're kind of letting that guide us.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um so yeah, I mean, we'll see where this movement takes us.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: But for now, um, you know, with the FDA, they really don't do any regulating.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: So it's up to brands, it's up to chemists to make sure that it's safe and something that, you know, we can all feel good about putting on in our bodies.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really the standard that we've set.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, it makes sense.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think that a lot of brands are kind of down that road, and it's a very gray area, you know.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: There it really is no, I mean, I know the EU has like their like list of things you should not, they don't allow and all that good stuff.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that, but I mean, you can always modify that.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: That list is always changing.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I I think, you know, to some degree, uh when it comes to the science that I've found, you know, just doing my own research, you're right.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: You're a hundred percent right because what we consider to be bad today can be easily shifted tomorrow by a study that comes out and says, well, there was nothing that happened, you know what I mean?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: If you close through it's like, you know, there were like I think like four or five months ago or a year ago, there were like dermatologists saying, Well, you know, we're having people come in and tell us that they think sunscreen causes skin cancer.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, what?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so it's just it really is confusing.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I I agree with you, and I think that's the best approach, honestly.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one thing I want to ask you though, as a as a you know, solo like entrepreneur, I'm guessing you don't have a partner in this.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm you're like the sole founder.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: No, yeah, it's it's just me.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I want to talk about that, you know, like all the hurdles and all the the good stories and the you know the good moments.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: Can you share some of the highlights with us of finding your own brand and all that?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's been wild.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's funny, you know.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_02: I often ask myself like what it is about me, my personality, you know, my life's trauma that has led me down this road of being kind of a a solo entrepreneur.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_02: And it's not because I don't like working with people, I do.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: I think I just had such a personal and unique perspective with Kiramun.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I found even early on trying to explain it to family and friends and even my designer, I just felt it was so unique.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I understood it so well.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: I just couldn't, I couldn't imagine bringing a partner in early on.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, as I build the business, I'm gonna need to hire, you know, C-level people that are way smarter than me in other areas that can help.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, up to this point, doing it alone.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: I when I hit these milestones, like, you know, getting into retailers or, you know, hitting a certain number of followers or a certain number of sales, it's such an incredible feeling.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_02: And it's kind of strange because doing it alone, you have that pride.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_02: But no one can know what that feels like but me.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like strange.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's like lonely and incredible at the same time.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so those are the highs where I think, wow, I literally dreamed this up in my brain a few years ago and now it's a product right in front of me, um, which is amazing.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: And then on the other hand, it's quite lonely and isolating when things are hard or not going well, and I have to make a decision, and it's really scary making those big business decisions, signing on, you know, with a partner or an agency.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: What if I make the wrong choice?
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_02: If it doesn't go well, that's all on me too.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: So you get one 100% of the highs and 100% of the lows.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: It's all on you.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_02: So um I, you know, I think there's pros and cons.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, like I own the majority of my business, which is great, but I do sometimes envy my other beauty brand founder friends that have um partners that you know they can share some of the decision responsibility with.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I trust me, I know I know what you're talking about.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: I've been through my own journey.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: I get it, you know.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it's also it's I love that you brought up the trust thing because I've interviewed a lot of um, you know, like co-founders and stuff.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I I've noticed that is that, you know, it's a beautiful thing when you have somebody you can fully a hundred percent trust.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: But then if you don't have that, yeah, you know, it goes the other way.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I've also experienced that.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I know what you mean.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that, you know, I really commend you.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think you know, it takes a strong, strong person to do things on your own and to kind of pave your own path.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a beautiful thing.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I really commend you for that.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: And everyone listening, I mean, this has been awesome, Lindsay.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: Chatting with you has been amazing.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: I love your brand.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think it genuinely is something that just by looking at puts a smile on your face, and the results of the products are phenomenal.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: They're wonderful.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: I love your magic refer research first thing facial.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, I couldn't talk for a minute.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, um, I love that product.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think um everyone should at least try the products.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: I promise you'll love them.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, check out KiraMoon at KiraMoon.com, follow them on Instagram, anywhere you can find them.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you again.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: This has been wonderful.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: I've loved it.
• 23:37
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• 24:44
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