Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / Innovating in skin tech and inventing a new product from scratch, with La Luer Founder Nicole Chau

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Innovating in skin tech and inventing a new product from scratch, with La Luer Founder Nicole Chau · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Nicole Chow for Female Startup Club. Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. I'm your host, Doona Rasheen, and joining me on today's episode of the show is Nicole Chow, the founder behind a company called Lelua. Hello.
• 0:25
  Lelua was born out of Nicole's need to develop a solution to maintain healthy skin while working long hours. She was struggling with dullness, blemishes, and uneven skin tone. From thousands of topicals and hundreds of at-home tools to 10-step skincare routines and in-office treatments, Nicole was overwhelmed with all the available options on the market, and she was surrounded by other women facing the same frustrations.
• 0:51
  So she invented a face tech product called the mirror device. And oh my goodness, you will never need to pay for a facial again with this device. Tune in to hear her story, how she launched and how she's grown this business so far. This is Nicole for Female Startup Club. Amazing. Nicole, hi. Welcome to the Female Startup Club podcast. Thank you for having me, Doon.
• 1:20
  I'm so excited to jump in and get chatting all things about your business, but I'd love to just start by getting you to introduce yourself a little bit about who you are and what you do. Yes. So my name is Nicole Chow. I'm the CEO and founder of Lelure. And what I do is I wanted to create a skincare device that allowed women to not only optimize their skincare routines, but really simplify it because I'm going to be able to do that
• 1:48
  I myself struggled with acne, pigmentation, dry, hypersensitive skin, and I really couldn't find a solution that fit into my schedule. So at the time, this was 2017, I was working my 12-hour job, and during this time, I suffered from all these skin problems.
• 2:10
  And so I started looking into solutions and a lot of the available topical solutions in the market were long term solutions. So there's thousands of products and I honestly was confused. I didn't know what really worked and what route to take. Like, should I?
• 2:30
  take a more aggressive route using retinols and benzoyl peroxides, or should I just continue moisturizing and seeing if that does anything? And so after going down that topical route, I decided to really go and see a dermatologist and really go to medispas. And they use all these amazing technologies on me, and I fell in love. They had LED light therapy, they had ultrasound, radio frequency,
• 3:00
  But the thing is, it worked. It was instant. It looked great. I could feel, I could see the difference. But you could be walking out of these MediSpa treatments spending $150 to $300. And as a working...
• 3:15
  I really didn't have time or the money to do that on a regular basis. And so being the really creative person I am, I decided to go home, buy a bunch of skincare devices and DIY it at home by myself.
• 3:31
  But the problem was a lot of the existing devices were single functionality in that there's one device for lifting and that would be like microcurrents. And there'd be one device for LED light treatments and one device for infusing moisture into the skin. But there wasn't really a comprehensive device that did it all.
• 3:52
  And that's when I saw this white space in the market and I really wanted to create a device or a tool that really allowed women to take beauty into their own hands. Yeah. That's so interesting. Why do you think something like that didn't exist? Like a one solution fits all kind of thing? Right. Exactly. I'm not sure why it didn't exist. And we looked...
• 4:17
  The products that had the most technologies would probably be three. They would have LED with ultrasound. But I also wanted to make it really intuitive. So I wanted my grandma to be able to use it. So I wanted it to be as easy to use as an electronic toothbrush and
• 4:36
  That's kind of what we came up with. It looks like a compact cushion that you would use to apply foundation onto your face. But with all the technologies, it takes you through four different modes. So.
• 4:49
  We have detox, tone, lift, and infuse mode. And the reasoning behind these four modes is it not only takes you through the standard facial process, but it really allows women to customize their treatment. So for someone who is struggling with acne, with large pores, they could focus on detox and tone mode just because it has the blue LED light technology.
• 5:13
  For someone suffering from fine lines and wrinkles or kind of self-conscious with the fine lines and wrinkles and the sagging that comes with aging, they could focus more on lift mode. And everyone deals with dehydrated skin. And so for anyone dealing with dehydrated skin, they could really use Infuse to push hydration deeper into the dermal layer.
• 5:36
  Yeah. Oh my gosh. It sounds so divine. Wow. It sounds like a bit of magic. Yeah. I want to go back to your life before you actually started to understand what it was that you were kind of like doing, you know, in your childhood when you were growing up and whether you kind of already had an inkling that you wanted to be an entrepreneur at some stage or whether it just kind of came out of nowhere.
• 6:00
  Yeah, so I grew up in a very small city in Honolulu, Hawaii. I went to a school that was really small and my parents were actually immigrants. So they immigrated to Hawaii to kind of provide a better life for myself. And
• 6:18
  My mom was actually my inspiration all these years. And so my mom started her own business when she was 28. And of all the businesses she could start, she started a construction and development business. So imagine... Oh my gosh. What a ball up. Yeah.
• 6:41
  She's a four feet 11, very tiny lady. She's about my size. Yes. And she did this construction business and she grew it from scratch. She came from...
• 6:54
  a very humble background. So she started working when she was 16. She was selling jewelry, and she basically self-funded this business. And by the end of her journey with this business, she was renovating hotels and just doing these really big projects that she couldn't even imagine herself doing when she just started in 1998, it was.
• 7:22
  Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. With that said, I grew up around a very entrepreneurial, a very strong mother and
• 7:31
  I never knew this, but it somehow passed on to me, like through osmosis, I was absorbing this. And she would take me with her to her international trips. She would go to China to source her, like building materials together. And I would go to trade shows with her. And so I saw how much it took to really start a business. And she would always tell me,
• 7:57
  you do whatever you want, but there's no feeling better than creating something on your own and feeling that sense of success. Because success can be defined by many things, but she said, it's a feeling. And I didn't know what she meant until I started LaLure. And so I never really thought I would be an entrepreneur. I was working in the fashion industry and I
• 8:21
  I loved fashion and beauty, but I didn't know I was going to start something on my own. What really pushed me was actually adversity. And so with the last retail job I held, I was
• 8:36
  struggling with a lot of things in my life. And I personally had a lot of obstacles and the job was really demanding. I was working 12 to 15 hours a day and it showed on my face. So I had hypersensitive skin, acne everywhere, and it was actually manifesting from within me. And so that's when I took some time to really silence myself because I
• 9:04
  sometimes when so much is happening to you, there's a lot of noise in the background. And when I really silenced myself, and I looked into what I was truly passionate about, that's when I came up with the idea. I'm like, I need to create this device, it's going to be a hit. And growing up, I with this Asian upbringing, and with a lot of Asian parents, they're always pushing you to be
• 9:30
  sometimes you have this feeling in your heart that maybe you're not good enough. And for some reason with Lelure, I just felt so confident. I didn't even need any validation. Of course, I spoke to tons of women and that's where I got this idea. I'm like, wow, I'm not the only one dealing with this confusion in the market. I'm not the only one dealing with all these problems. There's tons of other people dealing with it.
• 9:56
  And so I had the knowledge, I had a background in neuroscience, I'm really science oriented. And then thankfully, in the retail setting, I gained all this knowledge of how to launch products and how to merchandise them and how to network and so
• 10:14
  Lelure was a combination of my passion for science and beauty, as well as my experience in retail. And I had no choice but to launch it and to really run with it.
• 10:28
  Yeah. Wow. That's so crazy to have, you know, that just such conviction that you were like, this is the idea and I know other people want it. When you were saying you were talking to other women, is that really like how you validated the idea? What were you specifically doing to validate? Right. So it's so important to validate the idea. If I launched, um, Lelure and
• 10:53
  When there was another product like this out there, perhaps we wouldn't have gotten as much traction in the beginning. But how I really validated it was in the retail setting that we worked in, it was a very open workspace environment. And a lot of the girls would be shouting over, talking. We would just be working and talking at the same time, but they would be talking about
• 11:14
  skincare and their skin struggles and not being able to find a quick solution that worked or something that they could stick to in the long term. And just hearing this from people was validation for myself. And
• 11:29
  I don't know if you are this way, but sometimes when you have this idea in your mind, somehow every single person you talk to or every single situation you find yourself in, you're like, hey, that matches. It's going to be a hit because, look, this woman could be using the product and it could simplify her life like this or whatever.
• 11:50
  My mom could be using this product because she was dealing with the sagging of the jaw area and the crow's feet. And I'm like, this could be a solution. And my sister was dealing with the same acne issues. So not only did I find validation in the people closest to me, but also those I worked with and those I met up with, too.
• 12:14
  And so once you'd had that kind of, you've had the idea and you've, you've now validated it by talking to all these people and understanding that, you know, more than just yourself wants it. What was the actual next steps to actually developing a facial tech device? It sounds so complicated. Right, exactly. So it definitely did not happen overnight. Right.
• 12:34
  I started developing the product in 2017, or that's when the idea really popped into my head. And then by end of 2017, I remember very clearly it was November, I finally had the final drawings of the product. I spoke to enough engineers to know what engineers I would partner up with, or at least
• 12:57
  what steps in the process I would need to take. And after I quit my job, no end of November in 2017, I just went full fledged, full force into creating this product. And so I,
• 13:12
  Coming from a neuroscience background, I have the science-y knowledge to really know what technologies I wanted integrated into the device. But I was by no means an engineer. And so we partnered with five different engineers. And these engineers really helped me put the device together together.
• 13:32
  We created a 3D model for it. We created molds for each working part of the device. And from there, it was developing prototypes. And we went through hundreds of prototypes before coming up with the Lelore that we see today. And every step of the process was a challenge from finding the right engineers to work with you, because I looked like a little kid at that time. And.
• 14:02
  industry that's very male saturated. And so it's hard to get these people to really believe in you and to really believe in your idea. Hey, I wanted to create a device that has all these things in one. That's amazing. So every part of the way was a struggle. And even manufacturing it, finding the right manufacturing partners was a struggle too,
• 14:32
  any outside validation. We didn't have the CES or Sephora Accelerate. Like I was just a girl with an idea. And at that point, it was being able to coherently tell people your story, being able to coherently tell,
• 14:48
  like plant that vision, that vision that you can see in colors in your brain to them. And you can kind of see when people believe in you, you can just see it click. And those are the people I decided to work with. They weren't necessarily...
• 15:05
  the most famous engineers or the biggest manufacturing plant, but they were people who were willing to work with me and people who believed in my idea as much as I did. And I think that's how we really got started was finding the right partners to help us turn this dream into reality.
• 15:26
  Totally. The teamwork, the talent. I'm curious, does it look the same as it does now as like the early kind of designs or was there also a design progression and evolution of what it looks like?
• 15:40
  There was a design progression of what it looks like. So now it looks really sleek, it's compact, it fits into the palm of my hands. But when it first came, it was literally a drawing on a piece of paper for me. And from there we created these 3D models and I thought to myself, wow, this looks really cheap, like a little toy that you would find at Toys R Us. And so,
• 16:08
  It was finding the right materials for it. And being a pretty type A personality type of person, I sourced everything myself from the LED lights that you see, I'll turn this off, from the LED lights that you see here to the stainless steel coverings, to the plastic that's on top, to the
• 16:33
  Even the paint, we have three layers of paint and we've tested so many different shades, so many different shades of white. We've tried metallic paint. We've really gone down to even how long
• 16:49
  everything gets cured for until it gets assembled into the device. And so it was a pretty complicated process. It sounds so complicated. Oh, my gosh. And how are we funding the business up until this point? I mean, five engineers, obviously, that's that's quite a significant upfront cost and startup capital that's needed to to develop something like this. So I'm curious to know how you were funding the business.
• 17:17
  Right. So how I was funding it was initially it was just using the funds that I had from my savings account. And then when I knew I wanted to run with this idea, when I knew I wanted to create it and I had conviction that it would work, I decided to reach out to my family. And at that time, my mother said.
• 17:42
  sold her business. And so she had a lot of money to invest into Lelure. And so up until this point, Lelure is still self-funded, 100% self-funded. And we've gotten really lucky. I've been very open
• 17:59
  with my retail partners and even applying to a lot of programs. I've been really open. I didn't try to make our company sound much bigger than it was. I let them know what my situation was and we got really lucky. So when we launched, we finally launched in 2019. So it took from 2017 to 2019
• 18:21
  to get the full product, full working product in hand. And we were so lucky to launch at CES. So one of the largest consumer technology trade shows out there. And it was my first trade show. And from there, everything just took off. So we met CES.
• 18:41
  people, vendors, we've met amazing people who have just kept in touch with us and helped us along the way. So soon after CES, we got into Sephora's Accelerate program, where they select 12 female entrepreneurs globally. And that gave us a lot of visibility in the beauty space.
• 19:05
  And from there, we decided to showcase at Cosmoprof a large beauty trade show. And we were one of the four tools finalists. So that also gave us a lot of visibility. And then we started entering retail from there. So we launched at Neiman Marcus, Selfridges in London, Prontoms in Paris, and
• 19:29
  From there, it just funded itself. And so we haven't needed to put any additional funding in thus far. We've been really scrappy. So.
• 19:41
  We spent a whole ton of money developing the product. And we've also spent a lot of money on building a moat around the company. So a moat being like IP. So we have three patents on this device, the Lolo device. We have two design patents, one utility patent for the first device to integrate six technologies into one device.
• 20:08
  And then we've also spent a lot on trademarks. And so when it came to marketing, a lot of it has just been word of mouth for us. So.
• 20:20
  word of mouth from all the trade shows that we've gone to, as well as just like having that hustle. So going out there, meeting people, telling people about your device, reaching out to people on
• 20:38
  there's anyone they know that they could connect us to. And so a lot of the marketing was word of mouth and it was really grassroots for us. And only now are we starting to do the social media digital marketing. Wow, that's so cool. So cool. I feel like I've just had you speak for such a long time. I'm so sorry. I just let you roll with it. I didn't interrupt you at all.
• 21:07
  I hope I answered all your questions. Oh my God, you did. And more, you did and more. How has your marketing, like your, you know, obviously word of mouth was a big part of the piece and retail was a big part of the piece. And I'm sure, you know, that comes with their own marketing, you know, in store and online and that kind of thing. But when you were getting the word out there, what was the point that felt like a pivot point for people coming to your own online store and buying directly through you?
• 21:37
  Right. So our pivot point was really being able to tell that story digitally. So in the beginning to market our product, people felt they tried our device. And when you try the device, you can see and you can feel the results. Your face looks more lifted. You can see your fine lines and wrinkles really fade. And you can really see the change in skin texture as
• 22:05
  you can feel it being a lot softer. And so what really helped us translate or really transition into the digital space, especially with coronavirus and with COVID is being able to tell that story. And a lot of our customers helped us tell that story through testimonials or through video footage, through word of mouth. And so,
• 22:30
  they would actually go out there and they weren't paid for this or anything or incentivized in any way. Just out of the goodness of their own hearts, they went out there and showed other people the device. And we started doing virtual consultations with people. And it's been really rewarding for me to just meeting with our customers and hearing their pain points. And it's really helped us develop more products as well.
• 22:57
  So we've recently launched CryoSculpt, which is a cooling device. It doesn't have as many technologies as Lelure, the Lelure Facial Treatment System. But it was a need that I felt people were asking for. A lot of people asked for a cooling device. And so when developing new products, I always go to my customers and
• 23:20
  speaking to them and learning from them is one of the best ways you can market a product because then you speak in their language. You're not just speaking from your own experience, but you're speaking from the experience of like hundreds, maybe thousands of people who you have talked to.
• 23:40
  Totally. I'm so interested to know a little bit more about the virtual consultation. Where is your customer? Like, where are you meeting them? Is it on Instagram? Is it on Facebook? And are you then getting them to book directly into a consultation and then they go and buy or is it they buy first and then hop on a consultation? What's the journey? Right. So it's actually both. They can actually meet us for a virtual consultation before purchasing the device.
• 24:08
  But once a customer purchases the device, we always reach out for a personal consultation digitally and it's via Zoom. And then in terms of where we meeting these people, it's really omni-channel for us in that we meet people in the retail space. So for the launch at Selfridges, I actually flew to London with my mom.
• 24:33
  And we were at Selfridges demoing the device on different people, showing them how it works. And if they were more interested or if they needed extra questions, they could always reach out to us digitally. And so we were really open with our customers. And a lot of people have said, you are the nicest CEO I've met. In that, how do you have time to really talk to all of us like,
• 25:03
  we're probably just one customer out of the many that you have. And the thing is, I think every customer matters. Every order matters. And that's really helped us progress forward. And I think that personal touch that you give people, it shines through and people can feel it. They feel like they're being taken care of and they feel like they're more than
• 25:30
  just a person who's buying a product, they become a part of the Lelore family.
• 25:37
  Totally. Absolutely. I so believe that as well. I think focusing just on every customer and, you know, going that one customer at a time kind of approach. And then also that inherently builds word of mouth and people tell other people about it because they've had such a beautiful experience with someone who obviously cares about the results that they're going to get, you know? Exactly. Yeah. Sometimes I feel like,
• 26:03
  you can expand really quickly. Like you could blow it out of this market and you would be everywhere. But at the same time, there's so much
• 26:12
  there's so much power in also taking things one step at a time and being really patient with yourself. And maybe sometimes your sales or your revenue may not be where you wanted it to be. But when you speak to all these people, and when you look back, you can see everything paying off and you can see how much you've grown. And I think a really, a really special quote I heard from one
• 26:42
  You only look back to see how far you've come. You never look back to kind of criticize yourself, but you have to always look back and give yourself credit for how far you've come and how much you've developed the company.
• 27:00
  Yeah, absolutely. That's so true. I'd love to talk a little bit about the Sephora Accelerator program, um, you know, kind of how you got into that program in the first place and what it was about your application and, you know, yourself that you think really got their interest. And then furthermore, you know, what did you learn going through that process? Yeah.
• 27:25
  Right. So the Sephora Accelerate program was something that I knew I wanted to apply to even before I launched Lelore in 2019. And so I would be following...
• 27:38
  different female entrepreneurs and their journeys. And Sephora Accelerate was one thing that really stood out to me. So I started working on my application way before I launched. I was talking to people, connecting with others, seeing what their experience was like. And when we launched at CES, I was actually in the final rounds of
• 28:04
  interviews with Sephora, but one of our customers stopped by our booth at CES and they picked up our product and said, oh, I would love to also show this to my sister-in-law who also works at Sephora. And so she purchased a device and she passed on the information to her sister-in-law. And I guess it was word of mouth again.
• 28:33
  So after that, we got our final interview and we had a call from Sephora and they told us we were accepted into the Accelerate program. And we also met with a few Sephora people at CES. I didn't know they were from Sephora until after our meetup, but a team of Sephora people also demoed.
• 28:56
  our device at CES. And so I actually still to this day do not know what the defining factor was to get us into the program, but perhaps it was a collection of really putting together amazing application. There was also a video interview section of it where you had to record yourself. And I
• 29:20
  sitting there and spending the entire day doing my one minute recording for the support application, making sure everything was perfect. I edited my own application video in Premiere, but, and I was by no means a video editor, but yeah, it was really scrappy. And
• 29:41
  But I think it's hard work. So when you are passionate about something and when you put in the time and the effort, it will for sure pay off. Yeah, totally. Absolutely. How long did the program go for and what kinds of things do you learn during that program? And so it was almost a one year program. And this was an amazing program. It was like an entire.
• 30:06
  a beauty MBA. And so this program partners you up with a mentor. And I had an amazing mentor. And she's still my mentor till this day. She always tells me, it's not one and done, I'm still going to be with you. And she's now VP of marketing at Sephora. And she's really helped us with our journey. But
• 30:32
  the best part about the Sephora Accelerate program is you're meeting with and you're in this group of other female entrepreneurs. So it's people going through the same problems, people facing the same challenges, and people with that same mentality and that same drive. And sometimes that's really important because you could have all the knowledge, but entrepreneurship is a roller coaster in some ways. There's
• 31:01
  really high highs, like the ups are really up and the lows are really low. And during these low periods, having that support system, having that network is so important. And Sephora not only gave us that network of women to connect with, and people to talk to, but they also gave us
• 31:22
  the resources and the knowledge. They gave us more insight into the beauty space. And in this program, it's a one week bootcamp. And you meet with everyone from PR people teaching you how to really speak and present yourself to lawyers who talk about the investment and the funding process for people looking for VC funding to people who work in society.
• 31:53
  to really logistics people, like what it takes to really launch a brand. And so they're giving you all the moving parts as well as that emotional support. And it's an amazing program and I would recommend it to any female entrepreneurs looking to start. I recommend applying to as many things as possible and applying.
• 32:17
  to always continue to tread forward even with rejection because it's not like we got into everything we applied to. We face so many rejections from so many different people, but it's that ability to really pick yourself up and keep going.
• 32:37
  Yeah, perseverance. Totally. What stage of business do you have to be in to apply for that program? You know, for anyone who's in beauty at the moment, is it for brands that haven't launched yet or early stage only, or can you be at any stage of the journey? I believe you could be at any stage in the journey. And I
• 32:59
  Our cohort was so diverse. So some women have already launched their brand and they were already in retail. And some had an idea and they had prototypes, but they haven't launched the brand yet. So I believe you can actually be in any stage for us. We are.
• 33:21
  We're about to launch our brand when we applied. So I applied for the program in 2018. So end of 2018. And then we heard back beginning of 2019. So you could be in any stage of the journey. It was actually before we launched at CES. And since Sephora, we just gained a lot of traction and was able to really expand the brand.
• 33:48
  Totally. Oh, gosh, how amazing. What is CES, by the way? Right. So it's the Consumer Technology Trade Show. It's where Samsung, LG, Sony, like all these larger tech brands launch at CES. And there's a portion of CES that's basically geared more towards startups.
• 34:11
  And so for us, we didn't need to pay the huge fees of CES. I don't know how much exactly it is to really do a huge launch at CES because you're surrounded by these huge brands. Like people do keynote speeches and booths look crazy with lights and just video screens and just all this.
• 34:38
  all these things that probably cost thousands and thousands of dollars. But CES has a special section called Eureka Park. And so I applied for Eureka Park and part of our launch was sponsored. And so we didn't really need to pay the hefty fees of launching at CES, but we were able to connect with retailers and with larger distributors who were
• 35:06
  work with brands like Samsung and the Amazon of the world. Yeah.
• 35:14
  Wow. Sounds amazing. A really good piece of advice there for anyone who's in that space to definitely, definitely get into Eureka Park. Sounds amazing. Right. It sounds amazing. And you meet different people at Eureka Park too. So I met a lot of other startups that we eventually ended up collaborating with or female entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs from Eureka Park that I'm still in contact with. And
• 35:43
  Yeah, it's just an amazing place to be and that energy. I feel like with startups, you have that energy. Everyone just has that energy, that excitement, that passion, and it always shows through. And so just being around that energy is really amazing. Totally. What is next? What is next for Lelua?
• 36:08
  So the next steps for Lelure would be expanding internationally. We hope to expand into different countries other than the U.S. and the U.K. We're hoping to do an Asia launch soon. And we also want to start building up our website digitally in that we want to have a community. So Lelure.
• 36:32
  a blog for skincare. We want to build up all our other channels. So digital expansion as well as international expansion. Totally. Gosh, how exciting. What advice do you have for women who have a big idea and want to launch their own thing?
• 36:54
  Yeah, so the advice I have is to really listen to your intuition and to listen to your gut. And if you're really in touch with your intuition, if you're really in touch with yourself and your gut,
• 37:08
  you're going to be able to know what you need to do to get to where you need to be. But you're also going to know who to partner with because there's no formula of, wow, this is like the right partner. It's all a feeling. And in order to get this feeling, you really have to be in touch with your intuition.
• 37:30
  The second thing I would say is to be able to deal with rejection and to be able to have so much conviction that you give yourself confidence. You don't need to depend on others for that confidence. And so like an example is starting Lelure.
• 37:50
  We've gotten so many rejections from engineers to manufacturers who had these crazy MOQs that we wouldn't be able to meet when we first started. So with each rejection, just I mean, it never feels good to be rejected. But with each rejection, it's so important to really pick yourself up and to keep going.
• 38:14
  And sometimes when people don't really see what you see in yourself, then you find people who see that in you and who bring that out in you. And so, yeah, to deal with rejection gracefully and allow rejection, allow obstacles instead to hold you back to propel you forward.
• 38:36
  And the last thing I would say is to never change yourself, never try to change yourself to fit into a mold. And so when you think entrepreneur, you think someone who is really firm, who has
• 38:52
  It was just, it's very manly characteristics. And so when I'm starting, I think I would say I'm a pretty girly girl. And I thought of, okay, maybe I should change myself. Maybe I should try fit myself into this entrepreneurial mold. But in actuality, I feel like everyone is.
• 39:13
  has their own personality. And there's no formula again for being an entrepreneur. So just be yourself and let that shine. And it's going to pay off. Like people are going to see you for who you are and yeah, just be yourself. Absolutely. That's really great advice. I'm also interested to know if you have any advice that your mom gave you from her own entrepreneurial pursuits that has stayed with you.
• 39:44
  Yes, so my mom gave me an advice that was so important because me being a pretty ADHD person, I have so many ideas and I love to brainstorm and I love to go over all these ideas. But my mom said, you really have to silence yourself and focus on what's important.
• 40:04
  So we had limited funds for Lelure. And so I really needed to quiet myself and look into what is important and to really stay focused on what's important in terms of funding, in terms of allocation of time. So focus is her tip of advice.
• 40:28
  That's a really, really big one. I'm all on board with that advice. It's so true. Right. We are up to the six quick questions part of the episode. Question number one is what's your why?
• 40:44
  My why is actually our customers and seeing that brightness, seeing that light within them. And so Lelure was founded because of women. And Lelure actually means light in French. Our device mirror means to see in Spanish. And so combined, we really want women to see the brightness within themselves. And seeing that confidence in women is great.
• 41:11
  really why we do what we do. And I think a great example of that is at these trade shows, a lot of the women who want to try our device, they have to take their makeup off on one side of their face. And a lot of them are hesitant to do so because they feel like they don't look as good without makeup on.
• 41:30
  But when they take their makeup off and when they try the device, they look at themselves in the mirror and they're like, oh, my gosh, this side of my face looks so much better than the other. And it's just seeing that light in them, seeing that confidence. A lot of people think all hope is lost, but not all hope is lost. And being able to give them that confidence again, I think that's our why.
• 41:54
  Yeah, totally. That's so beautiful. Question number two is what's been the number one marketing moment that's made your business pop? So there's been many from CES, Sister 4 Accelerate to Cosmoprof to getting featured in Vogue. But I think that one moment that made things really pop for me emotionally, too, was launching at CES.
• 42:23
  It gave us a lot of exposure, but being able to see all the devices lined up, being able to see that booth fully finish, it was a very emotional moment for me. It's just all the hard work you put in from 2017 to 2019. Being able to see that in reality, in real life, that was like an amazing, amazing moment for me. Totally. Gosh, crazy.
• 42:53
  Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? What are you reading? What are you listening to? Where are you hanging out on the internet? Right. So for me, I don't have any television. And so I read a lot. I talk to a lot of different female entrepreneurs too. So what you're doing with a female startup club is amazing because
• 43:19
  it gives people more insight into the space. And in talking to others and reading avidly, I feel like you not only gain knowledge and experience and you not only learn from other people's mistakes, but you kind of know what steps to take and how to really shape your own future.
• 43:41
  Do you have any book recommendations that we should add to the list? I do. So there's Lean In. And I also love I'm reading this book right now. I've actually read it on the plane ride here. It's called The Art of Not Giving an F. And it's more of a fun book, but it makes a lot of sense. Sometimes I feel like
• 44:05
  We care too much about things that don't matter. And so again, it's really that focus and it's really that perspective and that mentality
• 44:15
  I also read the book, The Universe is Talking to You. And a lot of that is about manifestation. So the secret, it's about the secret, the power, the magic. It's about manifestation. And it's about finding that drive within yourself. It's about being really grateful for everything that has come your way. And then I've also read Outliers, which is amazing.
• 44:44
  Yeah, so I read quite a bit and reading has really allowed me to broaden my perspective and to also like enrich my journey too. I've been reading some good books lately too. I, um,
• 45:01
  just finished reading The 5am Club by Robin Sharma. And I thought that was a really great book. It's, if you like The Alchemist, it's written in that same kind of style, that same storytelling style. And I really liked the book. It took me a while to get into it, but I really liked it. And at the moment I'm reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by... Oh, yeah.
• 45:25
  I can't remember his name. I've just forgotten it. But you know what I'm talking about, which is also so good. I love books that are told in story format versus like just a business book with lessons kind of thing. Exactly. It's easier to follow. Rich Dad, Poor Dad was actually the first book my mom gave me when I started Lelore.
• 45:47
  Oh, I love that. What a great gift. Yeah. Cool. Question number four is how do you win the day? And that's around your AM and PM rituals that keep you feeling happy and motivated and successful.
• 46:02
  Yeah, so this sounds a little bit silly, but I wake up every morning and I meditate. So in terms of meditation, I really, I talk to myself and I talk to the universe about what I want for the company, what I want for myself, where I want to be. And then I give myself a little pep talk.
• 46:25
  And that really gets me ready for the day. But another thing I do is I always make my bed and I do my morning routine, which is really simple. I just cleanse my face. And being in the beauty space, I think morning routines is basically skincare. So I cleanse my face.
• 46:43
  I apply our serum, use cryosculpt, and it gets me ready for the day. And I always make sure I'm dressed and changed, even when I'm working from home, because it gets you into that right mindset. And then in the evenings, I love to take baths to really unwind, but I also...
• 47:03
  reflect on my day and I keep this journal where I write about the different experiences I've had that day and five things that I am most grateful for because I think it's so important to go to bed feeling grateful and from all the books I've read but also from my personal experience the more you are grateful for something the more you will get and
• 47:30
  the more you'll see that gratefulness pay off. Yeah, totally. That sounds like such a nice evening ritual. How nice. Question number five is, if you only had $1,000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it? If I only had $1,000 left,
• 47:55
  I would probably, and I don't know if this is relevant, but I would probably...
• 48:01
  spend it on creating an event, bringing a lot of people together and really meeting more people. Because I feel like that's one way to turn a little bit of money into more money. Or I feel like experiences and being able to build relationships, that's priceless. And that's something that that $1,000 could get you.
• 48:29
  Totally love that. And question number six, last question is how do you deal with failure? And it can be around a personal experience or just your general mindset and approach. So how I deal with failure is, again, being brought up in this Asian upbringing, I'm
• 48:50
  There's actually no room for failure. So you're always taught to achieve and to succeed. And I think failure is actually a mindset. So you technically never fail unless you believe you have failed.
• 49:10
  And so for me, there are many obstacles that I have faced and many things that maybe I did that wasn't very successful. But instead of seeing it as a failure, I thought as a learning experience. And the more you see these things or.
• 49:29
  these situations that happen to you as learning experiences the more you grow and the stronger you get so I always see failure as learning experiences and I allow these learning experiences to really propel me forward yeah love that totally
• 49:52
  Ah, Nicole, thank you so much for taking the time to be on Female Startup Club today. I've really loved listening to your brand and what you're building for women and men all around the world. Thank you, Adun. Thank you so much for having me.
• 50:10
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 50:35
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 50:57
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 51:14
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 51:38
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 52:01
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show, and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.