Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / 6 quick questions with Ju Rhyu, Founder of Hero Cosmetics (Part 2)

Transcript

6 quick questions with Ju Rhyu, Founder of Hero Cosmetics (Part 2) · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  Welcome back. Here are the six quick questions. So question number one is, what's your why now post-selling this business? Like what's your why every day that takes you back to Hero Cosmetics? I think my why is...
• 0:28
  I want to turn Hero Cosmetics into the number one acne care brand globally. So I think before it was really about focusing on the U.S., but now it's sort of changed a bit because now like the ambitions are international. So I have that sort of like that's kind of like the goal that I'm really focusing on for us and also for the team.
• 0:57
  That's really exciting. I feel like that should mean trips to Australia. I feel like that should mean like you coming here often. Yes, actually there might be, there might be. I will definitely let you know. Oh, great. Yes. You keep me posted. Question number two is what has been your favorite marketing moment in the journey so far?
• 1:19
  Gosh, there have been so many amazing moments. I mean, most recently we were in, so I don't play the New York Times crossword puzzle, but I know a lot of people do. And we were a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle. So the clue was Mighty Patch Target. And then the answer was Zit.
• 1:44
  And that, I mean, I love moments like that because it's totally organic. We did not, you know, we didn't pay for it. We didn't see, we didn't do anything. But moments like that, that are really organic, I think are really amazing just because you know that you've like entered sort of like psyche of American consumers when, you know, the writer of the New York Times crossword puzzle considers you.
• 2:11
  that iconic that, you know, they add you as a clue in the crossword puzzle. And I just, yeah, I think organic moments like that are just, they're really special.
• 2:23
  That's insane. First of all, I've never heard of that happening before. And it's crazy that that's like, that's a level above marketing. That's like zeitgeist stuff. You're like part of pop culture now. You're part of the culture. That's like insane. Yeah. Oh, shit. Wow. I hope you have that framed. That's really cool. Question number three. I know you've mentioned a few already, but what is your go-to business resource if we have to think about a book, a podcast, or a newsletter?
• 2:54
  I listen to the All In podcast, which is more about tech. I mean, you know, it's like for tech people, but actually their commentary on more macro things is very interesting for me as a business leader. So I listen to that. I am reading Breakthrough Brands, which I would recommend because it's
• 3:20
  Yeah, because like for me, it was sort of like wondering why us? Like why was Hero able to break out? Because interestingly, I mean, there are a lot of other brands that have a pimple patch out there, especially in the U.S. There are a lot. But we have the most market share. We're at like almost 50% market share. And number two is at, I don't know, they're like 20%.
• 3:46
  So our lead is that much bigger. Wow. Yeah. Significant. Yeah. And so I always, I mean, I think I kind of know why, but I also wanted to read this book because I wanted to know, I kind of wanted to, in a more methodical way, like learn, yeah, what was it about what we did and how we did it that really made us stand out like that? So yeah, I would encourage people to read that. And what else? I mean, I read...
• 4:15
  you know, all the business sites like Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, because, yeah, I think it is important to have a pulse on what's going on in the world. And these days I've been reading Financial Times a little bit more just because it has more of that global view. So that's a little bit of what I do.
• 4:34
  With the book Breakthrough Brands, I know we touched on it before, but if you have to think about like what are, you know, parts of the success formula for you, like, is it like supply chain distribution, like having that like down pat? Is it having a brand that speaks to a broad American audience? Is it someone who is like the right kind of partnerships? Like what are the things? Well, it's, it's a lot of different things, but actually he does, he does talk about
• 5:03
  making sure your target audience is kind of brawn, because he gives an example of, there are like two tortilla brands and there's one that's really focused on, I think like the Latino community because everything's in Spanish and there's a sort of like authentic Mexican history with the tortillas and the recipes and all that stuff.
• 5:30
  And then the other brand, it was broader because it targeted not just the Latinos, but also like general Americans that really liked Mexican food. And so when you look at the size of the category or potential category for those two, the one that was targeting the more general Americans who love Mexican food, that category is so much bigger than just targeting the Latino community in the U.S.,
• 5:57
  So he gave that as an example of, yeah, it is better. Like maybe you start out in a niche, but like, as you grow, you really do have to broaden your horizons. And I think that's why, that's definitely one of the reasons why we're successful because, you know, the way that our brand is constructed, it's very, you know, it's very gender inclusive, but also age inclusive because there are a lot of brands that focus just on the teens. But hey, there are a lot of adults that have acne too. And I think we,
• 6:26
  we communicate to them as well. Yeah, for sure. Cool. Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM and PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and motivated? So now that I have more time, I'm actually working out a lot more consistently. So now I'm doing like three days a week, an hour in the gym, focusing a lot more on strength training, eating more protein,
• 6:53
  And that's been really great. Also focusing on getting outside and just like walking, getting, you know, getting my 10,000 steps. But I like the idea of like the 10,000 steps cause it does make me just get outside. Sometimes I, you know, turn on a podcast, sometimes I don't, but actually those walks are the times where I get the, sometimes the most inspiration. Just like, you know, you with your thoughts,
• 7:22
  letting your mind wander and it wanders into certain places and then you just get an idea. Those have been actually very productive for me. Yeah, I agree. I think like we need to have more time where we're just in kind of like idle thinking phase, like nothing on, nothing, listening to nothing in particular and just like enjoying being outside. Yeah. Question number five, what was your worst money mistake in the business and how much did it cost
• 7:52
  Oh, gosh. I don't know. I can't. I mean, I'm sure we made them. I know we made them. But nothing sort of comes to mind at the moment. But I mean, generally, we do try to be careful with our money. I don't know. I really can't think of one.
• 8:19
  Fair enough. Good for you. Question number six, last question. What is just a crazy story, good or bad, you can share from the journey of building Hero Cosmetics? Oh, geez. I mean, the one thing that comes to mind is I think with our process and the
• 8:43
  I mean, it really, you know, just for anyone who who's listening, who may be selling their company, it really does take over your life. And just to give you some examples, like I got tickets to Wimbledon, the Wimbledon men's semifinals last year for as a birthday gift to my husband. And we were in these amazing seats and we were in the third set and we.
• 9:13
  And then I got a call and they were like, you have to be on this conference call. It's very, very urgent. So I had to step out of the match and take this call. And I was hoping for a foreset. So it was like on this conference call about like legal stuff and then
• 9:33
  And then after the call ended, I got back and then basically the match was over. So there's like there are moments like that. You know, we were on vacation and I remember, you know, we were in California and we were at lunch. You know, just like me and my husband were having lunch and they're like, you have to be on this conference call. So I was on this conference call during our lunch, you know, I have like my AirPods in.
• 9:57
  And my husband's like, you know, opposite me, just like eating. He's basically about himself, you know, because I'm distracted on this conference call. But it's just like, those are the, I mean, those are just snippets to give you a sense of like, you know, how much time it takes. And how, you know, you do, sometimes you do have to, unfortunately, deprioritize like other aspects in your personal life. And I remember at the end, like everyone was really sick of it.
• 10:24
  you know, myself, my husband, you know, I'm sure like my family members also. But yeah.
• 10:34
  Wow. Oh my gosh, Ju, thank you so much for taking the time to step us through that playbook. That was wild. Huge congratulations. I know I said it a million times already, but huge congratulations. You are such a role model and such an inspiration to everyone building a business in today's world. So thank you so much. Well, thanks for having me. I'm still your hype girl. I love it.
• 11:07
  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.
• 11:31
  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.
• 11:54
  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.
• 12:09
  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.
• 12:34
  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.
• 12:56
  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.