Latest / Skin Anarchy / Interview with CEO and Founder of Saint Jane Beauty, Casey Georgeson

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Interview with CEO and Founder of Saint Jane Beauty, Casey Georgeson · Skin Anarchy

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: We have a very, very special guest today.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she is uh a leader in skincare brands right now.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I your her brand is amazing.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's my favorite skincare brand.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um Saint Jane Beauty is a brand that has come up recently, I would say, in the past few years, and it's based on just like the CBD and how it works for your skin.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to introduce Casey Georgeson.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Hello.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: Hi, thank you guys for having me.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for coming onto the podcast.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're so excited to have you here.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, thank you.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: This is so exciting.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: Congrats on this podcast.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's amazing.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Casey, I just want to start off and give our listeners a little bit of your background.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'd love for you to give us uh just information about um, you know, just how did it all begin?
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how did you come up with Saint Jane and just everything about you, really?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'll try to keep it interesting and short as best as I can.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: So my journey with St.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: Jane probably started back when I began my beauty career, which was uh as a marketing and creative executive for Kendo, which was a division within Sephora that um is still around.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: And the mission behind Kendo was to create brands that were exclusive to Sephora.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I was really early on with Kendo.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: I was like the fifth employee, and it was truly like getting a PhD in the beauty industry.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: I was able to develop all of these incredible brands that Sephora launched.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: So Marc Jacobs, Beauty, Elizabeth and James, Disney for Sephora, Hello Kitty, Kat Von D, Formula X nail, Sephora by OPI nail.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it was extraordinary.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: And so I got to learn a lot of areas in the beauty industry, and I got a lot of exposure to areas in the beauty industry that I fell in love with, specifically around product development and storytelling.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: And also performance-driven products.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so that was sort of the foundation.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_02: I also spent part of my career creating wine brands.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: I've I've created a lot of wine brands over the years.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: I worked for this I saw that on your on your personal account.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've seen that with the I was very curious about it.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's sort of crazy.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_02: My family goes back in the wine industry for almost a hundred years.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I've always had wine in my background.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up in wine country, and my family's been in the business forever and ever and ever.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: And when I left New York, um I was a producer for CNN and I left to come back to the Bay Area where I'm from.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, you know, I'm gonna try my hand at the wine industry and see if this sticks.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go with it, but the wine group um asked me to create some new concepts for them for their innovation pipeline.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: And one of the brands was Cupcake, which has gone on to do really well in the market.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so Um Yeah, that's an understatement.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: It's done really well.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's the first brand I ever created.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so I fell in love with brand creation.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so I created for them.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: I left Sephora.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sort of bouncing around a little bit, but I started in my brand creation career in wine.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: I went to business school at Stanford, graduated from business school, and really wanted to get into beauty.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: So I worked at Sephora as an intern between my first and second year of business school.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: I worked for free.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: I was their first MBA intern.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: They literally paid me in makeup, which was hilarious.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's amazing.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they were like, we can't pay you.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, that's okay.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: Totally.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: Like just pay me in lipstick and we're all good.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: So they did, and I got to meet a lot of the really incredible people at Sephora at the time.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: So when I graduated business school, I was just so excited to join the Kendo team and I did.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so then I so I worked in beauty for a few years and then left Sephora.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: Very difficult for me to leave Sephora slash kendo because I had two daughters at the time.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Now I have three, but I just needed a little bit more balance in my career.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, I can imagine.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was hard.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_02: It was hard, but it was the right thing.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I I stayed on and consulted with Kendo and I couldn't really quite quit them.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: I just love the industry so much.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: But I was in the beauty and or I was in the wine industry creating wine brands again for the wine group.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_02: And it was around so I did that for two years at the wine group, and I was sort of still consulting at Kendo off and on.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: But I really I'd always toyed with the idea of creating my own brand.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: I just didn't feel like I had the big idea that was going to make me a founder, right?
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: You have to have a huge idea to make you a founder.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's I know exactly what you mean.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: I I feel like anyone who is, you know, struggling with an idea, it's it's hard to understand, too, right?
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: If it's a big enough idea.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: And did you struggle with that?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you if you knew you had something big or not?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_02: I did.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I did until I discovered CBD, to be totally honest.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: I toyed with a lot of different concepts, but nothing was so compelling to me that it would take me into this crazy roller coaster world of entrepreneurship.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_02: So I didn't want to be, I didn't want to be strained in family balance and my kids.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so there wasn't, I didn't feel like I had the idea until I discovered CBD.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: And that was when California was legalizing cannabis, which was around 2017.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: And I was reading a Pop Sugar article about how CBD is nature's Xanax meets Advil.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, okay, this is a listen.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: We gotta go DPR.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I went to a dispensary and had the bud tender tell me all about CBD.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: And it was really interesting because of all the benefits for the skin and when you take it internally.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought this is the most exciting skincare ingredient of our time.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's when so, did you?
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I'm not trying to interrupt you.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: I just real quick, did you actually like so with CBD when you were like looking into it, did you um use it yourself for like any kind of joint pains or anything?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know a lot of people do that, so I don't know how the CBD market like really took off in terms of people like experiencing it in the first, you know what I mean, when I was first becoming big.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: So good, it's such a good question.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_02: So I tried a lot of different CBD products, both topically and internally.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: And at first I swore CBD was making me feel something.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't, it's a non-psychoactive, it doesn't make you feel anything.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: But at first I was like, I feel something.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I think looking back, it was just really calming for me.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_02: And I was so grateful to discover it because it really had a profound impact on the balance, the wellness balance for me personally.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: I am not the best with anxiety and putting stressors on myself, and so I think it really almost instantly balanced me out and really worked.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so that that gave me a lot of confidence.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: Plus, on the skin, it felt to me like it was truly soothing some of the issues that I've always had in skin sensitivities.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was like, this is really powerful.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: This is something that we have to, I have to really run with.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: And it wasn't a decision at that point.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: I had to do it.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: It was like this is this is compelling me forward and I have to keep going inspiration.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: So okay, so you've had this like amazing journey then with your all the businesses that you've been involved in.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: So when you moved into beauty, like I'm just curious, um, because working for Sephora, you had saw all that makeup.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: So when was skincare a big deal at that time in Sephora when you were like just an intern there?
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Or so when I was an intern there, no, it was much smaller category, very small.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: Color was the king.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: Color was king.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: And but we but so was performance-driven products in general.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was more in the color space, fragrance, and nail when I was there.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: So when I was an intern, I worked for the color team, and then I graduated and I worked for Kendo, and I was on the um, I was the marketing and creative director.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so I worked in development and storytelling and marketing creative, et cetera.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_02: And it was really color-driven, nail-driven, fragrance-driven brand concepts that we brought to market.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: But skincare was starting to emerge, and I Ula Hendrickson was one of the brands in the Kendo portfolio and doing really, really well and such an inspiring brand for people.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: And Ula, as a founder, was everyone loves Ula.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so it was just starting when I left, but now it's exploded.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's such an exciting category.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I I love your line.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I want I I want to say this before you tell us more about Saint Jane because I really, really love Saint Jane.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Your products for my skin have been working since the day I tried them.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, yeah, you know, the skincare, I saw that blow up as well.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, to have a product that has stood out so much to me is such it's an extraordinary challenge.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm just, you know, I just want to give you props for that because genuinely, like, your products work so well.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think um a lot of people fully understand how many uh products you have.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know I didn't.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know you can you go through like what products um you have and like you know where it started, your first product and from there.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so it's funny because even though in my professional experience I was more on the color fragrance nail side, in my personal life, I've been a skincare junkie since I was 12 years old, starting with Clinique's three-step routine with their cleanser toner and um dramatically different moisturizer.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: I started that when I was 12 and it just continued.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: I I I changed and explored and experimented with different skincare products my whole life.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like my friends joked when I was in New York, they're like, your nickname is Assalore because you literally know everything about skincare.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I was using oils and I was using all kinds of crazy stuff that was people weren't really using at the time, like early 2000s.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so for me, when I started St.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: Jane, doing a serum oil moisturizer hybrid felt like the best product to start with.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: And it's really that product is our first product, and it's really our crown jewel in our assortment because it does so much, it's such a multitasker for redness and skin stress, and it really is so powerful.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that because that product exploded onto the scene, it really elevated the experience of CBD for a lot of people.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: It helped them feel comfortable trying it for the first time, and that I'm really proud of that because I think we're the way that we're architecting the narrative of CBD is really responsible and um true to its potential as an ingredient.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so we started with Luxury Beauty Serum.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: The vision when we launched was we're going to create a CBD lifestyle brand where if a product makes sense to have CBD, we're going to consider launching it.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: So we started with the face serum, which is like I said, sort of an all-in-one.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's your serum oil moisturizer.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: And then we launched lip glasses as lip treatment skews.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: And then we launched a body serum for body nourishment.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: And that was our year one.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: So we launched in 2019.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that was our year one.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_02: We stuck very tightly to those SKUs, those products.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's three products in a year.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, were you nervous about that?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Or did it was just because you saw the success and you just wanted to keep on, you know, with like how did you make that business decision of like coming out with three solid products in one year?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I've Yeah, you know, it it was very deliberate because I wanted to test and learn.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to make sure that we were giving the products their time in the sun, you know, before we moved on too quickly.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so though those three products felt very right for us in year one.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: And then we thought, okay, year two is when we're gonna start to round out the assortment with other products that we feel passionately about.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: So we launched with our vitamin C serum in March, which is a crazy time to launch, but we wanted to get that one to market because we believed in the benefits of the bright, glowy skin that that product delivers.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: And then we launched um our lip creams, which are the first of their kind to have CBD in a really beautiful lip cream formula.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I had never seen that before.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Before your uh your uh lip glosses, are they glosses or are they creams?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like what what kind of um formulation is that?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_02: We have both.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: So we have lip glosses that we launched last year, and then our lip creams are like lipsticks, they're more pigmented, and they they they are like lipsticks, but formulated like a skincare product, like a treatment product with all the the antioxidants and the nutrients and the CBD.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: So then we launched our eye cream this summer, and that one has been oh my gosh, it's sold out.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's crazy how quickly our eye cream has caught fire.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: That is so good.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I need to get my hands on your eye cream, by the way.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: I've been like procrastinating on that, but yeah, wow, okay, it's sold out everywhere except Sephora.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: You can get it at Sephora.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, yeah, wow, yeah.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: No, I I've been following, um, I've been following your brand, and I I know that the first item you talked about, the first product was the luxury beauty serum, right?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's the in the black bile.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: That it's a phenomenal product, I just want to tell you.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: All the listeners out there, I don't all of you, I don't know if you've tried it or not, but it's truly a really, really great product.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna hand this over to Farheen because she has the background in um what we want to really ask you more, dive deeper into your business.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah, let's do it.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: Casey, thank you again.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: I really appreciate you coming on and uh speaking to all of our listeners, um, especially you know, giving us an insight into your um your thoughts process, your you know, just the knowledge that you have.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: I want to uh refer back to something that you said previously about creating um a story around C BD and Sank J.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I, you know, I'll be honest with you, I am so, so, so new to CBD just generally and also new to Saint J.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: So for someone who doesn't have any knowledge as to what C BD does, not as much knowledge as you know C B D user would, um I it the the product intrigues me, right?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I want to use the product.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious about that.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: How did you make CBD accessible and um I guess like create that interest in a user that has no previous um I guess background in it or knowledge in CBD?
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it was so I'll give you a lot of background on the brand story.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so when we started the when I started the concept and we started with my crew of extremely talented women who have helped me along this journey, we brainstormed the name for the brand and we wanted it to feel very luxe and elevated and inspiring and soulful and true to what the molecule could do.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_02: And so we landed on St.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: Jane, which is the innocent side of Mary Jane, because CBD is so much like a vitamin and non-psychoactive, and we felt very strongly that it should be mainstream and widely accepted.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: And so then when we went deeper on the name, we discovered that St.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: Jane was an actual saint who lived in the 1500s and dedicated her life to healing women and specifically women that society wouldn't touch.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: So the very old, the very sick, unwed mothers.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: And we really felt like it was in her honor that we were creating this healing-centric approach to beauty with a molecule CBD that is so extraordinary for skin and for wellness.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: And so it became really clear and really soulful and instant that this brand stood for something, not only from an ability to transform your skin, but also from a give back perspective, where we really believe in helping to heal the world and heal women and heal people and as best as we can as a little brand became our mission.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's really where I think we went beyond CBD to try to reach people and reach people where they are.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: So um that's where the story goes deeper and where we really feel so passionately that we're doing something that is so mission-driven and good for the world.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I think just being at Sephora, it it really gives you that that um market penetration that maybe you otherwise wouldn't get because um I'm on there practically every week looking at what's news.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: So my Sephora part right now is at$800.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: So you you are talking to two, I feel like, beauty junkies over here.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so uh just to give you a little bit of background on myself, um, I uh I come from a business law background, and my my husband is an entrepreneur through and through.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: He started um several businesses, and I just remember um, you know, he has the same kind of cycle whenever he goes through starting a new business and a brand.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: When was that first like uh wall that you hit that you felt like, oh my gosh, um, I don't know if I can overcome this, but if I do, we're really gonna be great.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think, yeah, there are so many headwinds with CDD, even still.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: Is that kind of what you're asking about the challenges in the market?
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: The challenge, like the the first real challenge that you felt like, oh my gosh, I don't know if I can overcome this, but if I do overcome it, like we're really gonna take off.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: I think there have been so many.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: And it's interesting because I have to be kind of kind to myself and the pressure that I put on myself because a lot of it is still out of our control.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: Last year was really difficult with payment processors and Facebook advertising and you know, normal digital e-commerce channels that other brands could without CBD can do very freely.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: And so it was it was challenging for us to kind of establish our footing in year one.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: We were still doing really well, and we had these incredible retail partnerships and really great press momentum and and people that were our community was really supporting us.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so I'm really proud of the year, the first year that we had, but there were headwinds, and there still are headwinds.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: We have we've had bankruptcies with retailers that have cost us a lot of money.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: We've had, you know, payment processors withhold reserves, we've had just things that are stumbling blocks, and you don't you can't you have to go easy on yourself because again, a lot of it's out of your control.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that the good always outweighed the challenges and the bad.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: And so we were able to keep going and be optimistic and realize that you there's going to be so many stumbles as a new brand, especially as a CBD brand.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: And we, I think we just the optimism and the mission behind the brand, we felt like, okay, this is gonna, it's going to work out.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: We are we are doing what we believe in, we are reaching people, we are changing people's lives, and that is what matters.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, but it has there have been a lot of um frustrating challenges because I think about other brands having such an easier path without being blocked on Instagram or without having, you know, the inability to advertise or set up digital channels, it's hard, but we're we're getting there.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: Every day is a new day, and every day it seems like things are um getting a little easier.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's really good to hear.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: And uh my understanding is you know, CBD is different in the THC and um marijuana derivatives, but is it um I I guess I I don't know all the state laws with regard to CBD.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: So is the is there you feel like a misinformation and a misunderstanding happening on a legislative level at a state level that is preventing you from um you know going into some markets?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: No, not really.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's it's harder for CBD ingestible brands to some extent.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_02: I think topicals, people are really starting to realize that they are incredibly beneficial.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, unless you I just don't think that there's the same concerns around topicals as there are with ingestibles still, even though there shouldn't be.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_02: I think that the I think there have been some momentous um advancements like the passing of the farm bill in 2018 and things that have opened up the business, but there's still regulations that continue to come our way, and hopefully all.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Of that gets worked out.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_02: I just think it's funny because I look at like castor oil, for example, and there's a byproduct of the castor bean that's ricin that has no known antidote and is so lethal.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_02: Like that'll actually kill you.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: That will kill you.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_02: No one has ever heard about that.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: No one's died ever from CBD.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_02: So it's just a funny quirk in the system.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't know why it's not clear to people.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think maybe it's because there are some players out there in the market that make very bold medicinal claims, and there needs to be responsibility about that, which I agree with.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: I think that people, you know, you don't want to have people trying to treat their cancer with CBD.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: So the responsibility is absolutely necessary.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I'm saying only CBD, you know, meaning like, you know, medicinal claims that are irresponsible.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: So anyway, yeah, I think that it is, um, it's still there's a lot of work to do to clear the path.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like this year I've seen um more indie brands pop up on Instagram, pop up on TikTok, and you know, it's really the founders have been um more or less everyday people.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: What is your I would say top three things that you would say to someone who may not have um an MBA but wants to start a business, maybe in beauty, uh either a color product or a skincare product.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I don't know if my MBA has really helped me very much in being an entrepreneur in the day-to-day.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think it's like it's I have one too and I can vouch for that.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: You you know, you you you know, you learn a lot of the basics about business when you go to business school, but you don't learn it until you're doing it.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so if you don't have a business school degree, don't let that stop you.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: I think you're gonna learn on the job no matter what.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's you're going to be building the airplane mid-flight, no matter what kind of schooling or background you have.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, pay attention if you do go to business school, pay attention better than I did in a lot of my classes.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: I wish I could go back and redo them and learn everything now because it would maybe be helpful.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_02: But you don't have the context when you're talking academically about someone's experience in an entrepreneurship class.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's just different from when you're doing it yourself.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: So don't let that stop you and be prepared to build the airplane mid-flight.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: Go easy on yourself.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: It is not an easy road.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: It is filled with sleepless nights.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like I tell people, you better really believe in what you're doing because you're gonna do it all day long.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: You're gonna do it until your head hits the pillow, you're gonna dream about it, and it's gonna be the first thing you do when you wake up.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: So if you can balance, find balance in that, you will be successful.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: Also, you have to, and that's not something that I learned in business school.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: Granted, business school for me was 12 years ago.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: The notion of being able to take breaks and take care of yourself is so intrinsic to your success, I think, as a founder, and figuring out how to separate yourself from like you have to be able to recognize that you control what you can control and let the rest go because so much is out of your control.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_02: So much of it is um, you have to set sort of ride the wave a bit.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: They don't talk about that in business school classes, at least when I was there, maybe they do now.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: No, they still don't easy.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_02: They still don't.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, good.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: Good to know.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: Good to know.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: But they should.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_02: They really should.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: They should.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's a big part of success, I think.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a huge part of success.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's like managing your expectations.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like in medicine, we call it managing patient expectations.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: In business, it should be the same, right?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like they should be there should be some sort of like information out there about that.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, I didn't mean to cut in, but I agree.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's that's so true.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: I so I feel like in law, especially the law school that I went to, we spoke so much in theoretical, it was all just theoretical stuff, right?
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing that you can really wrap your head around until you're actually doing it.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: And even then, I can't, you know, I took several business classes, business law classes.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: I don't feel like I used any of it.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's just, it's it's a lot of boots on the ground.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, you gotta figure it out right now with these really bad facts or really bad whatever, and just run with it.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I think um grit more than anything really propels you forward.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: It does, it really does.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: It's a motivating force.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know where it comes from, but you're right.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that comes down to passion and belief in what you're doing.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: And um, even when the going gets tough, you have to still believe.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think either people don't think that other entrepreneurs are going through the through the same thing, but maybe it looks different, or maybe they're not completely honest about how hard things really are.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: But I sometimes I feel or I see people get give up too soon, um, and not really pushing through those hard, I say character building um moments where you know you come out better if you just get through that difficult period.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that is where yeah.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, sorry, I took off.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: No, go ahead, Clay.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead, Casey.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: No, I was just gonna say, yeah, that is where I think people burn out, and that's where the breaks become so essential.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_02: You have to be able to take a step back and create calm and quietude for yourself so you can see your path forward.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes it takes a pause and a break to realize that your path is more clear than you thought.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so I've I've learned to do that.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_02: This, this, you know, I'm still working on it.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't come naturally, I think, to a lot of founders who are just like, I'm so impatient and I see so much opportunity and I want to get there really because I believe in this, and all of that is really great, but you're running a marathon at a sprints pace, and you're also like I always tell people, it feels like week that's what being a founder is it's finals week all the time.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_02: You never get a break.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_02: So you have to build that in for yourself.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to ask you a little bit about the financial side of St.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Jane.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Did you have investors?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: And if you did, how was your fundraising experience?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: We do not have investors yet.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_02: We have been bootstrapped and self-funded, and that has been an interesting journey because you know it's um, I think it it is it's been powerful for us because we have been able to spend every dollar so carefully, not that you wouldn't if you were funded, but it's different when it's out of your kids' college fund, it's just different.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so that has been um it's been it's a way to make it all work.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: And we we might consider fundraising to take the brand to the next level.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: And that's definitely um, you know, on my mind.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: But um, but I think that, you know, when you're building something, if you can fund be self-funded for as long as you can, it really helps for a foundation that is more valuable to whoever you raise money from.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_02: So it helps you, I think if you can, if you if you can, it is um, it just helps you create a foundation from which any investment down road um creates more value for yourself.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that makes sense.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because like your own money invested is like, I mean, I'm sure that's like a constant driving force.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, like this has to work.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: This has to work.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's no like, well, if I give up, then I'll never get that back.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_02: And um, yeah, it it it is.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, not that you wouldn't if you were funded, but it's personal when it's your own dollars for sure.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, less so you don't have pressure from another entity uh potentially it maybe having an effect on the direction that you want to go, which I guess could be a good or a bad thing, um, depending on what that entity is.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, so I want to come back to marketing, and I think Etha and I um are always curious about this when it comes to uh marketing.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: Is how do you influencer marketing and what has been your strategy?
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: Well, for us, and and this ties into being self-funded, we haven't we don't pay for any of our influencer um con lucky to have support from our influencer community because we're too small, you know, we're just too we're not there yet.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe that will change one day, but um, but it's been for us, it's been about community building.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that that organic, very authentic relationship that we're building with influencers.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's how I met ECTA.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_02: It is it's so meaningful, and every influencer matters to us.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, maybe one day we will be able to, but now it's really about um the relationship and the authentic appreciation for the products and the authentic feedback on the products.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like we appreciate everything.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_02: Love us, don't love us, we want to hear it.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's where we've been so far, and that's where we plan to be for the near future.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's important.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um we've had varying degrees of uh experiences with brands, and it's always um the brands who are just professional and can appreciate good and negative feedback that always stand out to me because a product's not gonna be a fit for everybody.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: There's always gonna be someone that's not gonna like it or it doesn't suit their skin or whatever the case may be.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: How do you how do you deal with that though, Casey?
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like did you like was that something you like like you know, like it troubled you?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, how am I gonna make a product that everyone's really gonna love?
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that what was that thought process for you?
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, I really because I've put so much of my heart and soul into this brand, I really care when I care about every comment and every piece of feedback I want to help people's skin.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's why we created this brand was to help people's skin.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so I do want to hear it, but I also understand that not all skincare products, not all beauty products are for everyone.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_02: And so I don't take it personally.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_02: I think you know, we are very understanding if someone wants to return something like our customer service.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm usually on the other end of a lot of the customers, almost actually every single customer service email I see respond to, or um, my uh assistant responds between the two of us.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so it matters.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_02: It matters to me.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I take all the feedback, I improve if we can.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_02: And and that's that's part of why I think this brand is special, is because we're still so we're small, we're very authentic, we're very honest, we're just we're people behind this brand, we're a tiny team, really trying hard to make a difference.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't know, I mean, we'll see.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_02: We it is, you know, we just I guess the mission, I go back to the mission every single time.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_02: We just want to help people's skin.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna hopefully do that most of the time.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_02: And if we don't do that, we want to try to do everything we can to make it right for them.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: I really love that.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a lot of, I feel like there's not a lot of people in business right now, or from what I've seen with my limited experience, that um, you know, even on the CEO level, they're still so hands-on in their in their um business, you know.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: So and I think that is really making a huge difference for your brand.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because I generally speaking, when I reached out to you guys originally about because I had I had gotten your serum and I remember messaging your St.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: Jane account, and I was like, hey guys, can you like post this out like this picture?
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'd done the photographies because I was just so like I don't know, enamored by the product.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like I really was, you know what I mean?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: So um, and and it was so cool for me, I know, for you to actually respond to me because it showed me that even though you are the CEO, you're the lead of this and it's taking off, you are still right there, and you're coming in and talking to every single person that's buying your product, and just that's a very, very, very unique, you know, thing, I think, in business these days.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it really is so it's so personal, it matters.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I've I mean, my team, myself, we've put our hearts and soul into this brand.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_02: And um, and I think that that's that what that's what comes across, and I hope it's what comes across because you know, it is the in companies in general, there's always people behind the companies, there are always people who who are driving the business, and so I I think the humanity behind brands is important, and um, and that's important to St.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: Jane for sure.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's so good.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I think, yeah, forena, like you can continue because I always take us on tangents, by the way, because every episode, I literally like no problem.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious what's next for St.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: Jane?
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: What's in the wings?
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: If you're allowed to tell us, um, what are your plans for the rest of 2020 and then going into 2021?
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_02: Well, so we are we are still very, very committed to creating products that um transform skin and we're committed to the products that we've already launched.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_02: We believe in them.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_02: We feel like we're just scratching the surface on getting the word out and making sure that people have a chance to try them and fall in love with them as much as we are in love with them.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so we are going to stay true to our tight assortment strategy.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but when we do introduce something, we want it to be meaningful and we want it to be innovative and we want it to be differentiated in the market.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_02: So stay tuned for all of the fun things that we have coming up in 2021.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's fun.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's my favorite part of my job is creating all of the fun new uh collections.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like I don't see a lot of skincare slash makeup brands that do both well.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited to explore the brand.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's always I I think the trend now is skincare that can also deliver um just a little bit of color, um, a little bit of um more of a, I guess like a tint.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a tint or yeah, or a lipstick or color products that have a skincare aspect to it.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm interested to see what else um we see from your brand as well as just the market generally.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's it's going to be really interesting.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um before we wrap up, um, Ekta, do you have any other questions?
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, more than questions, I'm just curious about, you know, so do you work with now?
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: I know skincare right now, Casey.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's taking this, we at least from what I'm looking at, um, it's kind of taking a turn.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: And there's this like micro-population, I think, of um people, especially on Instagram, that are just like healthcare professionals or you know, scientists or anybody who's like really looking into the ingredients of skincare.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just curious, like, have people reached out to you asking you about stuff like that, and like, you know, kind of just trying to pick your brain because I and honestly, before I before you even answer, I want to say I really love that you put your dose of CBD on your product.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, as in from a medical perspective, that for me stood out so much because I don't see that on you know, that's very hard to see in the earlier products that were either CBD or any kind of like uh ingredient that you are ingesting or even going into your bloodstream, right?
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, like it was like very interesting for me that you put the dosage on there and you know let people know that hey, you know, we know what we're doing.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is like back.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, what was your experience with that?
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: How did you come up with you know that side of it, like the science side of it kind of thing?
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, I believe in high concentrations of clean actives across the board for our brand.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_02: I believe that you need to go beyond marketing levels and actually put quantities in concentrations that make a difference.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so with CBD, it was really non-negotiable.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_02: It was like, I'm not gonna throw in a couple milligrams of CBD into this, it's not gonna do anything.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_02: So it needed to be in an active percentage.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_02: And that was also because I felt like when I was using sampling on my skin, the higher concentrations for me personally seemed to deliver better results.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so I wanted to create a, you know, I don't want to say a dose, but I wanted to create an um a level of CBD where every time you pulled a pipette in our luxury beauty serum, you got about 10 milligrams of CBD in every application.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_02: I felt like that was a nice goal amount.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's where we started.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_02: And it and I think that's continued to lead in concentrations in CBD, which is great.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_02: We too we someone said it yesterday.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_02: I can't remember who it was.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_02: They said, you do C seriously, do you like we do?
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_02: We seriously do.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's yeah, that's awesome.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's really awesome because uh, you know, yeah, CBD, you're right.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like I you you can't go in with anything without knowing, you know.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: My it's kind of like my anthem these days with skincare is that, you know, like I feel like the yeah, you're right.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_00: Dosing is probably not the right word for it, but at least knowing that, you know what, let's put enough in here to actually make something happen, you know what I mean?
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I know a lot of a lot of people want to just put that label on there.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: That was really where I kind of was wondering because some people will be like, well, yeah, this contains this, but I have no idea how much of it is in there.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's cool.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's really cool that you uh thought that way about it.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: But no, um, I don't really have um big questions, but I honestly I'm not even exaggerating.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: I love your brand, and I know that um Forheen and I have talked about the luxury beauty serum, um just on like, you know, personal, like just us conversing, you know what I mean?
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like always something I come back to, you know.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: In my skincare, I'm always coming back to this product that you've created.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's like a multi-purpose product, and you know, one of the most unique things that I've noticed about your your brand is that you guys don't have a million products, you know, and I think that it's it's that is to me so wonderful because it's not something that people are drowning in in a way that it's like, well, what do I use?
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so was that something was that something that you wanted?
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like you wanted a very exclusive range of products, not just like, you know, one after another after another.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think that you want to make sure that you are um I want I would rather have six products that are all performing really well than 16 that are performing so-so.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_02: And that was important to me.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_02: I think the focus, given our team is really small, our resources are still small, we want to just stay tight and focused in our storytelling.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, with the expansion of the line in 2020 to a vitamin C product, a lip cream, and an eye cream, that's been huge for us.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's transformed our business for sure.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so we'll definitely be considering you know more of that, but we'll want to be thoughtful to how we do it.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_02: What we launch, we're not gonna launch a hundred SKUs and um until the time is right.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's really, really awesome.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad I I like that business strategy.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's why that's why I was not, you know, I'm just so I love seeing that people just dedicate themselves to one thing and do it right, you know.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what you did with this product, this product.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_00: I really believe that.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, but yeah, thank you, Casey, so much for coming onto our podcast.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_00: It has been such a pleasure to speak with you.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm I'm kind of like uh starstruck.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's why like I think it's so awkward having you on here.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um yeah.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, if there's anything like that you want to share with our listeners.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um anything on your mind about business or your anything just well I would say you guys, especially your community, has been so amazing for us in engagement and conversations and dialogue on Instagram.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_02: That's important to us.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_02: We need more of it.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_02: We are still so small and so growing that every part of every person in our community matters.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: And so we want to hear more from everyone.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_02: So if we can inspire people to engage with our content, that would be incredible.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_02: Comments, likes, shares, anything.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: I think the team sees it all.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_02: It really matters.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um and we want to get to know everybody.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we'd love to we love to hear from them.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you guys have heard it but from her.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: So um I'm sure that you know people will be giving a lot of feedback, especially coming up.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um here is really like changing in my view because people are just getting more curious.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Casey.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this has been such a pleasure speaking to you.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you guys.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_02: I appreciate you having me on.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_02: I'm this has been so much fun.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you, thank you.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned for our next episode, guys.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is a very, very special episode.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: I am so thrilled and so humbled because I finally have Casey Jordson back on the show.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as you most of you know, um, she is the founder and the mastermind behind my favorite screen care line, which is St.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: Jane.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just so excited.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_00: So welcome back, Casey.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so so glad you're here.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's nice to be here.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_00: Was that your first podcast you ever did or your second?
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_00: You were one of my first podcast guests, and you are like the you're the first brand, actually, now that I think of it.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: The first brand I've invited on before you was just Natalia Spearings, who was a physician.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, you're the first brand and you're the first one that gave me a chance.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I am so excited that you know we're doing this again because I'm a huge fan, as as you know, and I think everyone on my social media knows.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, well, but back at you.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I can't believe it's been this long since we've circled back, but I would it was an honor for me to be one of your first podcast brands, and you've had so much success since.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_02: So rooting, I'm very rooting, very much rooting you on.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's been it's been such an honor to even like you know, work with you in sense of like just experience your brand.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've really, really enjoyed it for the entire time, like the for years.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the first one I've I'll dive into all that, but you know, I want to get started.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want the audience to learn all about you again.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: I know that we have our initial episode still up for all of you listening.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you go all the way down, all the way school, all the way down, you can find our first episode that we did with Casey, but I want to refresh everyone's memory about you, Casey, because you have such a phenomenal career and you've done so much.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_00: So could you get us started by walking us down memory lane and really telling us all about your career and all the great things you've done and um, you know, all the good stuff.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_02: Of course.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_02: Hopefully, this is all interesting to everybody.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, my my career.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_02: I first started as a journalist.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_02: I worked in television and I worked for CNN and I learned so much as a producer.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: I was a producer for The Morning Show and I created segments and did the interviews for the anchors and just learned so much.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_02: And then left New York, left television.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_02: I still freelanced for Good Morning America, but really dove into kind of as a happy accident, the world of innovation and creating brands.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I started working with the wine group, which is very near and dear to my heart.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_02: They're uh the second largest wine company in the US, and they have a portfolio of brands.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_02: And they brought me on board to come up with new brand ideas that would appeal to younger wine drinkers.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_02: And that was back in 2005.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_02: And one of the brands I created for them was called Cupcake, which has gone on to do really well.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_02: And it was then that I realized I had this passion for creating brands.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say the majority of my career I've been a brand creator, and I've loved the process of creating brands, coming up with the blue sky idea, the products, the story, the design, the packaging, and the way that the formulas interact in the world of beauty or skincare or fragrance that they're just so beautiful and trans, you know, sort of transport you to a different place.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_02: And then in 2017, I had been working full-time, you know, for the wine group.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_02: Meanwhile, I'd also had a stint at Sephora creating brands for Sephora.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_02: I was one of the early Kendo employees creating, you know, the brands that were exclusive to Sephora at the time.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_02: So Mark Jacobs, Cavon D, Elizabeth and James Fragrance, Hello Kitty, Disney for Sephora.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_02: There's a whole uh group of them.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I really got a PhD in the beauty industry during my time at Sephora.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_02: And all along the way, then I went back to the wine group and I was creating more wine brands for the wine group.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_02: And all along the way, so many, so often people would ask me, when are you going to create your own brand?
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_02: When are you going to do this for yourself?
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought, well, you know, I don't know.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_02: I have my three young daughters and we're remodeling our house and life was busy.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_02: I had a full-time job.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_02: And but I parked it and I thought, okay, when I have an idea, I will create my own brand.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so in 2017, I discovered CBD.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_02: I was reading an article, and I think I said this on the podcast with you the first time was I was reading this article and it was a pop sugar article, and it was how CBD is nature's Xanax meets Advil.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought, okay, well, this is a little, you know, natural ingredient that can target two of my biggest problems in life, sleep and stress.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_02: And what is it?
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so I went deep, realized how absolutely extraordinary it was for, you know, your internal balance, but also for your skin, and started formulating with it.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_02: And at the time it was still very difficult to do.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_02: This was way, way, way back before the farm bell.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_02: And but I believed passionately in its potential and just sort of felt like I had to do it and kept going, kept saying, okay, I'm going to do this until it doesn't feel right.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_02: And here we are now, almost five years later, three and a half years since I launched the brand.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_02: And it still feels right.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_02: And St.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_02: Jane was born out of my passion to really make a difference and heal people's skin with formulas that, you know, aren't just fluffy skincare formulas that are really packed with concentrated nutrients that truly, truly help the skin and florals that have known, been known for centuries to actually help skin stress.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's where St.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_02: Jane came from.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_02: The name, as you know, is uh we're inspired by the actual saint who dedicated her life to healing women in the 1500s, and we've taken a healing-centric approach to skincare in her honor.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_02: So St.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_02: Jane was born.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_02: We launched on St.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_02: Jane's birthday 2019, and here we are, almost four years in.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_00: I am in love with the whole story, and I always have been.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I really like I can't tell you how many times I've recommended your product, Casey.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like I literally, like I have had uh even before the podcast, um, you know, I just on Dermal Unity, people would reach out to me.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's my Instagram account, that's a personal one.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, people would reach out to me and they'd be like, okay, you know, my skin is like it's experiencing redness, it's like, you know, breaking out.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, let me tell you, the only product I use right now is a beauty scarlet.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I would recommend it every single time.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I kid you not every time the person would be like, You were so right.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I told you.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like literally, and I just, you know, I kid you now, you were the first brand, not only for that, but to introduce me to CBD when it comes to like skin health.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_00: I have no idea, you know.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_00: So when I saw um the beauty serum, I was very intrigued and like you know, I I was very meticulous.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: I just wanted to I wanted to tell you that like when I first used your product, I was very like, um, you know, how you describe it.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like I remember being on Sephora.com and it was like, okay, use it a little bit, you know, smell it, just kind of get into the mood of it and then put it on your skin, then go to bed.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it right, you know, I've got to do it.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I did it the right way.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I felt so great to see that this is working for me.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a you know, it was immediate results.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was a quality product.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_00: It was something that, you know, for me as a consumer, I felt like, okay, you know, I invested in the right thing.
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so that experience for me has just stayed, you know, consistently with every single product you guys have come out with.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I want to ask you about that as like, you know, as a as an entrepreneur, as just somebody who's been in this industry, you know, when you're crafting products, like what are what's your process like?
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it must be really kind of in-depth because I mean every product St.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: Jane has is just off the charts good, you know?
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd love for you to tell us about that.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_02: You're so kind.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_02: And that means so much to me because that's why we do it.
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_02: It is, it is all about healing that skin stress and the problematic skin issues that so many people have.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_02: All of us deal with it.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_02: We have enough stress in our lives and our skin shouldn't be stressful.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so the the methodology that I take when I'm creating a new formula is I start with what problem is this formula solving for people's skin?
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we have a tight assortment of products and they're very problem solution, extremely benefits driven.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I start with, okay, how am I going to help someone's skin issue?
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, I work with really beautiful formulators who understand the raw materials that I love to work with, which is really flowers and even non-CBD.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we we have we have moved in a direction of I will always love CBD, we will always have it in our formulas, but we have some products that don't have it.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_02: And that's okay because there are other ingredients that are just so beautifully made and can target skin stress in different ways from different angles.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_02: And so I always want to make sure that whatever I'm working on solves the problem, works with incredible raw materials that are sourced from around the globe, from really incredible global suppliers.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_02: And we try to work with global suppliers that also support women.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really important microcommunities.
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_02: And then it's about, you know, obviously that the things that matter are does it work?
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_02: What is the texture like?
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_02: How does it sit and live and work with the skin?
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_02: What's the sensorial element?
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_02: Is there an aroma to it?
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_02: How does it, how does it work not only on my skin, which is just my skin, how does it work on my team's skin?
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_02: And then we work with a beauty lab.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_02: How does it work with their skin?
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's a hundred people.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_02: And so we like to get feedback on our formulas along the way as we're creating them to make sure that we're hitting all of the things that are important to us and important to creating a breakthrough product.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's not, you know, we don't want to introduce products that have already been done in the industry.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_02: And it's very hard to do because it's such a crowded, cluttered industry, skincare.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so we always aim to do something different that solves a white space in the market and that we can very authentically talk about the passion behind why we decided to launch that product.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_02: So SPF, we just launched this summer, and it's our luxury, it's called Luxury Sun Ritual, and it's a pore smoothing SPF 30.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I had a very, you know, important list of high expectations for this formula.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so it took a long time to create, and I wanted it to be invisible.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't need mineral sunscreens because that's important to us that were meticulously clean.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_02: So it had to be mineral, had to be non-nanozinc, but most of the time with mineral sunscreens, it creates a really um tough kind of white cast on the skin, doesn't absorb, can be very chalky.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_02: And so I wanted to create a formula that completely disappeared on all skin tones, that smoothed the pores, that had really beautiful kind of natural SPF boosters with these florals, desert rose, hibiscus, and jasmine.
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to make sure it was non-comitogenic.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to make sure that it really worked on, you know, lots of lots of skin types, lots of skin tones, that makeup artists could use it, that you could use it instead of your foundation.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_02: It you could use it as a primer, a moisturizer, and it protected your skin from the environmental toxins and stressors that we deal with every day.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a really good example of a product that I think we just put so much of our heart and soul into developing.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_02: And it's paying off because people are really it's selling out literally everywhere, many times over.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_02: And we're we're seeing some really incredible response to it.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_02: That's so amazing.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_00: That makes me so happy and I love that.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's so well deserved.
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I can't tell you, you know, I for everyone listening, you know, if I when I started this podcast, it was genuinely about quality products because on Instagram, you know, Instagram is, you know, I want to share this story because it's so, so pinnacle to like how everything began for me in terms of this whole thing is that you know, St.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_00: Jane was one of the first beauty brands.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, not not the first, it was the first uh beauty brand that gave me an opportunity to share my photography as well.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_00: And and the reason I even photographed your products, Casey, was because I was just in love with them.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_00: I loved them.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_00: I use them every day.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, you know what, I'm gonna take a picture because it was a whole experience, you know, it was an experience of self-care to the max, you know, everything that I think of when I think of self-care, that's what your brand embodies.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I remember like taking, you know, some photography and I reached out to your team, and your team was so kind to me.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_00: And as somebody who was like literally just a random account, you know, you guys put my picture on your grid, and I was just like so thrilled.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I just kept thinking, I'm like, you know, this is a brand that's really about the people.
• 58:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's really about the consumers.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_00: They're not about the, you know, the showiness and the, you know, there's so many brands out there that are like, oh, we're just gonna name a product.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're just gonna create a product and then just, you know, market the hell out of it and then hope that everybody buys.
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's it that's not how you sell skincare.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, for everyone listening that might be going into entrepreneurship, like that's not what quality is.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you should really take a page from St.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_00: Jane's book in the sense of like, you got to create not only quality products like Casey described with the SPF, but you have to create a community around them, people who want to buy your products because you are overall your, you know, a brand that believes in what you're doing.
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_00: And St.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_00: Jane is like literally the shining example of that, you know.
• 59:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to say like a huge thank you to your whole team, Casey, because honestly, you guys just kept that morale for me, you know, as a consumer, like going.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, okay, I I finally found a brand that gets it.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you guys really you do it right.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_00: You are here for the real reason.
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that this SPF is selling out.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_00: I love that, you know, every product you create has this beautiful, like white space that it fills.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I know that the eye cream when it first came out, I went crazy over that, you know.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_00: I went crazy over every product, the vitamin C that came out.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, you know, every time that you guys launch something, it's unique, it's filling a space, and more importantly, it's just, you know, it's important.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_00: It it hits the points that we care about.
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I just wanted to say that, but yeah.
• 1:00:17
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_02: Well, to the point of your photography on our Instagram feed, it helps when it's beautiful photography.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_02: So you should be very proud of that too.
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_02: You really know how to capture our brand and a lot of brands.
• 1:00:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I think your point about community is absolutely right.
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_02: That's essential.
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_02: We we really, it sounds kind of crazy, but like we really care.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that's that's the heart and soul of it is we care about everybody, we try to make everyone feel seen, and slowly but surely we're growing our community.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the values are there and they're important to me.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_02: I always say, you know, I'm doing all of this because I really truly am coming from a place of giving back.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_02: And that is the heart and soul of the brand.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it gets reflected in the team that I have, who I love and I feel so grateful for.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_02: It's reflected in our products, it's reflected in our messaging and our actual give back because we believe in giving back to women that society kind of tends to forget.
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_02: And that's also inspired by St.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_02: Jane, because she gave back to women who society shunned.
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_02: And at the time it was in the 1500s in France, the very old, the very sick, unwed mothers.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_02: And for us, it's you know, parts of society that don't get the recognition or the support or the help that they that they need.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, we support women in cancer treatment, we support little girl entrepreneurs, we support female communities, and that's essential to who we are.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 1:01:51
  SPEAKER_00: No, it shows, it really shows, and I love that.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love that.
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I I want to actually ask you because, you know, there's a huge um, I think, topic that's kind of buzzing around in the beauty industry, and it has been for a while, which is this idea of inclusivity, right?
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you had made up or made a really great point earlier about the SPF where you discussed the whole idea of white cast, and that is a huge topic because it has alienated a lot of women of color.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, the fact that you really kept that in mind is for me, it really touches my heart and it's very important to me as a consumer because you're right, it's a huge problem.
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_00: And when it comes to skincare, um, I find it to be something that's non-negotiable to be inclusive.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, from a brand, you know, I want to get your opinion about this because you guys are truly like one of the most inclusive brands when it comes to your formulas that I've ever come across.
• 1:02:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, the beauty serum, the, you know, the vitamin C serum, like everything that you guys create, it sits well on any type of skin.
• 1:02:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like I told you, I've recommended your products to my friends, my family, my colleagues, and they, you know, of all races, backgrounds, skin types, and everyone has this unifying opinion, which is about this is a great, you know, it's a great formula.
• 1:03:13
  SPEAKER_00: It really works for me.
• 1:03:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it works for my texture, you know, on my skin.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to get your opinion about that, like this whole idea of what it really takes to be inclusive, you know, in this industry, especially now, which you know, you just say earlier, which is so true.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of clutter, you know, there's a lot of brands, there's a lot of uh fluff out there, you could say.
• 1:03:33
  SPEAKER_00: So just any insight you have on that topic.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, I think part of, you know, we are obviously very focused on being inclusive in everything that we do.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_02: And at the same time, we want to make sure that every one of our formulas is working at a really deep molecular, molecular dermal layer level.
• 1:03:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's a bit of a mouthful.
• 1:03:56
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and I think that that's because we have that mission with our formulas that we're working on formulas that are going to absorb really beautifully and not just sit on top of the skin.
• 1:04:06
  SPEAKER_02: Or we work with formulas that don't peel off, you know, that don't have uh ingredients that feel really nice when you put first put them on, but the second they dry down, they pill right off.
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_02: We want to make sure they our formulas work really beautifully with makeup as you know a complement to whatever else you're doing throughout your day.
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that the, you know, the combination of making sure that we're thinking broadly about skin issues, and those apply to people of all skin tones, types, skin issues, you know, irritation is is applies to everybody.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_02: And sensitive skin, redness, eczema, acne, psoriasis, all of the things that cause these kind of flare-ups of skin stress, those are inflammatory-based.
• 1:04:52
  SPEAKER_02: And we believe that nobody should feel like they can't use our products because of skin tone or you know, because they have sensitive skin.
• 1:05:01
  SPEAKER_02: Like we want to make sure that we are, you know, helping as many people as we possibly can.
• 1:05:06
  SPEAKER_02: And that's core to the mission of the brand.
• 1:05:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I think SPF is a really beautiful kind of expression of that philosophy because we weren't going to create a beautiful sunscreen that only worked on certain skin tones, on lighter skin tones.
• 1:05:21
  SPEAKER_02: That was non-negotiable.
• 1:05:23
  SPEAKER_02: And that is not easy to do, like I said, with mineral-based formulas.
• 1:05:28
  SPEAKER_02: So we had to really work at it, and it was something that we had to go after, you know, with many, many, many different angles from a formulation perspective and also research and making sure we were talking to as many people of darker skin tones as possible so that we weren't just creating marketing fluff.
• 1:05:47
  SPEAKER_02: And it's interesting, I went to an event on Sunday, and we I was showing SPF there, and it was so many diverse skin tones.
• 1:05:56
  SPEAKER_02: And every single person I was like, okay, I'm gonna try this on you.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I promise you it's going to absorb.
• 1:06:02
  SPEAKER_02: And everyone sort of you know, you know, unilaterally looked at me and was like universally looked at me and said, I don't believe you.
• 1:06:09
  SPEAKER_02: And then we put it on their hands, or we put it on their wrists, or we put it on their um, you know, their forearms to test it.
• 1:06:15
  SPEAKER_02: And within sort of one or two circles of rubbing it in into the skin, they were like, Oh my God, you're right.
• 1:06:22
  SPEAKER_02: And that, you know, that's that's always rewarding.
• 1:06:25
  SPEAKER_02: But I I knew going into it, I had a lot of confidence that that was gonna be the case because that's how we developed it and we pressure tested it along the way because that's non-negotiable.
• 1:06:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 1:06:35
  SPEAKER_00: I really love that.
• 1:06:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's you know, that I think that's really what true and good entrepreneurship is, is that you go out there, you do the homework, and you really kind of test your products.
• 1:06:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, it's so many times I come across brands that are just like, well, we just created this because we noticed, you know, there was a need.
• 1:06:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, well, if you had just done a little bit of homework, you would have realized that it's not working for everybody, you know.
• 1:06:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that there's a lot to be said for, you know, um buzzwords.
• 1:07:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I know that before you, like I didn't really know much about C BD, but I I don't know what it is.
• 1:07:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you first see something and then you it's you see it everywhere kind of thing.
• 1:07:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's what happened to me.
• 1:07:15
  SPEAKER_00: So like I had tried uh, you know, I had tried your product and that I went on to try more products that were C BD based or you know, just just to check them out, you know, because you piqued my interest.
• 1:07:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I noticed a huge difference, you know, it was like a night day, and I was like, yeah, no, it's not about you know if it's C BD or not, it's about the it's about the formula, it's about what it is, like who's creating it.
• 1:07:40
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, that became very, very apparent.
• 1:07:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I I'm with you there.
• 1:07:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think that you know, you really do know, you know, you're the master here.
• 1:07:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know what it takes to make a really, really great brand.
• 1:07:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the the success it it's so deserved, you know, because you guys have been really just you know taking your time, doing it the right way.
• 1:07:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I love that.
• 1:08:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 1:08:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love that you don't have 50,000 different projects that people have to live through.
• 1:08:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to ask you, Casey, though, I want to get your opinion and not only not only your opinion, but your advice.
• 1:08:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because really for me, when I look at, you know, someone as success as successful as you and uh, you know, you have so much experience, I try to get some words of wisdom because there are so many people right now that are trying to get into this category of creating skincare products, skin health products.
• 1:08:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like what's going on is this redundancy, and they're creating people are creating things that are just already on the market, or they're just formulas that are kind of cookie cutter.
• 1:08:42
  SPEAKER_00: So anything that you can offer in terms of advice, you know, for young entrepreneurs, especially.
• 1:08:48
  SPEAKER_02: I would love to.
• 1:08:50
  SPEAKER_02: And that is, I think, such an important piece of our industry that's a new trend that I love, which is truly, truly women helping women.
• 1:09:00
  SPEAKER_02: I can't tell you how many female founders I've had along the way who have helped me with advice.
• 1:09:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's essential because you don't need to sit there and bang your head against the wall and reinvent the wheel when you're creating a new brand.
• 1:09:13
  SPEAKER_02: There are shortcuts and there are hacks that you can take advantage of with other people's learnings.
• 1:09:18
  SPEAKER_02: And people are so willing to share and willing to help that I want to encourage everybody who's thinking about starting a brand to really think to really try to cultivate that network of female founders.
• 1:09:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's so important and you have so many learnings.
• 1:09:31
  SPEAKER_02: I can't tell you how many times I lean on my, you know, kind of my female founder community to give me insights and advice when I'm trying to make business decisions.
• 1:09:40
  SPEAKER_02: So build your female founder community.
• 1:09:43
  SPEAKER_02: Don't be afraid to ask.
• 1:09:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when it comes your time to share your knowledge, share it freely and be a mentor because it is so hard.
• 1:09:53
  SPEAKER_02: Anyone who's tried to be a founder or was thinking about being a founder, it's one of the hardest things you'll ever do.
• 1:09:57
  SPEAKER_02: You think it's one way, and then it ends up being all the things you never knew a business needed.
• 1:10:02
  SPEAKER_02: Those are the things you have to focus on.
• 1:10:03
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I thought creating a brand would be all the things I knew so well: creating products, doing branding, designing packaging, making sure that my marketing and my storytelling and my formulas were absolutely perfection.
• 1:10:17
  SPEAKER_02: But the reality is that you've got operations and supply chain and legal and HR and contracts and manufacturing hiccups that end up ultimately three PL that end up coming your way that are challenging.
• 1:10:31
  SPEAKER_02: And so the more you can have a community, a support community of people who are going through it with you and you know who to ask for the answers, the better.
• 1:10:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I would say also it's really important to, if you're gonna start something, really make sure that you're passionate about the idea because you are going to have to build that idea for years and you're gonna have to talk about that idea with every beauty editor you meet, on every podcast you do, uh, with every you know, sales meeting or retailer meeting that you show up for, you will have to authenticate, authentically, passionately represent your brand.
• 1:11:06
  SPEAKER_02: So make sure that you really believe in it and that it's important to you, and only you can answer the questions of you know how how an idea or a concept for a business qualifies for that for you personally.
• 1:11:17
  SPEAKER_02: But you have to make sure that it is deeply meaningful because the challenges are always there, the roller coaster is always there.
• 1:11:24
  SPEAKER_02: So the highs are high, the lows are low, and it's how you manage the time in between, and that's where your passion comes into play.
• 1:11:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's gotta be there.
• 1:11:32
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 1:11:32
  SPEAKER_00: I really love that.
• 1:11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's, you know, I think that's so important.
• 1:11:36
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't agree with you more.
• 1:11:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope everyone listening, you know, especially the young entrepreneurs, like you really, really uh take heed to Casey's advice because, you know, there is a lot of hard work that goes into this.
• 1:11:47
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you, Casey.
• 1:11:48
  SPEAKER_00: That was very, very well spoken and well said.
• 1:11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I really appreciate that, you know, and in terms of the mentorship, you know, I can't think of a better person to comment on that because there's not a lot of people out there that are willing to give this advice, you know, there's really not.
• 1:12:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember even when I was younger and trying to go into medicine, I was always looking for, you know, especially women, right?
• 1:12:09
  SPEAKER_00: That can like guide you and tell you, like, okay, this is what you do, this is the right way to do things.
• 1:12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so now more than ever, it's so important to get this kind of uh feedback from leaders such as yourself.
• 1:12:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I really appreciate it.
• 1:12:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:12:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's essential.
• 1:12:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's really essential, especially as women.
• 1:12:25
  SPEAKER_02: We have more to bear than men.
• 1:12:28
  SPEAKER_02: I hate to say it.
• 1:12:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's you know, when you are not just the fact that we're also oftentimes moms and all the things that come with that and being being a mom and working and building a career, building a business, but I talk about it with my husband all the time, even just the simple things like when I have to get ready for a meeting, it takes me an extra 30 minutes to like do my hair, do my makeup.
• 1:12:53
  SPEAKER_02: My husband just rolls out of bed, takes the goes to the gym, takes a shower, and goes to his meeting.
• 1:12:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so it takes us more time because there are pressures on us to actually do our hair or maybe put on some mascara to represent ourselves.
• 1:13:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so it is essential that we can be support a support system for one another and help where we can because, you know, I hate to say it, but it's true.
• 1:13:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a it can be very hard.
• 1:13:19
  SPEAKER_02: The pressures can be very hard as a woman.
• 1:13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 1:13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think they're definitely way more pressure on us.
• 1:13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think also, you know, in terms of like presentation as well, I think there's a more like, you know, need for I I don't want to say perfectionism, but kind of, yeah.
• 1:13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like you have you have to present yourself a certain way and you have to people expect certain things and it it really feeds into so much.
• 1:13:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I I couldn't agree with you more.
• 1:13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, you know, everyone listening, I really want you guys take a second, you know, right now go check out Saint Jane Beauty.
• 1:13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the website is www.saintjanebeauty.com.
• 1:13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Check them out.
• 1:13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Check them out on all the socials.
• 1:13:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tag everything obviously in the concept art for this episode, but it's a really phenomenal brand.
• 1:14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I could not say enough good things about it.
• 1:14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, it was the first brand I interviewed.
• 1:14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was I was so excited to have Casey on, just as I am today, you know, it was just surreal for me to talk to somebody who had created something that resonated with me so much, you know.
• 1:14:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I I think that experience and that moment, it it's lasted for me for the year, for the years afterwards, even after interviewing her and you know, into today.
• 1:14:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that is something that's you can't put a price on that, you know, you can't put a price on the way you make people feel.
• 1:14:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, Casey, your your brand is, you know, it's extraordinary.
• 1:14:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's more than just a brand.
• 1:14:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that's really it's touching people's lives.
• 1:14:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's one of the biggest accomplishments any entrepreneur can hope for.
• 1:14:48
  SPEAKER_00: So really, really, truly hats off to you and thank you to you for creating something so beautiful.
• 1:14:54
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Akta.
• 1:14:55
  SPEAKER_02: I needed to hear that today.
• 1:14:56
  SPEAKER_02: That is so beautifully said.
• 1:14:57
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 1:14:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I mean it.
• 1:15:00
  SPEAKER_00: I really mean it.
• 1:15:01
  SPEAKER_00: And everyone listening, you know, I'm going to be tagging everything.
• 1:15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, definitely leave us your comments.
• 1:15:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's any questions you have at all about the brand, about the brand new um launch of the of the SPF, uh, just let us know, leave it in the comments.
• 1:15:14
  SPEAKER_00: I will pass it to Casey's team and we will get an answer for you.
• 1:15:18
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, like I said, if there's one brand I recommend, it's St.
• 1:15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Jane.
• 1:15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Genuinely, I mean that.
• 1:15:23
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for listening.
• 1:15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Casey.
• 1:15:27
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, thanks so much, Ekta.
• 1:15:29
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, everyone, for listening.
• 1:15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 1:15:34
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• 1:15:39
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• 1:15:56
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• 1:16:39
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