From Selling Ice Cream to Skincare with Vimla Black-Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Ourself
Description:
Today, Lee sits down with Vimla Black-Gupta, the Co-Founder and CEO of Ourself, the first-ever sub-topical skincare system. In this episode, Vimla talks about her childhood growing up in Washington, DC, to realizing her passion for business at a young age. She shares her impressive career journey, from working at Proctor and Gamble to Bobby Brown Cosmetics to becoming the global CMO of Equinox and then starting Ourself.
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In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- (1:34) More about Ourself, the first ever sub-topical skincare system defining a new beauty category. By bridging the gap between traditional skincare products and clinical procedures, Ourself formulations leverage biotechnology to provide an at-home alternative to needles and lasers, delivering clinical-level results without the clinic.
- (3:25) She talks about her childhood growing up in Washington, DC where one of her first jobs was selling ice cream from a cart at a local mall where she grew to become a manager and realized her interest in business.
- (14:00) Her impressive career journey, from working at Proctor and Gamble, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and Equinox.
- (16:40) The biggest takeaways from her experience at Proctor and Gamble and how she uses it today as a Co-Founder and CEO
- (28:30) Why she had the sudden change from the beauty industry to the fitness & health industry
- (33:50) How she got the idea for Ourself, based on a desire to do something different
- (40:00) Lee’s experience trying the products, and Vimla walking Lee through how to use the lip filler gloss
- (51:00) What it’s been like to become a Co-Founder and now CEO
- (53:00) The limiting beliefs and fears she has, but how she uses it to propel the business
- (55:00) The final advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs, and how to overcome some of the biggest struggles
To Find Out More:
Quotes:
“Talk to your consumers, test with your consumers, really get the feedback from them.”
“All customer feedback is a gift.”
“Whether you're working on a new brand or existing brand, you like don't wanna break it.”
“The idea of the fusion of wellness and beauty was becoming this new thing.”
“Keep the old cause the old is still really prescient when it was created but also meaningful today, but just make sure that you're keeping it fresh and making it resonate with where your consumer is at.”
“Ourself is a call to action to be yourself, but just a better version.”
“We’re a company that is developing true science that is going to deliver the results.”
“It is the fear that makes me wanna leap out of bed. But it's the conviction around what we're able to do and resolute on wanting to serve the consumer.”
“My advice to everyone is you should follow your dreams. You should follow that hunch. You've just gotta figure out how and what's the best way to follow it that fits with your risk profile.”
“You have to do something for you every day. You have to just to give your space the time to think. Cause otherwise, you will be lonely, you will just be in your thoughts. So find out whatever that is.”
