WEBVTT - Thrive and Conquer with Karissa Bodnar 0:00:02.400 --> 0:00:06.760 Now, folks you've heard of Forbes thirty under thirty list, Well, 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:09.960 one woman who was once on that prestigious list is 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:14.560 in our studio right now. Her products are in your 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:18.760 purse right now. They're also in your makeup cabinet right now. 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:21.439 They're also all over your social media feed right now. 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:24.479 But one place they are not right now in stores. 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:28.080 And welcome to this episode of Amy and TJTJ. Holmes 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:32.920 here alongside Amy, roboch and Robes. I have been so 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.400 impressed because I've heard so much about this brand and 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:38.720 then I finally wait, it's not in you can't even 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:41.280 get it in stores, but it has exploded in popularity. 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.480 It has, and the woman behind it all has had 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:47.760 such an incredible vision because not only this isn't just 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.440 a business to make money, This isn't a business just 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:54.000 to sell makeup. This is I think a lot of 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:58.800 people call this genre social entrepreneurship, where you're actually making money, 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:01.000 but you're also giving money back. And so I have 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:04.640 actually been in awe of this woman and this company 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.560 for more than a decade now, well around a decade, 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.920 I guess around ten years. And I had met this 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:15.800 woman way back when, right around the time of my 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:18.000 cancer journey and was so impressed with her. And then 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:20.160 it was so funny. A few years later, my daughters, 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.800 when they started getting into makeup, started showing me this 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.720 mascara and showing me this makeup that they loved that 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.240 they had bought online. And I saw, oh my gosh, 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:36.800 it's Thrive Cosmetics, and my friend Carrissa is unbelievably crushing it. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:38.920 And so I started to read up on her and 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:41.760 see how far she's come, and I am blown away 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:45.960 at the success this Now thirty five. 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:47.040 Year olds turn thirty five. 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:51.160 The happy belated birthday thirty five year old powerhouse Carrisa 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:54.680 Bodner of Thrive Cosmetics is with us here in studio 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.240 in the Big Apple. Carissa, it's been way too long, 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:03.040 so nice to see you again. Congratulations on all your success. 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:06.000 Oh, thank you so much. It's truly so surreal to 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.600 be here with you. The last time we were together, 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:10.679 I think we were in Central Park with Florence and 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:12.960 the Machine and you were helping to hype me up 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:15.840 before my first Good Morning America segment. And you are 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:18.960 a true day one. There are day ones and then 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:23.280 there are Amy Roeboch day ones. So you have been 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:25.440 so supportive of me since I was living on an 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:28.040 air mattress on the Upper East Side shipping products out 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:32.200 of my apartment. You are so kind, you are so brilliant, 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.280 and I am just so honored to be with you today. 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:38.200 You are very sweet. You can come back anytime, Chris TJ. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.680 We're really glad you're here too. Thank you for joining us. 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:42.519 Oh no, you say that now, but you're going to 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:44.640 need me later. A lot of people. Then here are 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:49.720 conversation before we started. Oh yeah, next time, everybody listen 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:51.440 to me. Next time she's a guest on this show, 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:55.639 she will be praising me for something that I am 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.800 now going to help her with her personal life? How 0:02:58.800 --> 0:02:59.400 about that? 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.200 Forever? And deebted already. 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.240 Na, but it's when was the birthday by the way, 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.480 July night, July night? Well, happy belated, But it's good 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:10.119 to have been hearing a whole lot about you through 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.160 well card it's her, her daughter's I got an eleven 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:15.240 year old who's now into all this stuff now, so 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:19.640 it's you have come highly recommended a lot of folks 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:21.120 that I know and care about and. 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.760 Respect, and Charisa for people who don't know your story, 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:26.720 I would because that's what makes this. Like I said, 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.240 this isn't just a makeup company. This isn't just an 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:33.079 incredibly successful business story, which I want to get into 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:36.600 because it certainly is, and it's inspiring to so many 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:38.640 women out there who are trying to make it on 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:41.920 their own, and you are that woman to look up to. However, 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.800 your story has so much more heart and so much 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.520 more value that has nothing to do with money that 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.400 I want to talk about. Because this all started. You 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:52.320 had a passion for makeup. You had a passion. You 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:54.520 were a makeup artist. You were working for Loreel, the 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:55.920 biggest makeup company in. 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:58.120 The world, makeup cosmetic chemistry. 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:00.280 Baby, exactly. So you you had, you were there, you 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:03.120 were in living the dream for what you wanted to do, 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:06.680 but you had a personal tragedy that s hered you 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:10.360 in a different direction. Can you tell us about Well, 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:11.920 it was your best friend, Christy. 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:18.640 Yeah, yeah, thank you for the question. When I was 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:22.359 working for Loreal, I think to set the stage. You know, 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:23.839 I grew up on a farm on a dirt road 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:27.880 in a really small town of five thousand people called Stanwood, Washington, 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:32.160 and I had never even been to New York. When 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.560 Lorel purchased the company that I was working for, it 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:38.440 was called clare Sonic, Amazing, amazing brand, And all of 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:42.240 a sudden, I'm on Fifth Avenue at five seventy five 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:46.640 Fifth Avenue working at Loreal in their luxury division. And 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.640 I didn't even know to dream that big for myself. 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:51.400 I was scared to work in downtown Seattle because I 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:53.080 didn't know how to drive on a one way street, 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:58.800 but it was so I remember being so struck by 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:01.560 this amazing opportunity. I was going to Paris for work, 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:05.360 and I was twenty one years old, like that, that's crazy, right, 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:10.799 and I would. Of course, my friend Christy was dedicating 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:15.159 her life to teaching English to orphans in Tanzania and 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:20.279 volunteering her time, really dedicating her life to really empowering 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:25.479 young girls in education through her education. So we graduated 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:28.839 from University of Washington at the same time. And while 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.760 I was hell bent on climbing the corporate ladder and 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:37.320 making the next groundbreaking thing for Loreal, she was living 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:41.119 her life with so much purpose, and so I'll never forget. 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:44.159 I was actually on a trip for Loreal in Paris 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:46.360 when she called me and she was in Chile at 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:48.760 the time, and she said, they think I have cancer, 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:54.039 And it was just one of those moments where it 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.360 was so surreal and we're like, oh, you know, maybe 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:58.640 they don't know, maybe the doctors aren't that good over there. 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:05.400 And and then nine months later she was gone, and 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.920 in this really amazing way, she truly packed so much 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:14.599 thriving into twenty four years of living. Her last day, 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:19.560 she was smiling and laughing and so filled with passion. 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:21.680 If you read what she wrote. She had this incredible 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:25.320 blog and if you read she wrote this piece, it's 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:27.440 gut wrenching for me to read, but it's so beautiful 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:31.000 about dying successfully and how she had determined that she 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:34.240 was going to die successfully, and it was really that 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:37.240 she wanted people to She was talking about all of 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:41.280 her anger around the fact that I have babies to have, 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:43.600 I haven't met the love of my life yet. She 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:48.200 had so much living to do, and you know, she 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.680 really wanted to dedicate her life to service, and she 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.640 already had. And I remember sitting at her funeral just 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:58.320 being so angry and so sad and needing to put 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:01.760 that pain into purpose. And it was about a month 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:07.400 later I had the idea for what would become Thrive Cosmetics, 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.160 and and her you know, her parents have been so 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.680 supportive throughout the journey. I'm still very close with them 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:16.840 and her brother who just got married, and it's a 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:21.880 it's a really amazing thing to feel like it's been 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.960 twelve years since she passed over twelve years and in 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.440 so many ways I know her better. I feel her 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:29.640 all around me all the time, just like I feel 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:34.800 my grandmother's around me. And I yeah, I just every 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:38.320 time I'm you know, I was just in Compton with 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:40.560 with kids, and this little girl ran up to me, 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:42.720 this four year old, and I'd never met, and she 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.880 just leapt into my arms. And I could feel Christie 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.200 because I have so many photos of her doing that 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.040 over in Tanzania. And so I in a way, through 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:53.960 the works of service that we get to do, I 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:57.560 have gotten to know my friend so much better. And 0:07:57.600 --> 0:07:59.760 that's the story of Christy. 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:03.960 It's beautiful and tell us so the whole concept of 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:07.120 Thrive Cosmetics. Because you took a business and a passion 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:09.520 you had of climbing that corporate ladder and turned it 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:15.960 into business and philanthropy. What is the mission or the 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:19.480 business model basically, how does it work Thrive Cosmetics. 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:23.080 Yes, So from the very beginning, every time somebody purchases, 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:27.280 we donate. Since I started the business, we have expanded 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:31.160 to eight causes. We give in all fifty states. We 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:34.240 give around the world, And as someone from a small town, 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:36.760 it's really important to me that we're giving in those 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.720 pockets where there isn't as much support, you know, New 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:41.920 York and LA. There's a lot to do, right, There's 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:44.320 a lot of service that we can do. And as 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:46.800 somebody who's from a small town, I know that those 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.160 are often and when we talk about flyover states, that's 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:52.240 basically where I grew up. And so I want to 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.600 be reaching into those pockets, and so does our community. 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:58.000 And so the cause has grown so much bigger than 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:01.000 I ever dreamed possible. We've done donated over one hundred 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:06.280 and fifty million dollars in both funds and products. The 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:09.320 causes have exploded. When I met you, we were giving 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.920 exclusively to the cancer community. Because of our community, we've 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:19.480 added on domestic abuse, homelessness, veterans, under resourced youth, racial 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.600 and social justice education. We have scholarship funds all around 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:25.160 the world. I mean, it's just it's remarkable what a 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:28.720 community can do, and I just feel so blessed to 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:30.680 be a part. I'm a small part of this larger 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:33.800 collective which is Thrive Cosmetics and now bigger than beauty skincare. 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:34.800 Wow. 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.840 You know what in your experience people you run into, 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:42.240 how many are actually aware of how this company started? 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:45.120 People use the products and don't actually know the backstory 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.959 or the fact not just because you're honoring your your friend, 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.880 but also that the products and the ideas behind them 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:54.560 were meant for people who were dealing with cancer. 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:58.160 Yeah, you know, I don't know how many people know 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:01.880 because I have been so busy building business and I'm 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:06.079 okay with that. I think that, you know, Thrive Cosmetics 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:10.120 is really about this collective cause it's it's never been 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:15.200 about one person. And so for me when i'm I mean, 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:18.280 our customers are my muse. They help me develop products. 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:22.080 I can sit on a Saturday and have face time 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:25.320 that hundreds of customers are constantly texting me. Of course, 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.199 we have an amazing customer service team that services them, 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:30.200 but they have my personal phone number and we will 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:33.800 talk about what lipsticks should we be making next? And 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:36.400 you know what, what can we do to improve the 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:38.880 products that we've already created, because we're never finished. Like 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:40.559 the lipstick that I have on right now is our 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.480 second Matt lipstick. Because what excites me as a science 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:47.080 nerd is the fact that innovation is always evolving and 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:50.720 science is always getting better, whether it's medicine or makeup. 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.040 And I get to do the makeup and skincare part, 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.760 and I get to help fund the science through the 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.280 makeup that I do. Like we have STEM programs that 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:00.600 we are a part of. We work with Girls, which 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:03.760 is last year actually we donated we partnered with Disney 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:07.640 Marvel and we donated one hundred percent of profits from 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:11.120 a collection that we created with them. I'm not sure 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:14.280 how many people really know, but the people who should 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.040 know feel it, and they know, and I think that 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:20.920 that's what matters to me. I am much more interested 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:24.680 in Shirley Rain's on skid Row or traveling to Las 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.160 Vegas with her and working in the projects there with 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:29.840 her and shining a spotlight on her and the work 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:33.640 that she's doing. It's incredible what well one woman can do. 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:36.200 And Shirley Rains always reminds me of that her vision 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:39.120 is truly remarkable. She started an organization called Beauty to 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.160 the Streets and if you haven't heard of it before, 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:42.520 I mean, she's my inspiration. 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:46.640 I wonder how it works, does it even? Does it 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:50.839 matter to folks? Right? People love obviously love the makeup, 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.880 don't know what the backstory is. But would somebody be 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:57.199 more prone to try the makeup if they know the backstory? 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:00.280 Or does the makeup just speak for itself? And Okay, 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:02.920 I can feel good about my purchase now, But I 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:06.520 wonder how I'm always interested in that dynamic because if 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.680 you just make a good product, that's all that matters. 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.760 Nobody's gonna buy it just because they're gonna go to 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:14.680 buy a bad product, just because it's going to help 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:15.400 somebody right now. 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:17.880 Yeah, they want to give a charity, they'll give to charity. Right. 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:20.240 This is just a vehicle I've always sid Thrive Cosmetics 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:22.360 is a mission and movement that anyone can join. And 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:23.800 they don't even have to buy our products. They can 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:25.960 just nominate a charity for us to give too. I mean, 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.280 we've donated to six hundred charities, and that's only possible 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:33.920 over six hundred. Actually, it's only possible because our customers 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.920 are constantly nominating different nonprofits for us to work with, 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:39.360 and I I mean, some of these nonprofits we work 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:41.160 with don't even have a website, and we always do 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:43.840 our due diligence to make sure that it's legitimate. But 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.240 to have customers who are so integrated into what we 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.320 do is truly such a blessing. And I know what 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:50.840 it's like. I mean, when I met Amy, I had 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:54.000 no customers for the first three years. I'm like, I 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:57.320 to me, what I get to do now and to 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.720 be sitting here with you today is It'll never be 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:03.600 lost on me how fortunate I am and how lucky 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:07.160 this life is that I get to live. I didn't 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.400 have customers for three years. I worked a full time 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.200 job to fund it. Like I said, I was living 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:13.640 on an air mattress in the Upper East Side, flying 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.880 out here to try and get the brand off the ground, 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:20.120 hustling the streets of New York. For some reason, Good 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:24.920 Morning America took a chance on me, and that was amazing. 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:28.840 And people have been so gracious with this journey. And 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:30.719 I've eaten a lot of glass. I've eaten so much 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:34.760 glass that it tastes like a slushy and I kind 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:38.440 of love that. I kind of love it because the 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:40.040 pain is what propels us forward. 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:51.560 I mean hearing where you were and even when I 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.240 met you, I had no idea that you were like 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:57.800 this was your big break. I mean I think sometimes 0:13:57.840 --> 0:13:59.760 it gets lost on us as journalists with people coming 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.800 through and to hear you come back now about ten 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.760 years later and say, I was so nervous. I was 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.920 living on an air mattress. I had no customers. That's 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.520 so remarkable. How do you go from having no customers, 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:16.199 not having a celebrity endorsement or some sort of a 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:19.520 name that could put you in the spotlight. How do 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:25.280 you go from not having customers to having the unbelievable 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:27.200 brand that you have now. I mean people just think 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:29.840 it's overnight or it came quickly. I mean, how do 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:32.200 you get through those dark, tough days where you don't 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:35.160 believe in yourself? I'm sure in moments, yeah. 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:38.360 I mean that is a layered, a layered question, and 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:40.240 I love that so much, and I want to come 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:42.720 back to that moment that you really helped me have 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:46.720 my big break. Amy. Last night, I took my parents 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.600 to the US Open and the last time they were 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:53.000 in New York. We were it was June fifth, twenty fifteen, 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.920 and you helped me be on air that day, and 0:14:57.000 --> 0:14:59.720 you helped me feel really confident. And the last time 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:01.880 they were there, we were staying in the Intercon Nettle 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:04.360 Hotel for one hundred and ninety nine dollars a night, 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:08.400 which is expensive, and there were five of us crammed 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:14.120 into a room. My family flew out, and I remember 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.320 thinking that I've made it, and I'm I'm gonna make it. 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:19.320 And by the way, I didn't make it then that 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:23.960 wasn't what did it, but it helped it. It was 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:25.960 a signal that I was moving in the right direction. 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:32.000 And so for for me, you know, I the greatest 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:36.080 blessing that I had was that I donated a thousand 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:40.240 pairs of lashes and Infinity Waterproof flash adhesive before I 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.560 ever launched the business. Before I we launched it in 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.440 New York Fashion Week because somebody told me that would 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.440 be a great idea. Like I'm not a fashion person, 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.280 I am not. I just want to I'm a nerd, 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:52.320 Like I'm like a science nerd. That's I. I want 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:55.480 to make amazing products that are truly game changing, and 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:57.920 so I knew that I could make something amazing, but 0:15:57.920 --> 0:15:59.440 I didn't know how to promote it. I didn't know 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.480 how to launch it. And it's really the community that 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.160 has built it. Like I said, I didn't have customers 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:07.320 for three years, so I had to fund it. But 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:11.000 the community are the people that we donated products to. 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:13.280 I don't know if you've heard Nali Augustin's story through 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.640 the work that you've done on the more Philanthropics that 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.480 she's a breast cancer survivor truly incredible person. Or Stephanie Sabah, 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.240 those are some of the first people that we donated 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:26.840 our products to. Maggie Kurdica another she's a metastatic breast 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:30.840 cancer thriver and she's bald ballerina on Instagram. Those are 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:35.600 the people that helped keep me going. They would tell 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:38.800 me that the brand needed to exist when I couldn't 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.920 believe in it for myself. I remember telling the entrepreneur 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.560 that I was working for at the time that I 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:46.400 was making seventy thousand dollars, which was the most I'd 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:48.920 ever made in my life, and I told him, like, 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:50.240 I don't know if this is going to work. I'll 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:51.880 give you one hundred and ten percent during the day 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:53.600 and I'm going to do Thrive as my side thing, 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:57.440 And there were a lot of moments where I didn't 0:16:57.440 --> 0:16:59.120 think it was going to work. In fact, after Good 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:01.560 Morning America, I think we did a thousand dollars in sales, 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:06.680 and I thought like, oh, this isn't enough. That's a lot, 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:09.160 but that's not enough. You know, there were many days 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:12.399 we would have zero sales, and how did that feel? 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:16.560 Really challenging. Those were some of the darkest moments of 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.040 my life because I was getting told no by all 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:22.399 the retailers. I was out in New York by myself, 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:25.200 living on an air mattress, very unsuccessfully, trying to raise money, 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:27.800 couldn't raise money. I was twenty four years old, Amy, 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:29.880 I mean I was twenty five. I was twenty six, 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.720 and I one of the blessings is ignorance was bliss 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:34.800 for me. I didn't know that it was crazy that 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:36.800 I was walking into Vogue magazine saying I did Anna 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.080 Wintour's makeup one time. Here's some lab samples. You should 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.359 write about me, Like, I didn't know that that was crazy, 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.560 and I don't think it's crazy. I think it's cool, 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:46.280 and I think it's confident, but it wasn't. In fact, 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:48.560 part of my challenge over the last few years is 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:51.399 through the success, I actually started to get imposter syndrome 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:53.320 in a way that I didn't have before. I thought 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.080 I needed to be this CEO, this cookie cutter CEO. 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:59.479 That was never why the company was successful. And I 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:01.720 am the first to admit that I'm a work in progress. 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:03.919 But now I can say I'm a work in progress 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:06.280 and a masterpiece at the same time because I've been 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:08.080 through it and I know I'm still going to go 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.680 through it. But to answer your question of what kept 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:14.000 me going, it was always the people that it was 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:16.639 the knowledge of the world that said you need to exist. 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:19.560 Wow, what did those retailers site to you? You said, 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:21.280 you took it into a bunch of folks and say hey, 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.680 I want you to You said nobody would listen to 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.560 you wouldn't return. The folks you did hear back from that, 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.320 told you know what were the reasons they were giving 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:31.639 you for? No, this isn't going to work for us. 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:34.440 They asked me if I had an adult in the room. Well, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.119 they asked me, Yeah, I was, like I thought, last 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:39.000 time I checked, I thought, when you're eighteen year an 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:41.919 adult twenty one, I can drink, so why can't I 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:45.000 have a business at twenty four? So I always had 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:49.040 a little chip on my shoulder, but. 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.040 It was a lot of it. They just wanted to 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:50.240 ignore you because you were so young. 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:54.240 Yeah, yeah, definitely, And so I started saying to myself, 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:56.080 You're never too young, You're never too old to be 0:18:56.119 --> 0:18:57.760 who you always wanted to be. That was like how 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:00.280 it'd hype myself up. I had a playlist, and I 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:01.959 was always like, I can do this, I can do this, 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:05.280 and so for me, oh yeah, I'm playlists. That's a 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:09.800 whole nother podcast. But we I mean, I would I 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:13.080 would fly to all the retailers and I would sit 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:17.000 outside waiting for a meeting. I would land in San 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:19.600 Francisco or Chicago, and the meeting that I had with 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:21.680 the buyer would get canceled as I was landing, and 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:24.840 I'm like, hey, y'all, I actually like wiped out my 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:27.640 airline miles to be able to even come here. I mean, 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:31.040 I remember I was pitching to I got accepted. I 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:32.560 was trying to raise money, and I flew out to 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:37.560 New York. I was in Seattle at the time, and I. 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:40.000 This was a couple of years into it, and I 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:43.080 had I was so prepared for my pitch, and I 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:44.480 was like, this is my big break. I'm going to 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:46.080 have money. I can hire a pr agency. All the 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:47.600 things that the retailers have told me that I need 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:49.320 to do, I am going to be able to do now. 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:53.960 And it was a women's focused fund, and I remember 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:56.520 being in this gorgeous conference room just down the street 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:58.880 from here in New York, and I pitched to them 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.760 and they were all like and away. They were so excited, 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:05.440 and they came I remember waiting outside kind of shark 0:20:05.480 --> 0:20:08.160 tank style. Well, no, it was damage sharksanks, so never mind, 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:12.840 never mind the but I was waiting in the lobby 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:14.640 and they came out and they said, oh my gosh, 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.560 we loved your pitch. And I was ready for them 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:19.120 to say that they were going to write me the check, 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.320 and they said, but we have some really bad news. 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:26.280 We only invest if you've done a million dollars in revenue. 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:31.000 And I was like heartbreak crushed because I had barely 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:35.320 any revenue at the time, and and so that was 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:38.040 that was really challenging. So there was a lot of 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:42.840