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Anastasia Soare, the founder and CEO of Anastasia Beverly Hills, talks with Editor-At-Large Maneet Ahuja about how she built a billion dollar business focusing on an untapped market in the beauty industry; eyebrows.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Of course, I wanted to build a business, but I never in my wildest dream thought that I'd build a billion-dollar business.
00:10Welcome. I'm Anita Huja, editor-at-large at Forbes and founder of Iconoclast.
00:15And we're here at the NASDAQ market site with a very special guest.
00:18I'm thrilled to be joined now by Anastasia Suare, CEO of global beauty brand Anastasia Beverly Hills.
00:25She's also the author of the brand-new book, Raising Brows.
00:30My Story, Building a Billion-Dollar Beauty Empire.
00:33Anastasia, thank you so much for joining us.
00:35Thank you so much for having me.
00:37So, Anastasia, you are the definition of an Iconoclast.
00:42Your story is so inspirational, so I just have to start there.
00:46In your recently released memoir, Raising Brows, you discussed your journey escaping communist Romania
00:53and coming to America and building your billion-dollar empire.
00:56Talk to me about your experience as an immigrant who didn't, you know, even know English,
01:02to building this incredible empire with such a global impact today.
01:07Well, I arrived, of course, in Los Angeles.
01:10My dream was to be in Beverly Hills, and I started working as an esthetician because I didn't speak the language.
01:16That was the job that I could get without speaking very well English.
01:20And I realized that nobody paid attention to eyebrows.
01:26I wanted to fix my own eyebrows because I was a victim of the 80s pencil thin and round.
01:32I love that story.
01:33Yes, and I remember my art teacher talking about the importance of eyebrows
01:39and all the study that we did, Leonardo da Vinci, using the golden ratio.
01:45And I fixed my own eyebrows, and I wanted to share with my clients that I was doing facial and body waxing.
01:52And that was the beginning of this amazing idea.
01:59And the gap in the beauty industry that didn't exist was eyebrows.
02:04And the owner didn't think that was a financial benefit for them to do eyebrows,
02:12I mean myself to do eyebrows, and I decided to open my own business.
02:16I rented a small room, and I started doing that, building incredible clientele.
02:22By 97, I decided to open a salon and focus only on eyebrows
02:27because in the small room I used to do facial and body waxing and eyebrows.
02:32So, 97, I opened the salon, and of course, I had a lot of nairs.
02:38The owner of the building didn't want to rent me the space.
02:41I heard that. That was such a compelling story that you had to prove that this was a viable business
02:47because you were a pioneer in the space.
02:50Well, yeah, but at that time, I'm talking about 96 men couldn't understand the importance of eyebrows.
02:56And I used every tool possible to convince the landlord to rent me the space.
03:04And finally, I...
03:05Like what? Give us some examples.
03:06Well, I said, oh, I had many articles because I was in many magazines.
03:11And I'm like, I'm so famous, doing eyebrows.
03:13I started selling myself.
03:15And still, he didn't budge.
03:17And then at the end, I said, look, I'm an emigrant.
03:20I'm sure somebody, your parents, your grandparents, somebody in your family was an emigrant.
03:26Somebody gave them a chance.
03:28Give me a chance.
03:29Rent me this for six months, and I promise you I'm going to make it work.
03:34And he finally decided to let me rent the space.
03:40And, of course, two weeks later was a line outside the salon before we opened at 9 o'clock.
03:46And he called me like, what did you say you are doing there?
03:49It's a line outside.
03:51What kind of way?
03:51Yeah, like I told you so.
03:53Yeah.
03:53So that was the beginning.
03:55Did he offer you an upgraded, bigger space after that?
03:58No, I didn't want it because it was still great.
04:02And I wanted to, very carefully, I grew my business.
04:06I didn't take, you know, rush decision.
04:09I wanted always to make sure that this was what I wanted.
04:14And then by 97, 98, there were no products.
04:17I didn't have products.
04:19So I used to mix some aloe vera with eyeshadow and use to create the perfect shape.
04:26And my client used to ask, they want the product.
04:29So I went to Italy and I started working on a product line.
04:34On working on the entire suite of products.
04:36Yeah, I think you said in one of your previous interviews, you had an actress who was going on set for six months.
04:42Yes, Poppy Montgomery was going to film in Canada, a Marley Morrow movie.
04:48And I went to the library and I got to an art store and I got some plastic.
04:53I cut out a stencil and I gave her all the other products.
04:58I trained her makeup artist.
05:00And six months later, she came and she said, oh, my God, this was amazing.
05:05We need this.
05:05Everybody needs this because you are only in Beverly Hills.
05:09People are not traveling that much.
05:11So, yes.
05:12But it's amazing, your incredible impact.
05:14And you mentioned your clientele.
05:16So you're often referred to as the queen of eyebrows.
05:18You've worked with everyone from Oprah Winfrey to J-Lo to Kim Kardashian.
05:24And we talked a little bit about some of the early days of the people that doubted you and how you overcame that.
05:30What gave you that conviction in your gut?
05:32Because that's something that we talk about at Iconoclast, the people who go against the grain, the disruptors, the innovators.
05:38What gave you that early conviction to follow your gut when, you know, you were starting out from scratch?
05:45First, I helped my mother when I was a young kid, a teenager.
05:50I helped my mother run her business.
05:53My mother was making clothes for her clients.
05:56And I understood in communist regime was very difficult to own your business.
06:01But my mother was able to do it.
06:03She always thought you will figure out and you could do whatever you put your mind into.
06:07So growing with that mother, when I came here, when I came in the United States and I started shaping eyebrows,
06:15I really believed that it's a mathematical formula.
06:19The human eye is encoded to recognize that balance and proportion that a well-shaped eyebrow is going to give.
06:26So I really believed in it.
06:28I was dead serious that this is going to create something for my clients.
06:35It was an authentic belief that whatever I'm going to do, I'm shaping and creating and educating my clients with the products that I'm going to create will improve their appearance, will give them confidence.
06:50And whatever makes you beautiful makes you powerful.
06:54So women feel powerful when they are feeling beautiful.
06:57So I think this is how I started creating the products because I couldn't, you know, copy anyone.
07:05So I will create every product, depend on the need that my client had.
07:11If she over-tweezed her eyebrow, if she never-tweezed her eyebrow, she had curly hair, unruly hair, the eyebrow going down.
07:18So every product that I created will solve a problem.
07:23Right. That's so interesting.
07:25And that makes so much sense because you didn't need to do market testing.
07:29You were in the market already, right?
07:31So by the time you created a product, there was already a need for that.
07:35And that's what I want to get into a little bit, too, is that here at Forbes, we're champions of entrepreneurial capitalism for over 100 years.
07:42So we tell the stories of the doers, and I would love to better understand how you scaled Anastasia Beverly Hills from a single service brand to this global cosmetic powerhouse.
07:54I don't know anybody around the world who is not familiar with the brand that you've built, and that's truly a testament to also your business acumen in addition to your incredible talent.
08:04Can you tell us how, you know, what that journey was like from the beginning, getting all the way into major retailers around the world,
08:10like Sephora, Nordstrom, and Target?
08:13So to me, at the beginning, the most important thing was to master my craft.
08:18I wanted to create, to be the best on doing eyebrows, to shape the most incredible eyebrows, and was worth of mouth.
08:26This is how I created a clientele.
08:29Of course, all my celebrity clients validated my work, but the everyday clients that they used to come and get their service done, I'm grateful forever.
08:39So they kind of gave me the confidence, all of them, that whatever I was doing, it was something special.
08:47So I kept doing, and I wanted to master my craft.
08:51Once I did that, authentically, I needed to create products to offer my client to achieve that perfect eyebrow if they didn't have the perfect eyebrows.
09:00And then once I was able to create that product line, Nordstrom's came, and they asked me if I wanted to sell their products in the store.
09:11Wait, so they approached you?
09:13Yes.
09:13You didn't have to go knocking from door to door or try to get meetings with sales reps?
09:18Exactly, because I had so many articles in magazines, and of course, my celebrity clientele helped me to get that attention.
09:28And once I went to Nordstrom's, and this is a very funny story.
09:34Of course, you will read in the book much more.
09:37But I went to a conference room in Seattle for a Nordstrom meeting to convince them to not only sell the products, but to have the service there, eyebrow studio.
09:48Because in 1999, women didn't know how to use a pomade on their eyebrows or powder on their eyebrows.
09:56And I wanted to make sure they understand how to achieve the perfect eyebrows.
10:00And there were like 14 people in the men and women in the conference room.
10:05And they said, well, when I suggested doing the service, they said, well, we are retailers.
10:10We are not in the service business.
10:12So what I did, I saw a lady across my chair, my table, and I said, will you allow me to do your eyebrow using the stencil and all the service that an esthetician will do?
10:24So she had beautiful eyebrows, but was very light, blonde.
10:29So I went there.
10:30In two minutes, I could fill in, and you could see the one eyebrow done and the other one not.
10:36And, you know, eyebrow is an instant gratification.
10:39It's not like a facial that you need months.
10:41When I get my eyebrows done properly, I feel like a new woman.
10:46You see, you know what that is.
10:48So, of course, that was seal of the deal.
10:50Well, they approved that, and we opened brow studios in Nordstrom.
10:55And since 2000, we still have brow studios around the country in Nordstrom's store.
11:01And then in 2007, Sephora came to us.
11:05Yes, yeah.
11:05We were at Cosmo Pro in Las Vegas, and our booth was packed with people wanting to learn to see how to use the product.
11:16And then Ulta and Macy's and all over the country.
11:20That was so ingenious and smart, because if you think about it, you're so right, right?
11:25If you are creating these products that didn't previously exist in the marketplace, and they're just sitting on a shelf,
11:32how is the consumer going to connect to it if they don't know how to use it and they don't see?
11:38And it's such a quick thing, right?
11:39Like, if you're a trained expert and you know how to show people how to use the product, it helps tremendously.
11:46No, it makes sense to have the products, but at the same time, you have to show the clientele how to use it, to educate the clientele.
11:54Right, and the benefits.
11:55And the benefits.
11:56And then, of course, we used to travel around the country, me and my daughter, to kind of...
12:02Who used to work for you, right?
12:04Yes, she used to work for me, and we used to travel to do personal appearance at Nordstrom at the beginning.
12:10And in 2011, she came to me and she said,
12:13Mom, maybe we don't need to travel that much.
12:16Is this app that we should open an account, and we could post pictures of the products,
12:22and maybe we don't need to travel that much?
12:24That account was the Instagram.
12:26Instagram.
12:27Yes.
12:28We were the first beauty brand to have an account on Instagram.
12:31And in 2012, it was absolutely incredible.
12:36And to, of course, I agree what my daughter said, but it was very important to me.
12:42Of course, we watched, we read every single comment in the post.
12:48And one time, I remember, I posted the Brow Wiz.
12:52And there was a comment there, like, I wish I could buy that Brow Wiz.
12:57And I said, send me your address, I will ship you one.
12:59She said, no, you can't, because I live in a small village in India.
13:03And I thought, oh, my God, we could reach with Instagram, somebody in India will never be able to do it.
13:10From Beverly Hills.
13:11Yes.
13:11Wow.
13:12So that was, to me, I understood that.
13:14Another aha moment.
13:15Another aha moment.
13:16At the early, at the forefront.
13:18Exactly.
13:18So talk to me a little bit about taking creative risks.
13:21It sounds like the market was already there, right?
13:24It was waiting to be discovered.
13:26You already had the clientele.
13:28Yes.
13:28But still, as a business owner and entrepreneur, creative risks are a key part of the process.
13:33How do you evaluate when to take those risks versus when to stick to your core product line and base?
13:38So we master the core products.
13:41When we launched, nobody had the extensive line of eyebrow products.
13:47We wanted to make sure the quality was amazing.
13:51I still, to these days, I approve every single batch of products that are produced.
13:56Because the color, the raw material could be different.
14:00So it's important to have exactly the same color, the same texture of every product.
14:05So once we did that, once we created, with the help of social media, we created this worldwide demand for our products.
14:17It made sense for us.
14:19Of course, we built everything.
14:21The eyebrow, the foundation base, and using the golden ratio.
14:25But if you think about it, because in art school, I started drawing a portrait.
14:31Eyebrow is one of the most important features of our face that brings balance and proportion, creates a harmony.
14:38Contouring is, as well, very important.
14:40So I took that contouring and, talking with my daughter, I explained to her, like, contouring is very important, again, to create an illusion of perfect balance and proportion.
14:51Right.
14:52So we created a contour kit with highlighter.
14:55I don't know if you remember.
14:56I have it.
14:56Oh, okay.
14:57I've been a consumer since the beginning.
15:00So we created that base and making the client understand how important contouring is using the golden ratio.
15:09And then the eyeshadows.
15:10So everything was done with...
15:13Strategically.
15:14Very strategically, but authentic and combining science with beauty.
15:20So talk to me a little bit about, you know, the next phase, too, is every entrepreneur does face some difficult business decisions.
15:30Yes.
15:30What were some of the most difficult business decisions you had to make, and what prompted you to make them?
15:36Well, I think in business, as an entrepreneur, you have a difficult decision to make every single day.
15:43But one, to give you an example, at the beginning, when I was selling the products only in a salon, I used to train a lot of aestheticians on how to do eyebrows.
15:58And there were small little shops, the nail shop that they used to do eyebrows, or many other little shops that they wanted to sell my products.
16:08Of course, I could get that income will help me to grow the business.
16:15But I made that decision that I wanted to be in a big retails and not in a small salons that it was hard for me to control the quality.
16:27Right, right.
16:28So that was a difficult decision as a small business to make, but was the best decision I made.
16:35So that was an example.
16:37And many other more.
16:38If I would describe business and entrepreneurship is every day you open your emails and you will have challenges.
16:48You have to solve problems because as an entrepreneur, this is what it is.
16:53You have to be alert and you have to be able to make decisions for your business.
17:00But you need to understand what is your core brand and stick to that.
17:06Where you want your brand to be.
17:08So one of the things I loved about hearing in some of your other interviews, and when entrepreneurs and founders ask even me for professional advice,
17:19it is so key and resonates, is that you were never focused on the millions or the money or the success.
17:28It had to be the passion for the actual work.
17:30That being said, it is a really critically important moment when your business reaches a certain threshold, which you have.
17:39So talk to me about that moment.
17:41We're almost at a time where your business hit that billion-dollar mark.
17:45And what was going through your head at that moment and how you processed that and took it forward?
17:52Well, I always, I've been a customer-centric.
17:56To me, everything I've done was for my customer.
17:58I think my customer, and in general, customers are very educated.
18:05And I wanted genuinely to offer them the best of the best.
18:10I did the homework for them and just offer them, telling them how to use my product.
18:15So that was my goal from the beginning.
18:19Of course, I wanted to build a business, but I never in my wildest dream thought that I build a billion-dollar business.
18:27And in 2017, I decided to expand internationally.
18:33And doing eyebrows in the salon and running the business and doing personal appearance,
18:38I knew that I would not be able to do that expansion on my own, so I decided to get an evaluation and get a partner.
18:47So when the people told me that the company is evaluated at $3 billion, I almost fell off my chair.
18:57Right, from TPG, right?
18:58That was recently, just in 2018.
19:00Yes, 2018.
19:02So it was kind of a way of my hard work and everything I've done was really rewarded.
19:09It all culminated in that moment.
19:12Yes.
19:12So I know we're just about out of time, but final question about legacy and the future of Anastasia Beverly Hills.
19:19Not just for the company, but for your personal brand and as a founder,
19:25what impact do you hope that Anastasia Beverly Hills will have on the future of beauty?
19:30I mean, beyond the impact it's already had, which is tremendous.
19:34I hope that everyone will understand that building this brand and reading the book, you could understand.
19:42It took a lot, but it was so much love that I have for the business.
19:48And I still, I want to innovate.
19:51I still, I want to offer my clients everything that I think will be amazing.
19:56They will love it.
19:57Or I want to offer them products that they don't even know they will love it.
20:01And the legacy is definitely, will be taken by my daughter that is so involved in the business.
20:08And the love that I have for my, my clients, for the love that I, and encouragement for other people,
20:16the young people that if they want to get in the beauty business or any other business,
20:21they should believe in themselves and they should not take no as an answer.
20:26And I hope the book will inspire them to follow their dream.
20:30That's the reason why I wrote this book.
20:32That's incredible.
20:33Well, Anastasia, thank you so much for joining us.
20:36And again, your book is called Raising Brows, My Story, Building a Billion Dollar Beauty Empire.
20:42And thank you for joining us on Iconoclast at the NASDAQ Market Site.
20:46Thank you so much for having me.
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