409: Dying to Ego and Embracing Failure with Toni Ko of Bespoke Beauty Brands
Toni Ko's first beauty brand, NYX Cosmetics, made $4 million in year 1, and eventually exited to L'Oréal for $500 million. Craving a new purpose, she started a sunglasses business. It failed after 3.5 years—and Ko says it's one of the best things that ever happened to her. Ko's lessons from that "failure" empowered her to launch her third and current venture: Bespoke Beauty Brands, which partners with influencer entrepreneurs on everything from concept creation to product development, marketing, and fulfillment distribution.
Listen to Nathan and Ko discuss:
Being a third-generation entrepreneur of Korean immigrants
The early days of NYX Cosmetics, when she had 6 job titles
Raking in $4 million in retail value in NYX's first year
Why she's not good at sales
Selling NYX in 2014 for $500 million to L'Oréal
Experiencing depression after exiting her business
Starting a sunglasses business and failing
Launching Bespoke Beauty Brand
Working with celebrity influencers like Kim Chi and Jason Wu
And much more influencer entrepreneur advice…
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409: Dying to Ego and Embracing Failure with Toni Ko of Bespoke Beauty Brands