![]() ![]() After this experience I often thought those years were wasted time. I quickly learned sunscreen, as an over-the-counter drug, was prohibited on school campuses and after much effort trying to change these antiquated laws that existed I knew I had to pivot to retail. I spent my first two years of building Supergoop! pounding the pavement of elementary school classrooms. I turned this into an opportunity to create a fun and playful SPF brand full of spirit. I never once noticed a tube of sunscreen on school campus despite the fact children were outdoors playing during peak hours of UV exposure. ![]() Little did I know my time in an elementary school was later what I reflected on when my friend was diagnosed with skin cancer. After my first year of teaching third grade I realized I felt totally claustrophobic being in one place all day long. I believe whole-heartedly that everything happens for a reason.įor example, I went to college to become an elementary school teacher. H: While I have made lots and lots of mistakes, I have no regrets as everything that has happened in my career is part of our very special Supergoop! brand story that is unique to us. J: When launching your business what was your biggest mistake/regret? Team is everything and it can make a real difference in the awareness of a brand. I’ve always loved to create and start projects alone but I’ve also never hesitated to ask for assistance and advice. When everything and everybody clicks, things just start working and the coming 12-24 months was definitely a big turning point for Supergoop!.Īs a founder and an entrepreneur, I believe it’s critical to identify your strengths and not be too proud to ask for help. This would be her first position as a President and Stephen and I were 100 percent certain she was the perfect fit to work alongside me and fortunately she felt the same about us!Īmanda and I quickly together set out to strengthen our retail partnerships and build an A+++ leadership team that could then build out the team underneath each of their positions. She was also a young mom which was never a requirement, but I felt like it was a big plus for the role. My brother, who is a significant investor in Supergoop!, has also always been my sounding board and together we agreed to go out in search of a President.Įight months later in the Fall of 2016, we had an agreement in place with Amanda Baldwin who, at the time, was on the operating team of LCatterton but also had a background in the beauty industry at LVMH and Estee Lauder. But I realized that I could sure use help in building and leading a team and running the day-to-day operations, finance, sales and marketing of the brand. Being as SPF-obsessed as I am, I knew that product and mission should always remain my focus –these are two things I am uniquely qualified to do as a brand founder. In late 2015 I took a step back to reflect on our growth and map out how we were going to continue scaling at this pace. My personal focus has always been on creating unique, clean, feel-good ways to deliver SPF to the skin so that people want to apply SPF every single day. We’re trying to change the way the world thinks about sunscreen so product is everything. I’ve always believed in pouring my time and capital into investing in product. H: Despite the fact we haven’t always had a big marketing budget, our brand has consistently had strong year over year growth. Q&A with Supergoop! Founder Holly Thaggard J: Was there a specific business decision/moment that was a turning point for Supergoop! making it into the recognizable brand it is today? ![]()
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