Amy Errett
Founder and CEO, Madison Reed. On 2 shows, 2 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
founderexecutiveinvestor@AmyErrett ↗LinkedIn ↗madison-reed.com ↗
Amy Errett founded Madison Reed in 2013, creating an omnichannel hair care and color brand with direct-to-consumer products and physical Hair Color Bars across the United States. Before launching the company, she was a General Partner at Maveron and Chief Asset Gathering Officer at E*TRADE.
2shows
2appearances
50statements
9resolved
8supported
1contradicted
89%fully supported
Everything Amy Errett said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Amy Errett forced male VCs to consult female partners before investing
“Before I let anyone do the Series A, I actually told them to do that. So I went and I said, listen, you guys may think this is a good idea. You actually don't know. So I want you to go home. And either your wife, your partner, your kids, your cousins, your aun…”
Errett: The marketing buzzword 'clean' is completely meaningless in beauty
“We don't use the word clean, because that's a word that's a meaningless word. It's a meaningless word, but lots of people use it”
Amy Errett: Madison Reed removed eight ingredients no competitor has eliminated
“We talk about a better for you formula, and we are very factual about these eight things that we factually have taken out. That nobody else has taken out.”
Errett: The IPO window is non-existent for consumer companies
“If you look at the IPO window, it's non-existent for consumer companies.”
Errett: Subscription Beauty Brands Require Massive Pre-Launch Capital to Scale
“Yes, and the idea was since we knew that we wanted it to be a subscription-based business, that building the core of the subscriptions would scale the business faster. So you have to, you need a splash to get above the sort of noise for these women and figure …”
Errett: Free product trials drive poor retention compared to paying customers
“So we learned trial by free, not so good. If I pay for it, and I love the results, they stay. And that has been a hallmark of the company, high retention.”
Errett: Most investors only fund things they personally relate to
“Most people invest in things they can relate to.”
Errett: A scaling business moves at the rate of its slowest executive
“Because when a business starts scaling, but the people that you have there can't scale with it, the business moves at the rate of the slowest senior person. That's what I've come to understand.”
Errett: Hiring co-founders for likability cost Madison Reed years of growth
“This was Amy's, ah, magical thinking, as I call it, to put something together with a group of people that I liked, which is a bias, by the way, that one hires for liking a lot, has a certain bias that I would suggest. Everyone start thinking about, it's not ju…”
Errett: Navigating departures requires identifying what motivates the person to be okay
“I think the key about someone's leaving is to figure out what they need, what motivates them to be okay.”
Errett: Madison Reed couldn't afford its current locations at new lease rates
“You're never going to get real estate in places that we have it today. We could never afford it today if these were brand new deals.”
Errett: Strategic acquirers prefer acquiring brands under $100M in revenue
“Many of these strategics buy things that are sub-one hundred million dollars in revenue. When something gets bigger, it becomes harder for them to get the board to approve it.”
Errett: Consumer investors now demand 20%+ growth alongside profitability
“Now, the world has shifted to wanting both. People want you to grow, you know, at least 20 plus percent top line, but they also require profitability.”
Errett: Madison Reed reached corporate profitability in 2024
“We are a profitable company now. We crossed profitability last year.”
Errett: Hair color demand is recession-proof and pandemic-proof
“I also think that this is a good thing for us to prove that hair color is pandemic proof and recession proof, because that just means it's going to happen no matter what happens.”
Errett: Great venture capitalists position themselves to get lucky
“As I used to say in venture, a great venture capitalist position themselves to get lucky. You know, they hang around in the right places, and they talk to the right people, and they know enough relationships, and they have the capital, but most of the time the…”
Maveron passed on Dollar Shave Club over market size and Gillette fears
“We passed for all of the reasons that one might think at that time didn't make sense about Shaving, you know, size of the prize. How do you take Gillette on? Who's gonna buy this stuff? You know, sort of direct to consumer.”
Lacking a technical co-founder cost Madison Reed 18-24 months of product development
“Oh, I did not have a technical co-founder. And it cost us I would say about 18 to 24 months of really good digital product and commerce experience.”
Madison Reed is profitable, generating $200M revenue, and growing 20% annually
“We are a two hundred million dollar top line business that's profitable and growing 20 plus percent every single year, and, you know, we're an omnichannel business, so we have a lot of distribution.”
Founders should always open board meetings by sharing what is failing
“Always lead a board meeting with what isn't going well. Your board should be your best allies. You should never chest pound. You should just be completely authentic with them saying, like, by the way, guys, I need your help, right?”
Errett: Fired as Olivia CEO blindsided in a hotel lobby
“I was fired in a hotel lobby on a Monday morning, completely blindsided.”
Errett: Howard Schultz urged Maveron to slow investments in fall 2007
“I will never forget it was the fall of 2007, and we had an investment meeting in Seattle, and he walked in and he said, we need to slow down our investments.”
Amy Errett: Comparison trap makes it hard to feel successful
“This is a game I can play my whole life. I can decide that no matter what happens at Madison Reed, it's not big enough. Because there will always be an AI company that's bigger. There will always be a SaaS platform that's bigger. And I have a hard time seeing …”
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Amy's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Founder and CEO, Madison Reed | 1 | 37 | 83% 5/6 | full record on How I Built This → |
 MASTERS OF SCALELEDGER | Founder and CEO, Madison Reed | 1 | 13 | 100% 3/3 | full record on Masters of Scale → |