Briogeo

“Getting that product in the hands of about 200,000 people translated into incredible conversions at Sephora.”

“We actually ended up revising up our pre-COVID budget.”

“A friend of mine ended up putting me in touch with a guy who was a consultant, and For, you know, less than 500 bucks, he picked my brain on what I wanted this brand to be, and gave me a ton of options, and Briogeo stood out.”

“No one in my immediate team knew that I was working on this project. I had a couple of friends at Goldman that I confided in, but only a couple that I knew would not say anything, because I was serious about my work, and I didn't want to compromise that, and I…”

“There was travel. I had to design the space. I needed staffing. So I think when it was all said and done, it was probably closer to 15,000.”

“I left with no orders, but I did leave with interest from Urban Outfitters.”

“So it was a test, and the test was online only. So if I hit my targets, the next step would be to launch Briogeo in 25 of the then 400 Sephora stores.”

“Yeah, so we will, you know, finish this year close to forty million in gross sales, which is pretty awesome.”

“What I decided to do was to create one shampoo for all hair types. And then I had three conditioners that were texture specific. So with four products, I was able to hit a pretty diverse client base.”

“So by that point, the most money I spent was on the business plan, which was about 5000. Some of the initial concepts for the packaging, which was, you know, north of 10 K. Yeah. And then you factor in everything else. I was probably close to 25 K.”

“So he gave me the first time about a 100,000 dollars.”

“And because I was in New York, I asked them if they could set me up with desk side appointments where I would actually meet the editor and be able to have a face-to-face connection. And so I was able to create relationships with editors at a dozen of publicati…”

“Briogeo products are not 100% natural, and where we cannot find a effective, clean substitute, we will opt with a synthetic version, so long as we really do our diligence to make sure that it's a safe synthetic. Right. And there is an organization in Europe ca…”

“So we will, you know, finish this year close to forty million in gross sales”

“They pretty much bought all of the stock that I had, so that, those few hundred units.”

“If I hit my targets, the next step would be to launch Briogeo in 25 of the then 400 Sephora stores.”

“You know, I figured that people would, which is why when I designed my booth, I was very intentional about having hair model imagery at my booth that really displayed the diversity of our intended consumer. So I think when people saw the breadth of ethnicities…”

“Because this would have been 2011, 20 12. I had just become a vice president, so I had gotten promoted, but I was also trying to allocate time to work on Briogeo, so.”

“So what I decided to do was to create one shampoo for all hair types. And then I had three conditioners that were texture specific. So with four products, I was able to hit a pretty diverse client base.”

“One of the things I'm very transparent about is that Briogeo products are not 100% natural, and where we cannot find a effective, clean substitute, we will opt with a synthetic version, so long as we really do our diligence to make sure that it's a safe synthe…”

“And then in February of 2014, I received an email that changed my life. I had sent the merchant buyer January's press summary, and a couple of weeks later, she responded and said, Nancy, it's so great to hear from you. The stars must have been aligned because …”

“A friend of mine ended up putting me in touch with a guy who was a consultant, and for, you know, less than 500 bucks, he picked my brain on what I wanted this brand to be and gave me a ton of options, and Briogeo stood out.”

“By the way, since we last spoke in 2020, the company was acquired by Wella Company, and sales revenue has more than doubled to roughly one hundred million dollars a year.”

“So he gave me the first time about a 100,000 dollars.”

“Cost about 10,000 dollars for that weekend. [3004] Guy Raz: And then that was just for the space. [3005] Guy Raz: You had to like... [3007] Guy Raz: Bring your stuff with you and like a signage and, right? [3010] Nancy Twine: Yeah. [3011] Nancy Twine: There wa…”

“I left with no orders, but I did leave with interest from Urban Outfitters.”

“Instead of, you know, pumping our products with silicones, which are synthetic polymers that give the illusion of shine on the hair We actually used real natural oils to do that because not only is it natural, but the benefits, the vitamins, the nutrients the …”

“So I reached out to Phil, put together a little deck of how I would use the funds to basically scale the growth of the business, which he was incentivized to do given his equity position. He felt like it was a good business case. I had, you know, POs to point …”

“So by that point, the most money I spent was on the business plan, which was about 5000. Some of the initial concepts for the packaging, which was, you know, north of 10 K. And then you factor in everything else. I was probably close to 25 K.”

“Sometimes manufacturers would say, oh, we just started developing shampoos without sulfates, but we need the silicone base in order for it to hydrate your hair. If you don't have the silicones, the clean surfactants are gonna dry out the hair. You can't have o…”

“Getting that product in the hands of about 200,000 people translated into incredible conversions at Sephora.”

“And so I was able to create relationships with editors at a dozen of publications, and I started getting press out of the gate.”