Hero Cosmetics co-founder Ju Rhyu explains why the brand chose to sell after reaching $100 million in revenue rather than waiting to reach $200M to $250M in revenue.
Insight
Rhyu: A three-person founding team provides a built-in tiebreaker
“In hindsight, actually, the reasons why it worked out, I actually think three, if you have a co-founding team of three, it's actually great, because, I remember, and I remember someone told me, like, oh, three is one too many. But I think it's great because if…”
Insight
Rhyu: Driving fast corporate innovation requires explicit executive-level prioritization
“It takes, you know what, it takes a lot of support from the top, actually. And I mean, I'm sure we'll get to this, but, so my company, Hero Cosmetics, we got acquired by a company called Church & Dwight, and they are a big company, not unlike, you know, the Pr…”
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Rhyu: No brand owned the US acne patch category in 2015
“This was back in, yeah, probably, 2000 fifteen-ish? But there was no one that really owned the category.”
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Rhyu: Fast growth cash flow strains impede investments in talent
“When you're growing really fast that cash flow sort of chase is always tricky, like, you know, you get paid, but then you need to buy more inventory, and just the timing of it all can be really tricky, and then it can sort of impede you from make, making inves…”
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Rhyu: Founders should hire experts who direct strategy rather than needing direction
“I hired people who would tell me what to do. I didn't want to tell them what to do. So I wanted people who had the experience, who were experts in their fields, and I would just, you know, I just let them go. And I wanted them to tell me, like, you know, we sh…”
Insight
Rhyu: Founders selling their companies must emotionally detach early like a breakup
“I tell people you have to, like, emotionally detach. So, because I've heard there's founder depression. So, you know, you work so hard at building this business, you know, it's like, it takes up your whole life, it is your life, and then boom, you sell, and yo…”