When you're reinforcing positivity to kids around grades, their athleticism or how attractive they are, it makes them vulnerable because their self-worth becomes in. that and all of those three things kind of change over time. Most kids don't play professional sports totally. Most people realize somewhere around 23 that uh oh, grades mean nothing in real life.

And if you're fighting for like looking beautiful, it's a constant game of insecurity because all of us age. So to your point if you're complimenting kids on their energy, their Ambitions their kindness, their grit and the words coming out of their mouth V Audio Experience Vaynernation What is good? Really excited about today's podcast I Think it's always fun to understand understand people's Journeys Um, use it as a reference point I Know my journey resonates for some, but some can't connect because variables are different. Sometimes you need to have the person look like you or come from the places that you came from and so on. our forever journey of finding interesting people to have conversations with.

Uh, we have a really good one here today that I think is going to work for a lot of this audience. I'm going to let her introduce herself and give you a little bit of her background and then I'm gonna fire away with some really fun questions and try to tap in a little bit into what and why and how and so Chris How are you so great to be here? Gary Thank you of course I'm Carissa Bodner and I am the CEO of Thrivecon No. I I Just had to bring it because because I'm on the Gary V show today, um no. I Uh, my name is Carissa Bodner I am the CEO of Thrive cosmetics and by the time this drops, it's going to be bigger than Beauty skincare.

It's amazing. Give it go deeper. What? What is? Thrive To just give everyone that context and we'll go back to how we got there I I Appreciate the prompt. So very specifically Thrive Cosmetics is spelled c-a-u-s-e-m-e-t-i-c-s meaning that we are for cause since I founded Thrive Cosmetics we've donated over 125 million dollars in funds and products to over 500 Charities around the world.

Wow! so that's why we put the cause in cosmetics. but honestly we are up the industry like we are the biggest direct-to-consumer Beauty brand in the US We are profitable since day one. I Started this out of a one bedroom apartment and I am only here because of the Thrive Cosmetics Community which includes our customers customers. First and foremost I didn't have employees for the first three years, then our Charities like our Charities the people who are supporting cancer survivors, domestic abuse survivors, veterans I just got off the phone with one of our one of our partners Raquel who runs self-esteem Rising just down the road.

It's all about making young women and young men feel beautiful and confident and just love themselves. and uh and I'm I'm so blessed I'm only here because of those people I would have quit if I didn't have those giving Partners telling me that that we needed to exist. so that's Thrive Cosmetics We're vegan, cruelty free. We create all of our formulas from scratch I'm a cosmetic chemist I'm a bad on the bench.

that's chemistry talk for you. But but I'm I'm a philanthropist and um, and I'm so grateful for for the opportunity to do what I do. Over the last nine years at Thrive Cosmetics we're launching our second brand bigger than Beauty Skincare where we're going to be providing scholarships to women, underrepresented communities to get dermatologist degrees and uh, and also estheticians licenses. So take me back to the ingredients that got you here.

So when you hear all of that when you say it out loud, and if I asked you when you hear all of that, where you're at now at this scale, what was happening in your childhood that got you here when I think about what you said like were you a science nerd When I think about what you were said like were you just hungry and ambitious? When I hear what you said, you know, did something happen in your family life or did your family have a great cause infrastructure? Did something trigger that passion? What? Who were you at Five, Six, Seven Twelve? It's a great question. Gary I I Happen to think that we may have been born with a little bit of this hustle. Were you born with your hustle? Yeah? I think so. I mean I think when I think back to what I know about my grandparents and my great-grandparents then I think my circumstance right.

you know I was born in the Soviet Union and I come to the U.S and we were so poor and it was so clear um that you know and my mom was we were immigrants and my mom was cheap so you know very early on I'm like man if I want stuff you know right around 10 is when. it was very clear to me that like we weren't going to Toys R Us when I was getting something so like I vividly remember Sega Genesis when that came out and I wanted it and I could tell in my mom's face that I was now a big boy and she wasn't gonna buy that for me. Yeah, I think some of the hustle was instilled in parenting and others. Parts of it was based on my DNA and upbringing.

So let me ask you the most important question about what you just said. Were you listening to Biggie when you bought your Sega Genesis I wish I was if I because then I'd be younger. but since I'm older um biggie wasn't on the scene just yet. it was more KRS one and stuff like that.

Okay, okay Daddy Kane okay okay yeah. but you know to your point, things like sports Merit things like hip-hop coming up the game. Those things always resonated with me because they were so close to my you know realities. But what about for you and you're gonna buy the Jets right? That's right, Yeah.

I'm gonna buy Amazon Is that your plan? Yeah, you know Moon you can end up on the top of a mountain and I think people limit you know I think it's one thing like for me. I've always actually believed that I have a lot of friends that I meet acquaintances, business associates who are like Gary I'm gonna do this I'm gonna buy Tesla somebody said the other day and I just looked at him probably third time I've been around this person said do you I could just feel that it wasn't true it was like Hyperbole and I said hey do you really think that and it was like he took a b and he's like no and I'm like hey I've heard you say it three times now I've always felt that you didn't believe that to be true. Yeah, I'm like you don't need to have a big goal just to have a big goal totally, but try to create the biggest goal that you actually think is obtainable totally and like go forward and so like people could say, they could buy Amazon and Facebook and Mattel and buy a country and if I can sense that they believe it I'm like that's huge because then they're gonna actually try to do it totally. um I think about that a lot with Goal sending totally yeah I mean I had people that thought it was crazy that I was going to come on this podcast I'm like Garyvee doesn't even know like Garyvee doesn't even know we're gonna be like I mean totally I mean we're already working together.

No. I mean so yeah I mean it's like so if you don't believe then No One's Gonna believe like like literally when I So it's it's crazy. This building that we're filming in I actually used to work for the largest company here L'Oreal yeah they were the first tenants here. Yeah yeah, even before coach that owned the building.

Yeah yeah. and I was at 575 when L'Oreal bought the company that I worked for Clarissa Sonic back so many years ago I didn't even know what L'Oreal was I didn't know to dream this big Gary I grew up on it I grew up on a dirt road I also. So um, speaking of immigrants, my my grandmother immigrated just down the street through Ellis Island and um came over from Germany like I have bad energy in My DNA like I'm not gonna waste what grandma Ruth and Grandma Jackie did for me like my grandma Jackie was like she's an icon. She she was an alcoholic.

She was um, she was a smoker and in her 50s quit quit drinking. quit smoking completely cold turkey. Went back to school to become a drug and alcohol counselor. Like if you have that bad energy in your your DNA how can you not honor them like my grandma did not struggle for me to not just shoot for the moon and buy Amazon You know what I mean like So that's so what's happening on the dirt road? Like really? I Want to get Oh My Gosh 789 Yep.

School sports. Yep. siblings give me pay me a picture. So I I was born different, right? Like I was born different I I had this incessant need to create I was I grew up on a dirt road, was walking door to door to my neighbors because a lemonade stand spoiler alert.

When you grow up on a dirt road and everybody's on five or ten acres, like you don't yield that much profit. you have three potential customers. Totally totally Yeah. so the hustle was not happening there.

So what? I what I wound up doing actually was creating in my parents kitchen so I was I was making lipsticks I was I was literally. Now the statute of Limitations has passed since I since since I was literally stealing from Port Susan Middle School The toilet seat covers Garyvee! So next time you're on the cover of a magazine, I got you! I will get you my toilet seat covers to absorb the oil so that you look bomb as on your cover. so no I got some setting powder for you now but like literally like I was born with this in this this deep passion for for living and thriving I will say though I lost it I was I was super depressed when I was in uh, late middle school high school. um I was bullied a lot I mean trauma trauma like like trauma that I'm not necessarily ready to talk about yet.

but like I it. What's so crazy is that with Thrive Cosmetics like I had no idea when I started Thrive Cosmetics I Wanted to give back to women that were going through cancer and I wanted to make them feel beautiful because I as a makeup artist and I'll get to that in a second had been so blessed to see the transformation in a woman's self-esteem no matter what they were going through. and Men I mean I've done ton of men's makeup so it's like what was so powerful was that I had this Vision to help people that were going through cancer because I had lost my friend cancer when I was just 23 years old she was 24. Christy Um and and it was I I wanted to create something that was about more than just selling makeup and skincare I get it like I wanted to I wanted to give back.

So from the very beginning, how long ago was that? Nine years ago? Yeah, I mean you were I Think one of the great things that's going on in the world is the conversation is more complex today and youngsters like yourself are growing up. I mean it wasn't even a thing when I was in high school or college where companies would talk about doing something with purpose attached to it. Yeah, right, it wasn't It wasn't a norm, it wasn't an expectation. It wasn't an option.

Yeah, so the fact that you have this tragic event, you have this crazy thirst of an entrepreneurial Spirit the fact that you could take those two passions together totally was like a supernova. it I'm so grateful like that's that's the thing is like I'm not supposed to be here like my my business. the the volume that we have done has a B next to it like that's that's what people need to know that you can grow up on a dirt road you can go to Community College and if you have a community and a passion and a vision like I I was not people think I'm an influencer now. My first Instagram was Thrive Cosmetics like we didn't even have a profile but my friend Kaiser had to tell me to put a profile photo in there like I didn't have a profile photo and it was this community the Thrive Cosmetics community that that put me on and built this company from my one bedroom apartment and now giving over 125 million dollars like that's the Thrive Cosmetics Community Take us back because we've got the big headlines that I want to make sure what I'm basic just so you know where I'm going with this.

There's like three people a 50 inspired by your grandma B15 inspired by you listening right now and this is the singular podcast that changes the course of their life. That's how I think about these things I know that to be true. So one of the things I like to do is like get one level deeper in like little nuances that are harder sometimes fine. So let me go there.

Yep, Okay so you have this. you know, very creative kid. fire in the belly early on have this period of time where you lost your way suicidal like I was a suicidal kid. We can go there.

Let's go listen. You're in control. Yeah What You know when you you know what's funny, when when I hear something that extreme yeah? what is running through your mind like zero self-worth Yeah? that much pain in your stomach? Yes because of trauma again and and so what was so crazy is to to grow up with this bright light inside of you yes and and also be misunderstood like like I was like an alien in my family like my parents loved me but they also didn't know what to do with me Like this kid that's got so much energy and just wants to create and is talking to everybody and I'm like hey like walking into Garyvee's office just being like hey what's up man like let's talk and so you know I My parents put me in a lot of situations like I they they made me work for everything I got huge um I nothing was given to me so that to me like that's why I'm here like being like if I would have had to or if I would have and I say had to like if I would have just had things given to me I wouldn't be here. hard to be hungry if you're fat.

totally totally. you have siblings yeah older sister, older sister, what's your relationship with her? She's awesome and you guys always were good or had ups and downs. I mean we're very different. we're here no I mean I love my sister I love my parents and you know everywhere I went I mean my grandma Ruth she would tell me how lucky I was to be alive how like how I needed to work for everything because she worked so hard to to raise my dad I mean my dad was raised like total like food stamps, poverty.

um my mom uh struggled a lot like but the Grandma's a big factor in your life. yeah oh yeah, that's what I say like I started with them so fast totally yeah and I lost my grandma. That was part of that trauma. it was.

It was a cluster of trauma if I'm being honest. Got it. So there was a series of things. yeah and when do you feel like you started to get your head up from it? This is my favorite story to tell.

It was Future Business Leaders of America and Deca. So I was a kid with no Direction So I was this kid that was like beautiful, bright, so vivacious, and so passionate about life. and then due to trauma was like suicidal, depressed. um and I never attempted anything.

but it was serious. Yeah he's not in a good place Then somebody uh talked to me about future Business Leaders of America and I thought okay, like I grew up in this small town that was super entrepreneurial. Stanwood Washington Town of five thousand grew up on a dirt road and those like I was surrounded by entrepreneurs. My parents were not entrepreneurs, my dad was a teacher, principal, administrator.

My mom had a bunch of different jobs so like. but I was surrounded if you wanted money like you had to be an entrepreneur in this in this community of Stanwood and so I got involved in this uh, this group called Future Business Leader of America Are you familiar? Oh we gotta go Like it's it's epic. It's epic. So it literally transformed my life.

So it's a it's an extra curricular activity that is um throughout the US and you compete and so you're basically I mean this is this is I mean this is like literally you said that I just wanted to beat up 14 year olds in high school. Exactly exactly exactly. No, no no seriously. physically like, just beat them.

and okay, then you need to get involved in Deca because that's an international competition. So I got them both titles. So then let me tell you about my Monopoly board that I I raised 25 000 when I was um, 16 years old I was getting truancies like skipping school. my parents were like what the hell is going on you're gonna get kicked out of school I was like like just you wait, just you wait and then I So I made this Monopoly board by literally going door to door to all of the local businesses saying I gotta I got a great marketing opportunity for you.

You're gonna pay me four hundred dollars and and you'll get Park Place but we named it after them so I did that all throughout the town and it was like 40 50 people uh or companies that I got on there and um, and that paid for my cost of goods. That was the first product I made I was 16 years commercially. It's a commercial product when you get 400 times 40. You know, 40 when you get 16.

Like when you do. That was that the first affirmation of that? Like that's high scale for a 16 year old When you're going through that. Were you getting such a high off of getting yeses from small businesses? Yeah. Was that like when you're going from getting shoved into lockers being told that you're a all these things to then being on the front page of the newspaper? It doesn't matter.

I was in a small town like it's still? Yeah yeah. and what's so epic Gary is that 25 000 because that paid for the cost of goods like and I can walk you through the full p l of that first product that I made that Monopoly board was called twin Cityopoly that that funded. So then the sales of that so everything was profit from there. Of course it was 20 to 25 depending on if it was wholesale or or sold directly.

Of course all those businesses bought some boards to sell in their own business. Totally totally yeah. I had people autographing them. they're asking me to autograph them back then.

So cool and it was like and but they believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself. So that execution got you going Totally. It transformed my self-esteem and then that just propelled me. I Got an internship at Nordstrom and um and the person Matt Deisher who was my mentor.

he was a really big shout out. Maddie D Matt Dysher Woohoo uh he he's like you're gonna be the CEO of Nordstrom He told me that when I was 17 years old I was like I was like okay, yeah I'll be the CEO of Nordstrom I didn't know that I didn't know to dream that big for myself like Gary what's so crazy is that I lived in New York it's so crazy that I worked in New York to me because literally I turned down career opportunities in Seattle Washington because I was too scared to drive there like that. That's like I I am not I wasn't just I like I didn't like hashtag wake up like this but like now like literally this morning I woke up with let's go by Lil Jon in my head like that's like literally what's going through my head now but but I didn't believe I didn't know to dream this big yeah I mean most people don't like, you know, like even like. One thing that's weird about me is I've had some fourth, fifth sixth grade classmates who I haven't talked to in years reach out in the last decade and they're like oh my God Like you really did say you wanted to buy the Jets in fifth grade but at the time I probably thought that was like a million like I didn't even know what that meant Yeah, like you're young going through your stuff like there are things today that are clear to me that weren't clear seven years ago.

Yeah, ten years ago, 15 years ago we're all still going You're So Young there's gonna be CL you know in Jesus age I Get it, it's my Jesus here. No no I just learned I know some of the stuff people don't like. I'm so grateful though. like and we're gonna be doing this till we're 120 Gary I Believe it more than anything.

Okay, so how far off are we from the Jets You know mentally and emotionally not very far financially far am I invited to the party? Well it depends on what happens between now and then. No, sorry you were going to say something though. Go ahead no. I'm having so much fun.

um would I really. but I want to get to your point I want to get back on track on one thing. I'm trying to think about the building blocks I love that story because again now that 15 year old is gonna think about organizations at school or at the YMCA or something they've heard of and like consider it now because wait I want to do it because I'm a better like I love that kind of. So what happens next you're in Nordstroms You're learning.

You have a mentor that's sees that you're a liar kid. When I went through that I was an on fire kid and a lot of people are like you're a spaz but then occasionally people are like uh oh you're gonna do it Yeah, and you latch on to those people. That's why for everyone who's listening, if you can compliment a kid totally, especially one that you're not related to, this Yeah for just the answer no for this for this the mouth. Like like you own, you own who you are.

You know it's so fun You just said that uh on the podcast she like showed her face. It's funny I talk a lot about when you're reinforcing positivity to kids around grades, their athleticism or how attractive they are, it makes them vulnerable because their self-worth becomes in that and all of those three things kind of change over time. Like most kids don't play professional sports. Totally most people realize somewhere around 23 that uh oh grades mean nothing in real life.

And if you're fighting for like looking beautiful as a man or woman, it's a constant game of insecurity because all of us age like you know, it's just. you know it's really hard. So to your point if you're complimenting kids on their energy, their Ambitions their kindness, their grit, and uh, and the words coming out of their mouth. So go ahead.

what happens your Nordstrom's you're feeling on fire What Happens Next Almost quitting school. Almost quitting Community College every day like literally I Graduated because Matt Deisher was like you have to graduate from college, you're just punching your ticket and he was trying to talk me into an MBA and I was like I literally can't like I I was I literally I So I went to Bellevue Community College because I didn't get into any other colleges I barely applied and I mean I'm a daughter of an educator like this is kind of up that I didn't like but I just did not. How'd your dad deal with you being a poor student? Not well. yeah, didn't like it.

yeah, didn't like it I love my dad. but yeah yeah I guess that was his Pat I get it. That was his point especially. and imagine my dad growing up on food stamps on a dirt a dirt house I grew up on a dirt road that's a come up from a dirt house that he grew up.

that was his way out. I get it totally and he's sitting here and you're he's like I had to pay my entire way through college I'm I'm here to support you like all these things. Um, but yeah, when I was I was in uh I went to Bellevue Community College shout out to Bellevue Community College I Think this is really important to underscore because especially in the Zeitgeist Right now, all these kids are so obsessed with what school they're getting into and I am here to tell you that you can go to Bellevue Community College and build one of the largest beauty companies to ever exist. Yeah, I mean actually I would say as someone who's a little bit older, it's way better than it used to be.

There are kids that actually believe you when you say that or believe me whereas when I was 18 or 22, it was unheard of. Yeah, but there was Zero people. Yeah at 18 in America 30 years ago that thought things could be okay if you didn't go to college. Now you have a group of kids that are definitely in belief that there's entrepreneurship, creativity, creators.

There's many other options. The problem is sometimes it skews the other way and they're like college, but they don't realize that means you have to eat so much, so much and work. so you got a crawl before you ball. You got a crawl before you ball and the the dream is free and the hustle is sold separately and that that is the thing.

like again. I've been doing this for nine years and I love that for us like I love that I didn't sell the company I love that I'm here to just build, build, build, give give because like quitting is actually harder for me than trying like like I don't want like I I literally can't quit. These people like that we named like if you look at my eyeshadow right now I have Raquel on me I've got Betty on me like I've got we literally name our products after inspiring people and and like I can't quit These people like because these are you Also like it Totally Yeah no and I mean I Love the chemistry when you said crawl before you bought I love that I haven't heard that my brain went to literally I didn't want to interrupt you but my brain went to crawl. period.

Well I Can't like I Can't take credit because it's Kanye West Got it? Yeah, So crawl. Yeah, Crawl. Yeah. Like if you love it so much, you'll just crawl.

Yeah, you'll just crawl. Totally like. To me, that is the vulnerability of so many entrepreneurs. They're so focused on balling yep that they want to get out of crawling as fast as possible, thus rendering them never to be bawling totally totally.

I mean and not like when you're like saying Betty somebody like but I'm also sitting here I'm like yeah, but you love it too. Totally yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't feel like work I I Literally tell my team I'm like let's go in the lab like it's not coveted anymore. like I can go back on the bench and create formulas.

My team's all over me. I Don't want to run a time you're in Nordstroms When do you get into like yeah I'll give you the Twitter version I'll try Nordstrom Sephora At the same time worked as a makeup artist, worked on the sales floor. Eleven dollars an hour Nordstrom I was just hustling I was working like 50 60 hours because if I wanted something that's like, that's how I was able to pay cash, work in retail totally which was incredible. like like literally if it all goes away I'll go back to Sephora tomorrow I Love Sephora I Don't want to sell our products at Sephora but I love Sephora It was a great experience for me.

So I worked at Sephora always wanted to be in product development thank God I Didn't know that Clarisonic was right down the road from Bellevue Community College because I would have quit I literally would have quit Gary because I was like I'm gonna do product development I'm gonna do product development instead of doing my homework at night time for college I was literally getting a D in the most basic rocks for jocks classes like environmental science and nutrition because I was studying formulations at nighttime reading the Cosmetic ingredient dictionary. that's my life Yeah, totally. I literally like look raids in high school I Literally got a D in food survey Serbia like we would just sit and put food in the microwave. Let me give you some other D driver's Ed d how hard it is to get a D in driver's Ed like this is insane like I got a D in health? yeah yeah, like no same.

same. here's and all we had to do this. say out loud What? I got a D in in sophomore year speech D good for you Beach good for you. Think about how insane that is.

I am literally might actually get paid to do that like genuinely actually one of the most successful public speakers in the world right now. and I got a D in speech I get it, you were doing your passion yeah and just trying to get by. Yeah to because Maddie D said you just need it as a backup. Totally like it I will do that.

Yeah, totally like I went to night school like I was with her with 50 years old and I'm all right. so you're there because I wanted to get the whole thing. Yeah so then I so I I worked formulas but I got whatever job I could get at Clarisonic My first title was was marketing assistant and I was like okay I'll take this marketing assistant and tell everybody what Clarisonic is Clarisonic it was I mean it was iconic. it was Sonicare for your face yeah L'Oreal bought it and then they shut it down which is why I won't sell my brand.

Of course you love L'Oreal love L'Oreal Hamilton I love you but like you know, like I'm not doing that I literally cannot quit. These people who have like our customers are our greatest investors our giving Partners Let me completely switch the vibe from the youngsters on the come up to the people much further along. right here in this spot. When you so emphatically say I'm not gonna quit Betty Betty I Hear you No here.

This is actually a fun question because I Deal with this. Are you scared to ever get an offer that is so insane that it's going to put your back against the like. Do you realize when you're so emphatic publicly that I'm never gonna sell that it eliminates options that may matter to you when you're 43 57 16 Like how do you think about that I You know you understand what I'm saying. Oh, of course.

yeah. I mean how big of an offer you think I've turned down for this company? a billion dollar value? More commas that I can. Literally yeah, yeah, up some commas. Yeah yeah, that was yeah, but yeah.

but you're extremely in that Prime spot right now. So like the first nine years of Thrive Cosmetics were not as good as they are right now. No yeah, you're in a great like. you're in a fun spot right now.

Like the building up is the best. like when you're that person yeah the life cycles that you're still to go through May create scenarios where you may want the options and like I always think about like when I'm I basically tell my whole company if I ever sell Vayner you have to quit the next day because no matter what I say it won't be the same company totally. when you dig yourself in that hole I Always think about the mindset of that that's truly burning the boat. Yeah totally and I love it I I love it I didn't I didn't start this journey I mean I could I can walk you through every m a transaction that has that has happened since 2014.

I know all the numbers in my head of course all the numbers in my head and yeah I'm the industry baby like Lil Nas X uh so I uh uh I am the industry baby I started when I was 25. like and now I'm the industry like that's and but that's it's we are the industry. It's not me I get it and but what? So so first of all, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time. Love! But I am here to tell you that Carissa Bodner has turned down the offers that she would have thought when she was 10 years old, 13 years old 15 years old 25 years old.

Yeah yeah yeah I didn't If I sell I'm quitting. If I sell it's because I'm quitting because I don't think I can do it anymore. That's the thing it's it's like and I can't quit Betty I can't quit Raquel I can't nollie like like I I mean some of the people What was because I'm gonna run out of time. What was the what was the if I asked you why were you able to get this big? From a marketing product strategy standpoint, What do you think of the one or two bullet points that you saw in the last nine years that the competitive set did it maniacal Focus maniacal focus on formulation and giving back like I I've never wavered in that it's not a trend, right? We are not a trend.

We're not trying to trender. Yeah, like literally, that's who we are. The amount of people that have have said that this is a marketing Trend or whatever. Like like literally we develop our formulas from scratch.

You cannot the amount of time. Shout out to L'Oreal for buying Thrive Cosmetics products to try and reformulate them. At the lab that I worked at, we block those orders. we're 100 D to C I got turned down and also so so maniacal.

Focus You can drown an opportunity. We know that and an excellence in product and customer service. We're not perfect. Also also just knowing that we're not perfect and being willing to evolve and and like I mean bigger than Beauty skincare is a 40 reduction in the in the plastic that we have um from Thrive Cosmetics Because we've heard loud and clear we need to be more sustainable.

like I am only here because of our customers. You let you learned that at retail. I mean you listen and I learn every day. Of course I was but but I want to jump in here I apologize because I want people to hear this.

Going retail is a monster win because at Sephora and Nordstroms you learn very quickly that if you listen to them, you will sell them. but we don't sell at retail I Know you don't Yeah, but you're listening to your customers. Yes, Yes no no I know that you don't sell at retail but you sell product to Consumers But that's the thing with the beauty industry they listen to Sephora no disrespect to Sephora Love them Nordstrom They should not be driving your product pipeline. Your customers should you should.

and that is. That's the issue with all the other beauty brands. of course because for L'Oreal and Procter for all the biggest brands in the world, that's their distribution. The retailer has the leverage when you're DTC Nobody has leverage.

but you're a customer. Totally. you're not unless you're listening to your customer because you have no Choice yeah and also because it's a privilege. It's a privilege and it is a pleasure.

I Get some of the best ideas from our community. our giving: Partners have like. We literally developed a sunscreen with beauty to the streets. Uh surely uh rains she's she's a star.

You should have her on your show. She has literally humanized the population of Skid Row like and we get to do that together with her We she said Chris I Need a sunscreen I needed to be a bomb ass sunscreen too. So that's what we developed like filtered effects SPF 37 like that's that's literally what is happening with our giving partners and it's It's so magical and it's such a privilege. And for somebody who just wanted to work in the industry just wanted to develop products, the fact that I get to develop products give back literally.

We started a scholarship with Brianna Taylor's family and University of Louisville like how can I quit that how can I quit that Gary like how could I ever do that Like you said, you were tired and you decided to quit. but until then, you do it forever. Yeah, talk to me. Take a beat here because we're wrapping up what didn't we touch on that you want to touch on for the audience that you can literally be anything you want to be at any age like I was 25 years old and so many people were like who's running your company like I'm the only C-level executive Thrive Cosmetics has ever had like you can be whoever you want to this day.

Yeah, I'm I'm gonna hire you're scared to give somebody a C-suite item No, not at all no because I couldn't afford employees so literally yeah. but Gary like you can, you can throw bodies at a problem. but like I care I care about our company culture and it's been. It's been an ebb and flow.

and I and I I So I have a VP layer now and I'm working on building out the C-suite But like you can be whoever you want to be. You're never too young or too old to be who you or too old to be who you wanted to be like do you know? training with Drone On Instagram she's 77, didn't move her body until she was 70. she was overweight, couldn't move her body. she runs 10 miles per hour on the treadmill stories.

Yeah, unlimited. so it's like to me. that's so. that's my inspiration as train would jump and I want to be trained with Joan Okay so it's like for me I never want to stop grinding and I am so so driven by this beautiful community of Charities that we get to support and our customers because again I am only here because of them I Get it! So thank you for being on! Thank you so much Garyvee Foreign.