6 - Divya Gugnani, Wander Beauty

In our sixth Earned episode and second virtual interview, Conor chats with Divya Gugnani, co-founder and CEO of Wander Beauty, a digitally native beauty brand launched in 2015. Divya earned a B.S. at Cornell and an M.B.A. at Harvard, but claims her “hardest degree” was from the French Culinary Institute—though these reflect just a few of the serial entrepreneur’s many impressive endeavors. We dive into Divya’s “accidental” journey to entrepreneurship and the valuable lessons she’s learned along the way, before hearing how a chance encounter with Lindsay Ellingson (Wander Beauty’s co-founder and creative director) at a party led to the brand’s conception. Divya reveals how COVID-19 has forced a shake-up in the Wander Beauty’s “on-the-go” messaging and marketing strategies, and emphasizes the importance of listening to your community in difficult times. And of course, we also get to hear Wander Beauty’s approach to building long-lasting influencer relationships.