The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan 623: $500K in Debt, 5 Maxed Credit Cards — How Jordan Harper Built an 8-Figure Brand in Year One
Jan 15, 2026
Jordan Harper, a nurse practitioner turned founder of Barefaced, shares her inspiring journey of building an eight-figure skincare brand in just one year, despite being $500,000 in debt. She reveals her clever strategy of using maxed-out credit cards and a unique pre-order method that generated over 1,000 sales in just 48 hours. Harper discusses the importance of simplifying product offerings to drive client trust and retention, emphasizing her approach to creating a 90% repeat customer rate while managing the chaos of startup life and motherhood.
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Bootstrapped Launch On Credit
- Jordan Harper funded Barefaced by maxing out five credit cards while already carrying about $500,000 of household debt.
- She believed in the product from years of clinical experience and used 0% interest cards to avoid outside investors.
Simplicity Beats Complexity
- Jordan identified a gap: patients spent on office treatments but lacked consistent at-home routines.
- Simplifying routines to "less but better" became her brand's core differentiator.
Validate With Pre-Orders
- Test demand with a low-cost pre-order and leverage your existing community before mass production.
- Use social proof from early buyers to validate forecasting and reduce inventory risk.
