Ep. 114 Stop Trying To Rush Your Life: Why It’s Not Better To Achieve Everything Younger With Saie Founder Laney Crowell
Nov 18, 2024
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Laney Crowell, founder of the clean beauty brand Saie, shares her inspiring journey from film sets to disrupting the beauty industry. She discusses the pivotal role community feedback played in her brand's launch and the hurdles of fundraising. Balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood takes center stage, as she highlights the societal pressures women face. Laney emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, creativity, and mentorship in navigating the challenges of being a founder, while also reaffirming the need for personal fulfillment and work-life balance.
Laney Crowell emphasizes the importance of disrupting the traditional beauty industry by creating clean, non-toxic products tailored for modern consumers.
She shares her personal struggles and strategies for balancing the demands of being a founder and a mother amidst societal pressures.
Crowell highlights the significance of intuition and teamwork in entrepreneurship, advocating for a balance between external expertise and personal vision.
Deep dives
Disrupting the Beauty Industry
Lainey Crowell emphasizes the need to disrupt the beauty industry, which she believes has been dominated by large corporations focusing on traditional, non-toxic products. She founded the brand Say in 2019 with the intent to create clean beauty items that appeal to a modern audience, particularly driven by the growing demand for non-toxic and sustainable options. Notably, Say has garnered a substantial following on platforms like TikTok, showcasing a new wave of beauty brands flourishing outside the established corporate giants. This success exemplifies how consumer preferences are shifting towards transparency and integrity in beauty products.
Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship
Crowell shares her experiences in navigating the challenges of being both a mother and a founder, particularly as she embarked on her entrepreneurial journey shortly before having her first child. She highlights the complexities of managing time effectively, often feeling the pressure to excel both at work and at home. The discussion centers on the common challenges faced by working mothers, including burnout and the constant juggling of responsibilities, revealing the often unspoken reality that many entrepreneurs face. Crowell emphasizes the importance of finding a balance and recognizing the trade-offs involved in pursuing both a successful career and family life.
The Journey from Magazines to Beauty
Lainey Crowell recounts her journey from a passion for magazines to the beauty industry, which was influenced by her childhood experiences and education. Initially drawn to journalism and storytelling, she transitioned to beauty marketing and tech innovation within major brands before deciding to start her own company. Her background provided her with invaluable insights into beauty marketing, especially during the rise of social media, which would later inform her approach to developing Say. This evolution illustrates how personal and professional experiences can converge to create unique entrepreneurial pathways.
Importance of Gut Instincts and Team Support
Throughout the conversation, Crowell underscores the significance of relying on one’s instincts and the value of teamwork when building a business. She acknowledges that while hiring experienced professionals is essential, maintaining a strong connection with her vision and brand ethos is equally critical. Crowell's experience serves as a reminder that founders should balance leveraging external expertise with trusting their intuition when making major business decisions. This dynamic can shape a company culture that fosters creativity and innovation, essential for standing out in the competitive beauty market.
Navigating the Path of Investment
Crowell discusses the challenging process of raising capital to support the scaling of Say, sharing the intricacies of pitching to investors who often prioritize familiarity in their selections. She reflects on her experience during the funding rounds, describing the steep learning curve and the pressure of establishing credibility as a newcomer in the industry. Despite the difficulties, her determination and the foundational relationships she had built proved vital, ultimately leading to Say’s successful partnership with investors. This insight illustrates the critical role of perseverance, networking, and preparation in securing resources for entrepreneurial ventures.
Laney Crowell is a founder I’ve wanted to speak to for such a long time, so I knew I had to pin her down on my trip to New York.
She founded beauty brand Saie in 2019 after a five year stint at Estee Lauder that made her want to disrupt the industry, and to Saie (pardon the pun) it’s gone from strength to strength is an understatement. Laney’s career though was not an obvious entrepreneurial path - she started out on film sets, entered into the world of new york magazines, and even interviewed to be Anna Wintour’s assistant 7 times before landing what her dream role, leading social & eventually global communications for Estee Lauder. It was a big job, but she wanted even bigger, more disruptive things, which ultimately led her to Saie.
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LANEY:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laney/?hl=en
SAIE: https://saiehello.com/
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MY LINKS: https://gracebeverley.komi.io/
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