Shopify Masters How Kindness and Smart Scaling Built a $92 Million Skin Care Business
Nov 13, 2025
Dr. Brent Ridge, a physician-turned-entrepreneur and cofounder of Beekman 1802, shares how a crisis turned into a $92 million skin care brand. He discusses starting small with goat milk soap after the 2008 recession and the importance of kindness in business. Brent reveals strategies for gaining retail traction, like leveraging live goats for attention on TV. He emphasizes smart scaling, partner collaboration, and maintaining animal welfare, while also advising founders on navigating uncertainty and defining success.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Goats In The Mailbox Sparked The Business
- A neighbor asked to graze his goats on Brent and Josh's new farmhouse, which led them to start making goat milk soap during the 2008 recession.
- That act of kindness and necessity launched Beekman 1802 from dining-table soapmaking to millions of bars sold.
De-Risk Your Founder Launch
- De-risk launching during chaotic times by keeping a partner with steady income or maintaining a small, steady paycheck yourself.
- Manage risk intentionally instead of betting everything on a single early-stage idea.
Six Weeks At A Department Store Paid Off
- Brent cold-called luxury stores and landed a three-by-three table at Henry Bendel, selling soaps in-person every day for six weeks.
- That grind produced a Vanity Fair write-up and an Anthropologie account that scaled their brand nationally.
