Building a Half a Billion Dollar Brand When the Odds Are Against You with Toni Ko, Founder of NYX Cosmetics

Toni Ko is the Founder of NYX Cosmetics and Bespoke Beauty Brands. At the young age of 24, Toni was inspired to launch NYX based on her own desire to buy quality cosmetics at a price she could afford. Fifteen years later, Toni sold her company to L’Oreal for a reported $500 million and instantly became one of America’s richest self-made women. 

We’ll talk to Toni about the personal sacrifices she made in her life and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur even when the odds are stacked against you. Toni shows us how being a college drop out, first generation immigrant and young woman in her early 20s was an advantage when it came to her dreams of starting her own business. 

In this episode, we’ll talk to Toni about: 

*How Toni’s childhood moving to the US from Korea & working from a young age taught her about resilience [4:20]

*Toni talks about why she decided to leave her family business to start NYX cosmetics [10:12]

*Wise words on why failure is a better option than never trying at all [12:55]

*Toni describes her first year starting the company and successfully bringing in $4 million in retail sales [15:10]

*Toni explains timeless business advice that allowed her to start & scale her company [16:45]

*What it means to be an entrepreneur & the power we have as women [20:15]

*How to still be successful entrepreneur even when the odds are stacked against you [23:35]

*Toni walks through her journey bringing on investors & selling the company to L’Oreal for $500 million [28:00]

*Toni describes life after becoming one of America’s richest self-made women & how she lost her sense of purpose [33:35]

*Toni shares how she personally overcame depression [37:20]

*Toni opens up about how she thinks about motherhood & her own personal journey [38:34]

*Toni discusses why her second business wasn’t a success & three key learnings [42:50]

*Toni talks about her latest company, Bespoke Beauty Brands [49:35]

Follow Toni:

*Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonikokoko 

*Website: https://bespokebeautybrands.com/

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*Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/

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