Earned: Unlocking the Power of the Creator Economy

In Episode 26 of Earned, we chat with Marianna Hewitt, powerhouse influencer, podcaster, and co-founder of sustainable, fast-growing, and oh-so-Instagrammable skincare line Summer Fridays. We explore how being an influencer equipped Marianna to be a brand founder, and conversely, how being a brand founder has made her a more effective influencer. But first, we learn why Marianna, who now boasts over one million followers on Instagram, started her blog in 2014, and how she built her passionate fanbase before working as an influencer was an established career path. Marianna shares how the influencer landscape has since evolved, and we dive into Summer Fridays, which Marianna launched with fellow content creator Lauren Ireland in 2018. We hear how the pair’s lessons as influencers (and inadvertent consumer research) informed the brand’s development—including why Summer Fridays debuted with a single product, the hero Jet Lag Mask—and discuss the brand’s hypergrowth and continued success. Finally, we talk about Summer Fridays’ influencer marketing strategy, as Marianna emphasizes the importance of brand alignment and giving influencer partners creative freedom over their content.

In our 25th episode of Earned, Conor sits down with Melanie Bender, president of Versed, the “cleanest drugstore skincare brand out there” and one of the fastest-growing, too. We hear about Melanie’s non-linear path to the beauty world—from earning a degree in aerospace engineering, to sustainability consulting, to co-founding her own marketing agency—before diving into how she became the founding GM of Versed in 2018. We learn about Versed’s wild success since its launch, and Melanie shares how the brand’s community-first approach, along with its commitment to transparency and accountability, resonates with consumers and helps foster connections that are otherwise missing in drugstore skincare. Conor asks about the challenges that come with hypergrowth, and Melanie emphasizes the importance of growing “in the right way”—with purpose and longevity in mind. We then switch gears to marketing, as Melanie explains why Versed prioritizes its DTC channel despite its significant retail footprint, and reveals a few of the brand’s innovative marketing strategies. Finally, we explore Versed’s organic approach to influencer marketing, and the rise of its affiliate program.

In Episode 24 of Earned, Conor sits down with beauty industry titan Kory Marchisotto, CMO of E.L.F. Beauty and president of Alicia Keys’ skincare and wellness brand Keys Soulcare. We start the episode by discussing how various social media platforms like TikTok, Twitch, and Instagram are trending, before diving into Kory’s background. Kory shares her most important learnings from her nearly two decades of experience at Shiseido, as well as her time at French luxury houses like Jean Paul Gaultier and Hermès, before revealing that a lesson she learned from Issey Miyake—“only be interested in what you do not know”—motivated her to explore a new space and bring her luxury experience to a drugstore beauty brand like E.L.F. Beauty. We learn how Kory’s bias for action propelled E.L.F.'s early success on emerging digital platforms, and hear about E.L.F.’s influencer marketing philosophies. We close out the episode by discussing Keys Soulcare, and learn how the brand is redefining beauty and building a community of “lightworkers” to uplift others.

In Episode 23 of Earned, Conor sits down with Shelley Haus, CMO of consumer- (and brand-) favorite retailer Ulta Beauty. We start with Shelley’s journey from breakfast to beauty, and hear a bit about her time as marketing director for the Quaker breakfast portfolio before learning why she was drawn into the world of beauty. We then dive into Ulta Beauty’s evolution over the last few years, and Shelley shares how she and the team rethought the brand’s identity and value proposition to help bring Ulta Beauty to life and forge meaningful connections with consumers. We discuss how Ulta Beauty navigated the pandemic internally and externally, including the retailer’s transition to a full e-commerce business, and chat through the day-to-day of Shelley’s role as CMO. Additionally, we explore Ulta Beauty’s relationships with its brand partners, and how the retailer nurtures brand growth through beauty spend data and campaign exposure. Finally, we learn where Shelley sees Ulta Beauty going in the next five years (and of course, we talk about influencer marketing), before closing the episode with a sneak preview of the brand’s exciting new partnership with Target.

In Episode 22 of Earned, Conor chats with Calum Watson, Global Partnerships Director at cult-favorite (and rapidly growing) fitness apparel brand Gymshark. We start by discussing the innovative initiatives Gymshark launched to connect its community amid the pandemic, and how the brand leveraged the home workout trend to drive growth. We then dive into Calum’s background, and hear a little bit about his time running the influencer program at Myprotein, before jumping into his role at Gymshark. Calum shares some of the challenges and growing pains that he experienced in the face of the brand’s rapid growth, and reveals the humble qualities that allowed Gymshark founder Ben Francis to scale the business. We then learn more about Gymshark’s athlete ambassador program and hear Calum’s human-centric philosophies around nurturing genuine, long-term relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships with influencers. We also touch on Gymshark’s international community building strategies, and hear about the brand’s breakdown of organic and paid relationships, before Calum closes the episode by emphasizing Gymshark’s purpose and how “everything has to tie back to that purpose.”

In Episode 21 of Earned, Conor chats with Sasha Plavsic, founder of clean beauty brand ILIA Beauty, which achieved a jaw-dropping 400% year-over-year growth in sales in 2020. We start the episode by discussing the “major breakout year” for the brand, and learn about the “risks that led to great results,” including the launch of its popular Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40, pivoting to a DTC model amid the pandemic, and reappropriating its field team. We hear about the challenges that come with such rapid growth, and learn why Sasha decided to bring on Lynda Berkowitz as CEO. We talk about the importance of cultivating a great internal team and culture, before Conor and Sasha dive into ILIA Beauty’s mutually beneficial partnership with Sephora. Sasha explains why transparency is a core value for the brand, and reveals a few pages from the marketing playbook that launched ILIA Beauty to soaring success. Finally, Sasha discusses her influencer philosophy and the brand’s plans for a vaccinated future, before lending sage advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and brand builders.

It’s our 20th episode of Earned! In this special episode, Conor chats with the man behind some of the recent years’ biggest beauty deals: Shaun Westfall, Managing Director of the Consumer & Retail Group at Jefferies. We start the episode by discussing how COVID-19 has changed the market and affected how investors evaluate majority-offline versus DTC brands, before taking a step back and learning why Shaun, who graduated with a degree in engineering, pivoted to the finance world. We then dive back into business, and Shaun pulls back the curtain on the brand-selling process. He also gives advice to founders who may just be starting their businesses or are looking to sell, and reveals the major brand KPIs that investors and acquirers pay attention to. We discuss the importance of being a clean brand, as well as the rise of the professional “derm” brand and of estheticians as influencers. Conor and Shaun close out the episode by discussing the viability of the digitally native consolidator (like FORMA Brands) as a competitor to traditional strategics. According to Shaun, “the ability to disintermediate legacy shelf space has never been more apparent than today.”

In Episode 19 of Earned, Conor sits down with Scott Sassa, entertainment titan turned makeup mogul. Scott’s previous roles include President of Turner Entertainment, CEO of Marvel, and President of NBC Entertainment—to name a few—but he currently serves as chairman of influencer-favorite beauty brand Milk Makeup. Conor and Scott start the episode by discussing the future of the consumer landscape in a vaccinated world, before diving into Scott’s background and learning what initially drew him to the entertainment industry—where he worked his way up to running his own cable network at just 25 years old. We then discuss Scott’s first pivot away from entertainment into tech, and hear about his time as CEO of Friendster. Scott then shares why he decided to enter the beauty industry and lead the Milk Makeup team, and reveals the key factors he believes have guided the brand to success. Of course, we end the episode by talking about the role of influencers, and hear why Milk Makeup chooses to take the organic path when it comes to building influencer relationships.

New year, new Earned! In our first episode of 2021, Conor sits down with entrepreneur and brand builder Kevin Gould, founder of talent management firm and digital consulting agency Kombo Ventures, as well as the co-founder of three digitally native powerhouse brands that pulled in a combined $75 million in revenue last year: Insert Name Here, Glamnetic, and Wakeheart. First, we learn about Kevin’s background at talent agency WME (William Morris Endeavor), before hearing why he decided to start Kombo Ventures in 2012. Kevin then reveals how and why he began building consumer brands of his own. We learn how Kevin, who currently heads four different companies, stays focused, and he shares key strategies for building and scaling digital-first brands profitably. Conor and Kevin also discuss the importance of community building, and we learn Kevin’s philosophy on working with creators, and common mistakes he sees brands make in the influencer space. To close the show, Kevin describes the pivots his teams have made in response to COVID-19, and discusses how he is already planning for a future of live commerce.

In Episode 17 of Earned, Conor talks with Julia Straus, CEO of popular British activewear brand Sweaty Betty. Conor and Julia begin their conversation with a discussion of COVID-19’s impact on retail (which they firmly believe is “not dead”), and the pivots Sweaty Betty has made to adapt to the changing landscape. We then take a few steps back and learn more about why Julia first decided to pursue an MBA, and hear about her experience at popular jewelry brand BaubleBar. Conor and Julia then dive into why Julia sought to join the Tula team at the skincare brand’s conception and how she helped “build everything from scratch.” Julia shares Tula’s early approach to influencer marketing, and reveals the strategies that powered the brand’s success. They then switch gears to Sweaty Betty: Julia discusses what makes the brand different from the competition in the activewear space and why its female-empowerment focus first drew Julia to the role. As the head of a 700+ person company, Julia shares her leadership philosophies and her lessons learned from leading in a newly remote working culture. Finally, we learn how influencer marketing strategies differ between beauty and apparel, and Julia explains why Sweaty Betty prioritizes consistent, long-term partnerships with creators.