Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in cosmetics but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Victoria Ha, CEO and co-founder of Match My Makeup, located in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Match My Makeup is a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform in the beauty technology space. The tool helps users find their colour match in any foundation, concealer, powder by using proprietary algorithms and a purely scientific approach. Soon to launch into other colour cosmetics such as lipsticks, this tool has helped over 5 million people confidently shop for cosmetics online, in a space that was traditionally reserved for bricks and mortar stores.
Tell us about yourself
The idea for Match My Makeup came about from a frustrating experience I had ten years ago. As a makeup enthusiast and hailing from Sydney, Australia, where Sephora did not exist yet, I found myself in makeup heaven when I moved to the Silicon Valley for work in 2006. With my sister still in Sydney and unable to get her hands on the latest makeup, she said to me one day as I was trying to buy her a foundation that was not available in Australia, “I’m a Bobbi Brown in Sand, can you find the equivalent shade?” Easy! I thought until I found myself running between Bloomingdales and Sephora with countless makeup swatches on my arm, trying to match a foundation that would interact with my sweat and ultimately change colour as I got to Sephora.
This frustration was the catalyst to a ten-year journey of research, analysis, and database building to become the Match My Makeup that is today. The entrepreneurial journey comes with so many emotions. Being the most introverted person you will ever meet, there are many moments of self-doubt and insecurity but what gets me past these moments is the thought that if I am able to help one person buy a foundation online using this tool, then I have served my purpose. Of course, the bar then raises, and my mind starts to dream of ideas to make the tool better for the 1 and 2 users to hundreds of thousands of people that use the tool today. It’s the desire to improve the tool, iterate, and innovate that motivates me and pushes me way past my comfort zone.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment to date is the fact that an idea that was spawned from my brain ten years ago is now being used by some of the world’s largest retailers. When I started this, it was the first in the world. Slowly competitors have come, but competition is what makes Match My Makeup better and not so complacent. Competition ultimately leads to better products and more innovation, and that’s what it’s all about – making the best product that are useful for people.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
There are many challenges you face as a business owner. For me, the biggest one was challenging my self-doubt. I had a perception at the beginning that successful entrepreneurs were extroverts, great public speakers, born leaders, quick on their feet, and able to answer questions fired at them so articulately and eloquently. You see the likes of Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Sheryl Sandberg as role models and feel like those are the traits you need to possess to ‘make it.’ To be honest, I am the total opposite of that. I am awkward in interviews, introverted to the extreme, hate confrontation, and feel nauseated at the thought of public speaking. I am not going to lie. I am still like that and have to push my boundaries continually.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- There will be lots of doubters and people who laugh at your idea in the beginning. Head down, earphones on, and keep persevering as hard as it is sometimes. Think about each and every other person that has walked this journey before you. They would have most likely experienced the very same thing.
- Not everyone you meet on your journey who promises to help you is worth giving away a portion of your company. I made the mistake of trusting almost everyone that came to me, and they either cleaned you out of your money or wanted so much equity that you are left with nothing. As you build and people become aware of your business, you will attract more sharks. Not to say that everyone is a shark but be careful on who you decide to let into your company as you need to be aligned.
- You rarely make it on your own, so be grateful to the people who have helped you build the business and the people who have stayed by your side through the high points and especially the low points. It’s okay if you can only count these people on one hand because that’s all you need.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.matchmymakeup.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matchmymakeup/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matchmymakeup/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/matchmymakeup
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/matchmymakeup/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.
