Female Founders: Jamie O’Banion of BeautyBio On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Assume the good. With so much written communique in today’s work environment, it can be a challenge to read tone. I’ve always lived under and asked our team to picture a smile on the face of whomever wrote communication they read as they are digesting it. Truly changes everything when assume the good and remember that typically everyone has the same goal and trying to accomplish that objective. We all have bad hair days, especially when under stress or on deadline for something, and while we should always seek to be the best version of ourselves, I think dosing out a little extra grace to everyone is always a good idea.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jamie O’Banion.
Jamie O’Banion is Founder and CEO of BeautyBio, a clean, clinical skincare brand sold globally at retailers such as Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom and Harrods. BeautyBio has received Allure’s coveted Best of Beauty award, CEW’s Best New Beauty Tool, Cosmopolitan Beauty Award, Town & Country magazine award for prestige beauty and a New Beauty Award. Highlighted by Forbes as one of four female entrepreneurs to watch, Jamie has also been featured in The New York Times, Time magazine, The Robb Report, InStyle magazine and Town & Country.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I’m a total nerd at heart and have always loved science. My father is a physician and owner in one of the top labs in the US and I grew up with prototype products and ingredients literally filling the shelves of our refrigerator. I was recruited to start modeling as a teenager and ended up with a very unique lense working with some of the top makeup artists and skincare gurus in the country — almost a simultaneous behind the microscope and in front of the camera upbringing — a unique full circle perspective to say the least. On the R&D side of the business, I had the disappointing experience of working on new raw materials that I saw used in only fairy dust amounts by top brands we worked with. I personally felt this was wrong and committed to develop an edited, clean, performance brand consumers could count on from someone who literally grew up in the industry.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
This is a hard one! Too many to count. The most interesting was probably the most intense. I remember being in Europe for our launch in Germany and getting off a conference call around 1 AM (time change in Europe allows you to work two full biz days — which is super-efficient but also demands long days) and jumping off the call because I needed to leave for the airport at 4 AM for a launch event for Harrods in the UK. I was turning off the lights and accidentally left the door ajar to the powder bath and walked right into the corner of the door. I instantly knew I had split my brow open and would need sutures. I spoke not a word of German, needed to find someone skilled enough to help properly suture (preferably a plastic surgeon), get dressed one-handed to hold pressure on the bleeding and hold myself together! Lol! Lots of angels watching out for me because I was able to make it to the only hospital with a plastic surgeon on call (ended up in a taxi with a driver who spoke zero English and it was literally his first day of being a driver — another story for another time) and he did a beautiful job. I changed my pickup location from the hotel to the hospital and made my 4 AM call time and the flight to London. Upon landing, I swept my hair to the side with a deep part, took some Tylenol and made it to the launch event, which was gratefully a success. Everyone should have a personal power statement — mine is Make It Happen. There will always be more reasons why something can’t get done than why it can be accomplished. Takes the same amount of energy to focus on solutions than problems, so create a mental path forward, focus and make it happen.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I remember the first time I went on live national television on HSN years ago and had ZERO idea what I was doing. If you’ve ever seen the movie Joy, you’ll know the moment I’m talking about. The lights come on, there isn’t a script or a teleprompter and all you see is the live sales counter at 0 units. All I could think to myself was “Please to the heavens, let my mother, my best friend — someone tune in right now!” I took a deep breath and literally pretended the camera was one of my friends and just started sharing what I love and know. All of a sudden, the counter starts to double then triple and within our first 12 minutes on air we are completely sold out. I was speechless, beyond grateful and to this day I do not watch/study other people on air, prepare a script. I’ve found in every scenario, if you just speak from the heart the rest will follow.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My dad! I watched him work crazy hours and never settle for less than the best of himself. He taught me that I could do hard things and I developed my love of science from him. I remember traveling with my father over to one of his partner labs in Germany and in Singapore as a teenager (and he kindly let me attend meetings with him) and observing which skincare concerns seemed to be universal and those that were more unique to a particular market. These years of “spongehood” have served invaluable to me as we have rapidly expanded into international markets. Life leaves you breadcrumbs that in the moment feel like isolated, disconnected fragments, but in hindsight it’s clear how each prepare and weave together into an incredibly beautiful tapestry. I believe everyone has a unique purpose and I’m grateful to get to fulfill what I believe is mine.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
It’s an important question to ask. I remember standing on stage as the only woman in a group of male recipients when I received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award and having the exact same thought. Is it a function of fewer females seeking funding or simply they are not viewed as comparably “investable” as their male counterparts? I’ve spent some time diving into the numbers and recently shared my POV on a female-focused panel at SxSW. I’m convinced the reason for the delta begins at the investor level. Here is the reality.
Only 12% of decision makers at VC firms are women and most firms don’t have a single female partner. Concurrently women are twice as likely to invest in female-led businesses. If we are to see additional funding flow to females, the data tells us we need more female leadership at a senior level in the venture and private equity investing worlds. Only 2.3% of VC funding went to female-led businesses in 2020 down from 2.8%, which was sadly an all-time high. Startups with a female founder fill their staff with 2.5X more women. Our team at BeautyBio is 90% female, including on our executive leadership team. We can do better; we must do better.
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
Seeing is believing. Believing begets action and action brings change. Female mentorship has never been more important to help aspiring founders to see a clear path forward and believe they can also achieve success. We need more female-founded funds and male-founded funds with female leadership to actively pursue ESG initiatives with clear allocation dedicated to female-founded businesses. Pitch meetings are taking more seriously when established investment criteria in place and ultimately forces change.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Absolutely. Here’s the reality. The minds of women and men are 99% the same, but the 1% difference between them explains why women make such powerful leaders. Studies show that a female’s frontal cortex, responsible for problem solving, is larger than in a man. Meanwhile, a male’s amygdala, which regulates the ‘flight or fight’ reaction, is bigger. The prefrontal cortex (or the CEO of the brain) makes decisions and inhibits rash behavior, which may be why women tend to have a longer fuse than men. The frontal cortex is fatter and more complex in women and some neuroscientists believe women are hard-wired to be better decision makers and problem solvers. As such, women are quite literally anatomically designed to be superior leaders. Men make phenomenal leaders as well and I genuinely feel the best leadership contains all points of view, but it makes a case for women to feel empowered and know that they have everything they need within them to become a powerful founder if she so chooses.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
That it’s all glamourous! We see the glossy parts of the business — the awards, the big moments, the highlight reel — but rarely do you see the 14-hr workdays, changing into evening gowns in random Starbucks bathrooms, airplane after airplane, dealing with hurricanes that damage inventory on the water, supply chain, team building successes and failures, on and on. The grit and commitment required is daunting and I would bet most any founder would say if had been laid out in front of them -fully raw- most humans would be reticent to sign up. However, growth never happens without discomfort and growing BeautyBio has been one of the most challenging, humbling yet rewarding experiences I’ve ever had the opportunity to experience. Just because someone has a big title does not mean they only get to do the big jobs. I have pulled more all-nighters as a CEO than I ever did as a college student and spent the majority of several years on a plane, but I wouldn’t be who I am today without these experiences and I have the deepest of respect for others who are also building. There’s enough room for everyone in the sandbox and I firmly believe empowered women empower women.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
Excellent question. I think anyone is capable of doing anything they are passionate about, but I do think certain individuals contain traits that make it more naturally frictionless to succeed as a founder than others. The key attributes of a successful entrepreneur, in my experience, are 1) Resourcefulness (there will always be more reasons why something can’t be accomplished as per above than why it can be achieved) 2) Ability to pivot 3) Openness to feedback (founders can often be their own stumbling block if you aren’t willing to listen to altenative POVs — be it the board, your team or conusmers) 4) Grit (gotta be able to dig deep on the hard days and during the messy middle) 5) Optimism. As a founder you have to be wired to be eternally optimistic to allow your mind to explore the best path forward. There is always another door, window or crack to pivot towards.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
This can probably be best summarized in a few of the golden rules we have established at BeautyBio as I wish I would have functioned under them in my early years — would have saved an enormous amount of stress and resource depletion.
- Trust but verify. This is an old proverb that will serve you well 10/10 times. Takes far less energy on the front end to prevent a problem than play clean up in real time. No assumptions. (EG — Don’t assume the inventory shipped on time in good condition, set up an SOP to verify and then confirm. Things rarely go exactly as planned so put basic check points in place to mitigate fallout).
- Assume the good. With so much written communique in today’s work environment, it can be a challenge to read tone. I’ve always lived under and asked our team to picture a smile on the face of whomever wrote communication they read as they are digesting it. Truly changes everything when assume the good and remember that typically everyone has the same goal and trying to accomplish that objective. We all have bad hair days, especially when under stress or on deadline for something, and while we should always seek to be the best version of ourselves, I think dosing out a little extra grace to everyone is always a good idea.
- Begin with the end in mind. I always tell the team — We’re all on a metaphorical bus and there are only two choices — you’re driving it or it’s driving you. Plan, consider the outcome and then roadmap accordingly. In my experience things don’t just magically work themselves out or come together without intentional, deliberate choices.
- Think three chess moves ahead. Decision making is far simpler w
- Deliver net impact. Decision making is far simpler (and faster) when one delivers the overall net impact when communicating versus partial nuggets. For example, instead of saying to a team member, “Hey can you please ship out these units to retailer XYZ this week,” I would recommend saying, “Hi! Hoping we can prioritize getting these units out or we will absorb a $2mm liability and miss our quarter.” Totally different message yet same action request. Providing context is EVERYTHING!
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Emblazoned above the glass board in our team meeting room are three words that embody our brand’s philosophy “Truth in Beauty”. Every decision we make should go back to delivering truth in the very cloudy beauty space to our Glommunity. At our core, our goal is educating and empower our community to seek truth and then live their own for a healthy, happy life.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Great question! As a mother of daughters (and a fantastic son), I hope that I can help every young female dreamer know that anything is possible. You get 0% of the chances you don’t take. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Someone says no? You pick yourself up and try again. I hope that we can create a movement of unity, community and encouragement among women. I don’t know why there is a tendency to not share, to compete or to judge particularly among women. Think how many women that could have contributed in incredible ways don’t because they feel minimized by other women around them. Let’s celebrate each other, come together and lift! All tides rise. Attended the Women Work F-ing Hard event in NY last week and that is the entire ethos. Love organization like that.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Probably Reese Witherspoon. I’ve been really impressed with how she seems to live at the cross section of creativity, business and philanthropy. Love how she empowers and inspires other women and would be an interesting convo to sit down for a cup of sweet tea together. We’re both southern gals for sure.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Jamie O’Banion of BeautyBio On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.