Earned: Unlocking the Power of the Creator Economy

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.

In Episode 16 of Earned, Conor chats with Reuben Carranza, CEO of influencer-beloved skincare brand Kate Somerville, and former president of cult-favorite haircare brands R+Co and Olaplex. We dive into Reuben's learnings from his 24-year corporate career at P&G, and hear how and why he transitioned to leading a small, independent brand like R+Co—and the challenges he faced. We gain more insight into the success behind R+Co and the rest of parent company Luxury Brand Partners' portfolio, before learning why Reuben joined Olaplex's team and how he helped double the brand's business in just one year. Reuben then reveals his leadership and marketing philosophies, and shares the four most important questions for DTC brands to keep in mind. Conor and Reuben close the episode by discussing influencer marketing at Kate Somerville, which Reuben deems the "biggest key to [the brand's] success so far." We learn about founder Kate Somerville's active role in fostering relationships with influencers through her clinic, and hear how the brand's genuine "heart-to-heart connection" with its influencer family has become even more important in the COVID era.

In our fifteenth episode of Earned, Conor sits down with Toto Haba, SVP of global marketing & communications at Benefit Cosmetics. We learn how Benefit's unconventional marketing approach and "laughter is the best cosmetic" mantra attracted Toto, who previously worked in the technology and consulting and digital advertising industries, to the brand. The two discuss why Benefit is well-positioned in the new, face mask-donning world, and learn more about the brand's global marketing strategy, including the importance of local teams bringing the brand to life in local markets. Toto explains why he works to cultivate a failure-friendly company culture, and unpacks his 75/25 goal of company failures to successes. We also learn what a typical day in Toto's role looks like, why he's fascinated with the Chinese market, and how he believes the influencer space has evolved in recent years. Toto divulges why Benefit is focusing on the rising class of Gen Z content creators, and reveals the brand's philosophy behind building organic influencer relationships.

In Episode 14 of Earned, Conor chats with Amanda Baldwin, president of influencer-favorite sunscreen brand Supergoop! We learn how Amanda, who won "most likely to become a Fortune 500 CEO" at Wharton, went from being an investor on Wall Street to falling in love with the beauty world—an industry she admires for being driven by evolution and innovation. Amanda emphasizes the importance of an "always be learning" mindset, and reveals what drew her to working at a smaller brand. We dive into mission-driven organizations and how Supergoop!'s mission to educate people about the importance of SPF is powerfully changing consumer behavior. Conor and Amanda also discuss Supergoop!'s marketing strategies and Amanda divulges why she prioritizes the brand's internal culture as much as external brand operations. We learn a few of Supergoop!'s leading values, and Amanda shares how she aligns building a 100-year brand with short-term investment horizons. Finally, the pair talk influencer marketing, and Amanda shares how Supergoop!'s team values human-to-human relationship building, while also compensating influencers for their work.

In Episode 13 of Earned, Conor sits down with Michael McNeil, VP of Integrated Marketing at Huda Beauty. We learn how Michael, who majored in political science and pre-med at LMU, took a hard left turn after college to get his "PhD in beauty" by joining a then-small cosmetics brand known as Anastasia Beverly Hills. Michael, who eventually became Director of Marketing at ABH, shares insight into the early days at the brand, and divulges the key to its explosive growth: building and nurturing a digital community. We dive into how Michael and ABH "invented what beauty marketing looks like today," and learn Michael's philosophy behind fostering a community of genuine, long-term brand fans. Michael emphasizes the power of embracing your competitors and communicating to consumers in "the language they already speak." We also hear about Michael's experience transitioning to (and powering growth for) Huda Beauty, working with brand founder and mega-influencer Huda Kattan, and creating a global brand—with influencers at the forefront. Finally, Michael lends his advice on how brands can productively address negativity and controversy, and put their communities first.

In Episode 12 of Earned, Conor sits down with Riccardo Pozzoli, esteemed entrepreneur, investor, and influencer himself, as well as co-founder of the mega-popular fashion blog The Blonde Salad. We learn why Riccardo decided to create The Blonde Salad with Chiara Ferragni at a time before the blogosphere and social media—and of course, influencers—were in style. We hear how the pair grew the site into the powerhouse platform and their learnings from the experience, and Riccardo shares why he eventually left the company in 2017 to pursue his own entrepreneurial endeavors. Riccardo dives into his business philosophies and why he favors the "long-term" strategy, and also divulges his approach to working with brands as an influencer himself. Riccardo then lends advice to brands on how to maximize their influencer strategy, and reveals the key characteristics he looks for in leaders when deciding whether to invest in a company.

In Episode 11 of Earned, Conor chats with David Benayoun and Adam Bohbot, co-founders of fast-growing, carbon neutral jewelry brand Ana Luisa. In the episode, Adam and David reveal their fateful meeting sharing a cab to a nightclub in Shanghai while both attending business school at EMLYON. After pursuing different career paths post-graduation (Adam entered the VC world before joining an influencer marketing software company, while David dove into e-commerce and jewelry design and manufacturing), we learn why the two decided to leverage their complementary skill sets and create Ana Luisa in 2018. Adam and David discuss the challenges of entering a market they did not grow up in, and share their experience taking outside investments. They then give insight into Ana Luisa's unique weekly product drop strategy, and divulge their product co-creation process with influencers—a pillar of the brand's DNA. We learn more about how the brand's YouTube strategy powered hyper growth, the inventory planning challenges that resulted, and why Adam and David prioritize influencer partners' "value fit" over follower count.