How I won $1.3 million in first-round funding

What was the attraction for them?

It’s really the opportunity we see in how quickly we can grow, and considering what our global competitors are doing. What we’ve seen in Australia with the beauty box concept…when we first launched there were 10 others putting out lovely sales presentations. We quickly saw them fall away, and I think we have experience in doing what works. We were able to talk to these investors on a similar level about that.

It’s a volume business, so for them the fact we got to our numbers organically without any marketing spend was great. They could see the opportunity here to really grow this thing. I don’t want to say it’s a goldmine, but these guys understood we have the basics right, and said they could bring us a lot of cash to help us grow and help that multiple increase.

They invest globally, they see what works, so for them it’s exciting to bring a global concept to their shores and be involved in a digital enterprise.

What’s been the biggest challenge so far for you?

I worked in New York, and I would buy things online from shops that were three blocks away. Then I’d come back to Australia and buy something from an Australian clothing line. I had to email them three weeks later and ask where my order was.

As people become more and more time poor, they need to trust you before they buy from you. Once they do trust, you’re in. But it’s hard.

Are the investors pretty hands-on?

They’re actually quite hands on, and that’s why we wanted partners. They’re experts in beauty marketing and logistics. They’re nice guys as well. I must admit one of the first meetings I had with eight of them in our office, our office is a little 1990s yellow hideous thing, and when they came in I was a little mortified. I knew we needed to make it work. But they’re really approachable guys, and they want us running the business. We’re part of the deal – we don’t get to run away, and we’re not going to. They’re constantly helping us out, and we talk all the time.

And so what do you plan to do with the money now?

So the money will go into marketing, the site will undergo a little bit of a redesign. We want to make sure it’s a global player, and also, hiring. We’re working on the website to get it running better. And then from there it’s just about growth.