JU RHYU OF HERO COSMETICS
“Being proactive about it and identifying the companies and brands that you really like, then being crafty about how you pitch yourself, and emailing people about what you are interested in is really, really great.”
- JU RHYU
Ju Rhyu is co-founder/CEO of Hero Cosmetics. Hero Cosmetics was launched in 2017 with one product, Mighty Patch, as a test on Amazon. Now, Hero Cosmetics sells a box of Mighty Patch every 15 seconds on channels like Amazon, Target, DTC, Neiman Marcus, Goop, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and more.
She has been named to the Inc. Magazine 2019 Female Founders 100 list and was named a Yotpo 2019 Amazing Woman in E-commerce. She is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia Business School and splits her time between Paris and NYC.
What inspired you to start Hero Cosmetics?
I was living in Seoul, Korea, as an expat, and I was breaking out, most likely because of the change in the environment, the lifestyle change, and the stress that came with that. I noted that in Korea, women and men were wearing patches on their faces, and I ended up learning the patches were for acne. I went to a pharmacy, bought some to try out, and was just blown away by how well they worked. I tried them, so I knew how useful they were. I immediately thought, “why am I just learning about this product now? Why was this not available when I was a teenager? Why is it not more available?”
Then, I started to research, and I really felt like if someone did the marketing and had the education, [acne patches] could be a hip product in the United States. This was the light bulb moment where the concept of having the right branding, education, and position could turn this [product] into something. If I took this idea and repositioned it into a beauty product, I thought I could get into Sephora or the beauty section at Target.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Well, I live in Paris, actually, and the company is based in New York; Paris is six hours ahead of New York.
I spend a few hours in the morning just organizing myself, going through my emails, etc. Then, I usually pause mid-morning [around] lunchtime to go run errands, and am usually back online by 3 pm CET, which is 9 am New York time, and this is when I am available for calls and meetings. I typically work from 3 pm to 8 pm CET; I’ve gotten used to it because it’s what I’ve been doing for the past two years. For my cut off, I try not to take calls or meetings past 8 pm CET, which is 2 pm EST; on occasion, I know I have to, which is fine every now and then.
Afterward, I usually cook dinner – this is actually a good thing because the French eat really late, so eating at 8 or 9 pm is a typical dinner. My husband and I eat together and usually unwind in front of the TV and then go to bed. My schedule is kind of weird because I have to work early in the morning and then hit a pause.
Were there any specific challenges or advantages that came from being a female founder in the cosmetics industry?
I think there is a big push to support female founders. It’s a common question, and I usually say, if anything, I feel like being a female founder is very much in the news and people say “oh, women are underfunded” and “[investors] don’t look at their ideas because they don’t understand them” and things like that.
But for me, I actually felt nothing but support because I think there is a big push in general to support women and female founders. Also, in the beauty and cosmetics industry, most of the founders are women, just by nature of the product category, which is nice because I have a lot of friends who are women and who are peers. There are a lot of people in the industry who are my mentors, who help me out, and who ask questions. I think it’s a great place to be a female founder because unlike tech, it might be one of the places where female founders outnumber male founders. There is already a sort of history of supporting one another.
What are some books, podcasts, newsletters, or blogs that you’ve enjoyed and would recommend to our readers?
Of course, it depends on what you like, but I actually really enjoy Twitter – if you’re interested in business, Twitter is a great place. I kind of made a joke that Twitter is better than an MBA. I learn a lot from it. I think it’s a great place to learn quick nuggets from operators, founders, investors, and people like that.
If you’re interested in cosmetics and the beauty industry, BeautyIndependent is a really good read. They cover brands, and it’s always fun to see what other people are doing; they make it like a learning resource. If you’re starting a small indie cosmetic brand, it’s great because there are a lot of useful articles in there about how to find a vendor or what to do about PR, etc.
Medium is also a great thing to read if you are interested in general life or business; there are a lot of really interesting articles that you can learn from.
What advice do you have for college-aged women interested in entrepreneurship in the cosmetics industry?
It’s a really small world; once you get your start somewhere, a lot of people end up moving around the beauty-cosmetics industry. For example, you start at L'Oreal, and you work at Estée Lauder, then you work at Shiseido, and then Clarins. Once you get in, it’s very easy to move around. The key is getting your foot in the door and starting somewhere. It doesn’t have to be at L’Oreal or Estée Lauder, but it could be some small indie brand or it could be a medium-sized beauty brand.
I think internships are great. We’ve hired a bunch of interns and actually turn them full-time, probably like three to four. So internships are great. Proactively reaching out to brands that you really like is also great. The intern that we hired for the summer actually messaged me on LinkedIn and pitched me her background on what she was interested in. This is when we brought her into the interview process, and we really liked her. She became our summer intern. Being proactive about it and identifying the companies and brands that you really like, then being crafty about how you pitch yourself, and emailing people about what you are interested in is really, really great.
I think it’s important to also identify what you want to do because, in the beauty industry, there are a gazillion different types of roles you can enter in product development. You could go into corporate, you could be in marketing, etc. In regards to marketing, it’s so broad that it could be PR or social media or influencer outreach. There are a lot of different types of marketing, so I think at least narrowing down what you’re interested in is helpful.
The world is really small. So, again, once you get your start, it’s easy to move around. But also, the industry is really small. Having a good reputation is key because people definitely talk in this world.
What are your personal must-haves in your skin-care routine?
The double cleanse – I always do the double cleanse, which involved an oil-based cleanser and a regular cleanser; in addition to the patches, that actually transformed my acne when I was breaking out in Korea. I don’t know what exactly it was – if it was really dry and there was an imbalance, or if an oil sort of helped rebalance my skin barrier. It could be that I was sleeping with dirty skin because I wasn’t cleansing it properly. So, hands down, the double cleanse is always important.
I also use my GloPRO which is a micro-needling device; I’ve been using it every other day, and it creates micro-tears in your skin which allows products to absorb faster into your skin. Because it creates micro-tears in your skin, it forces your skin to regenerate.
I’ve also been using facial oil because my skin is dry; I need that extra boost of moisture.
Who is a woman leader or just a woman you look up to or inspired by?
Jaime Schmidt, who is the founder of Schmidt’s Naturals; Schmidt’s started out making deodorants and was sold to Unilever. I also really admire Toni Ko, who is the founder of NYX, which was sold to L’Oreal. She really inspires me. I really admire Jamie Kern Lima, who is the founder of IT Cosmetics, which was also sold to L’Oreal.
I think they all reached a level of success that I would really aspire to, and they were really smart about how they approach their business; I also love that they’re female founders. Jamie Kern Lima went to Columbia Business school, which is where I went too!
As a Columbia alum, are there any particular opportunities, courses, or organizations on campus or in New York that you felt prepared you for your eventual role as an entrepreneur? Or any general advice you would give Columbia students?
Yes, although business school is kind of different, I think Columbia’s location in New York is a huge advantage. You have so many companies at your fingertips for networking chats or internships; at Columbia business school, we had a lot of business speakers that came to campus, and I used to always go to them because I love learning from actual business leaders.
I think by virtue of being in the school or being in the city, you have a ton of opportunities at your fingertips. This may be different now because of Covid, but the city is like a playground. Take advantage of New York – Columbia alums that stay in the city are always happy to help out fellow Columbia students. I think networking and the fact that it is New York City where we have such amazing kind of business energy are the two things that for sure should be taken advantage of.