of Sports Illustrated, and starred in Las Vegas and The Carrie

Diaries—then quietly spent three years and over $2 million of her own

money developing a skincare brand nobody asked for. When she launched

YSE Beauty on April 24, 2023, she had no idea if it would work. It did.

The brand hit close to $30 million in revenue, is growing nearly 100%

year-on-year, landed an exclusive partnership with Sephora, and closed a

$15 million Series A with Silas Capital—all in under three years.

In this interview, Molly breaks down why she launched DTC before she was

ready, how she turned her podcast into a brand-building machine two

years before she had a product to sell, and the hard-won lessons on ops,

retail margins, and building a team that can survive when things go

wrong.

What you'll learn in this interview:

• Why Molly self-funded over $2 million of her own money into product

development—and the Christmas moment she nearly didn't

• How three years of testing 100+ formulas to solve her own melasma led

to genuine product-market fit in a crowded category

• Why she launched DTC-first and treated social media as her

brick-and-mortar before ever approaching a retailer

• How starting her podcast Lipstick on the Rim two years before launch

built the community and credibility that made YSE possible

• The ops reality nobody tells you: being sold out on five products

isn't a good problem—it's a sign of broken demand planning

• Why she sold the Home Edit show to Netflix in 2015—and how producing

taught her to spot talent and build content that converts

• The exact mindset she brings to Sephora: be raggedy, negotiate your

margins, and never just take what the retailer gives you

• How she chose Silas Capital over larger funds—and why alignment on the

customer is more important than the size of the check

• Why the third year of a brand is "disciplined growth"—and how she's

shifting from whack-a-mole survival mode to a three-year roadmap

• The hiring mistake most fast-growth founders make: assuming who got

you here will get you there

If you're building a DTC beauty or lifestyle brand, trying to navigate

the leap from direct-to-consumer into retail, or looking for the no-BS

truth about what founder-led growth actually looks like in year one,

two, and three, this conversation will fundamentally change how you

think about product, community, and when to jump off the cliff.

Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started.

WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS?

Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/operators⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER

Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+

Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?

→ Starting from scratch? Apply here →

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

→ Already have a store? Apply here →

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN

Instagram → ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠

LinkedIn → ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠

CONNECT WITH MOLLY SIMS

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mollybsims/

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/mollysims

Website → https://www.ysebeauty.com/

FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES

YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠