February 04, 2020

Ju Rhyu, founder of Hero Cosmetics

1 hour 2 minutes

About this episode

This week’s featured founder is Ju Rhyu, Co-Founder of Hero Cosmetics. Hero Cosmetics is an acne and skincare brand. Hero started out with the Mighty Patch, an acne patch which provides you with a real solution for pimple emergencies. When I mentioned to my 14-year-old daughter that I was interviewing the founder of the Mighty Patch, she knew exactly what it was.

Ju’s story really paints the picture of how someone can leverage their corporate career to build their own business. Ju’s career includes experience with big-box retail and direct-to-consumer experience. Both channel strategies she now employs with Hero Cosmetics.

Her journey is one of perseverance. Ju tried to bring Hero Cosmetics to market in 2013, but found herself overwhelmed with the cost to do so; so she tabled the idea. Does that resonate with you? Does the weight of what it will take to execute on your idea cause you to not execute? Well, then you are going to find some tremendous value in today’s conversation. This is Ju Rhyu’s startup story.

In this episode, you’ll hear

About her childhood, moving from Korea to the U.S. and how much of her entrepreneurial influence came from her dad.

Following high school and how she thought she wanted to be a doctor, but her parents dissuaded her from doing so because they knew it was a hard lifestyle.

Her experience attending Brown University and really struggling with what she wanted to become and how she finally landed on majoring in History and International Relations.

The path she wanted to pursue (marketing) but how she ended up working as a data analyst instead.

Her decision to attend Columbia Business School in New York, how she went on to intern at Kraft Foods in brand management and eventually working there full time after graduation.

About her time working at Kraft, being an intrapreneur, and her transition to product development at American Express, plus how she became Senior Marketing Manager for the brand

Her move to Korea as an ex-pat to work for Samsung Card and how that period in her life was challenging, yet it is also when she first discovered the Mighty Patch

Traveling back to the U.S. following her time in Korea, she began to seriously pursue the idea of bringing the Mighty Patch to market in the U.S., some of the plans she made and how (and why) she ultimately tabled the idea for four years

The launch of Hero Cosmetics in 2017, Ju describes the pre-launch, the steps she and her team made to bring it to market, and her initial sales strategy

How the brand began to gain momentum, grow, and expand.

Some advice from Ju for any founders with a consumer product idea, who found something overseas, they have exclusivity in the US and want to bring the product to market

“Fundamentally everyone can be an entrepreneur, but not everyone will have the ability to withstand the hardships that come with it.” – Ju Rhyu, Hero Cosmetics

Resources from this episode

Creedon: Legal partners you want as you build your business and brand. Listeners get a 30-minute brand consultation + $200 discount on a trademark application. Visit http://creedonpllc.com/startupstory

Brex: The credit card specifically for startups. Visit http://www.brex.com.

Listeners, use code StartupStory and get fees waived for life!

Hero Cosmetics: https://www.herocosmetics.us/

Hero Cosmetics on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herocosmetics/

Ju Rhyu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurhyu/

The Startup Story is now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jamesmckinney

The Startup Story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupstory/

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EPISODE CREDITS

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Contact him today at https://emeraldcitypro.com/startupstory

Special Guest: Ju Rhyu.

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By James McKinney