Elana Drell- Szyfer, CEO of ReVive Skincare, and Algenist and This Works board member joined me on the Reboot Chronicles to dive into what’s happening in the beauty industry.

A Startup Journey

ReVive Skincare was founded in 1997 by Dr. Gregory Brown, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who crafted the luxury skincare company. Before its founding, Brown spent most of his time dedicated to researching how to accelerate the healing process of burns on people’s skin. During the span of his research, he discovered restorative benefits to speed up healing damaged skin. Building on that research Brown built a solid foundation creating specially formulated products that rejuvenate customers changing skin behaviors. Elena calls it the “twenty-three-year-old startup” , because during its lifespan the company has been owned by Amway, while I was on their venture board, acquired by Shiseido and then acquired by private equity firm Tengram Capital Partners.

Corporates To Startups

With a long corporate career, Elena decided to make the switch to working with startups. Like me, she found that she really enjoys the challenge of working on startups. She worked with L’Oreal, Avon, Estee Lauder, and spent some time with Kenneth Cole. Before joining ReVive, she also worked with Laura Geller, where she learned the ropes. In 2017, Elena joined ReVive Skincare, taking on the role of CEO, where she rebooted the company instilling a strong sense of company culture, while keeping true to the company’s roots. For those of weighing the pros and cons of corporates vs. startups, remember to look for what will keep you professionally sustained and stimulated—while you balance Fun-Money-Purpose.