Today's guest is Alli Reed, founder of the skincare company Stratia Skin. You just heard one of the problems that Alli had with trying to buy skincare products from other companies. Her reading of the label to figure out what ingredients were in the product is not an anomaly. She obsessively pored through dermatology journals trying to figure out exactly what the skin needs to look its best and what it doesn't. She blogged about her findings and eventually made her own moisturizer. After many tweaks and even more feedback, this moisturizer hit the market and became the breakout item that put Stratia on the map. But to think the story stops there would be to blemish the journey and the hard-won knowledge and experience that Alli earned along the way.

Listen in as we cover everything from her hiring practices and tips, why she doesn't find raising money to be too challenging, and how she knew Stratia was going to be more than just a part-time gig when she forced her local USPS to upgrade their mailbox.