Startup Spotlight #136: Embody

Embody's skin care doesn't have a single moisturizer or serum because we know that beauty starts from within.

Jun 30, 2021

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I got the chance to speak with Jennifer Chung, co-founder and CEO of Embody, about what she’s working on at her startup, and any advice she has for emerging entrepreneurs.

Jennifer Chung is a former beauty queen turned beauty entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience in the ingestible beauty space. After leading her family cosmetics business to multimillion-dollar success, she set out to create a brand that joined her Eastern upbringing of herbal remedies with modern Western science to create "beauty from within" products that actually work.

So many people take the first step on their skincare journey and it goes on for a lifetime. It starts with one bottle and then as we go through different life stages, we need different things, more of this, less of that, extra of this, none of that. One bottle becomes hundreds of empties (and fulls) that get tossed out in frustration. But what if we told you that it actually just starts and ends with what's inside? The human body is a beautiful thing and your face reflects it all. We are Embody and we make skincare delicious.

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Startup Spotlight: Embody

Problem: There are simply too many skincare products on the market. It’s hurting our skin, it’s draining our wallets, and it’s wasting our time.

Market:

Solution: Embody replaces costly serums, creams, and treatments with a single gummy, saving customers hundreds a year with our simple, effective skincare multivitamins that treat your skincare concerns from the inside out. Our minimalist approach to skincare is kinder to your skin, lighter on your wallet, and tasty to boot.

Team: Embody’s bootstrap team is comprised of founder Jenn Chung & friend Alexis Starling who came together through their love of skincare and frustration with the beauty industry to create a simpler skincare routine. They are supported by the talented teams at LaunchPop and B.Good PR!

Recent Success:

Chung: We are incredibly proud of our customer service successes. When we first launched, we sold out our entire inventory 3 weeks before our official launch date. By the time launch rolled around, we were back-ordered all the way through August. It was also the beginning of the pandemic and supply chains were severely impacted. Within that time, customers became frustrated by the extended wait. Our strategy was to be completely transparent about what was happening and empathetic about the customer’s frustrations. It worked, and we retained more than 99% of those orders! We’ve applied the same strategy ever since and have a more than 60% returning customer rate as a result.

Recent Struggle:

Chung: Supply chain management, especially during Covid, has been a learning curve, to say the least. In previous ventures, I worked with a very different customer base who didn’t mind pre-orders, back-orders, etc. I was able to order what I needed as I needed it without a lot of planning. That was not the case with embody. Learning how to forecast sales, prepare for purchase orders, and manage cash flow at the same time has been a major learning experience.

Founder Advice:

Chung: Find time for you! It’s so easy to get caught up in the “hustle” mindset, but if you don’t take time to relax, recharge, and unplug you’ll burn out and your business will suffer for it. Set boundaries with yourself and your team to allow for work/life balance and designate time for you to get your work done without interruption. One of my favorite tools is Slack, and I encourage my whole team to utilize the notification schedule to block notifications during off-hours!

Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Chung: Here are three founders you should check out next!

Carrie Sporer and Meredith Krill, Founder of Swair Hair: SWAIR creates revolutionary hair products made from safe, high-quality ingredients for active people.
Lynda Truong, Founder of Love and Pebble: Love & Pebble’s core belief is that your skin is a miracle and it is beautiful.
Felicity Chen and Christine Yi, Founder of Potli: Potli promotes healthy living by creating high-quality, cannabis-infused kitchen staples for everyday use.

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