Show Notes: In this episode of the Beyond Beauty Podcast, the host interviews Kaylee Lieffers, the founder and CEO of Blanka, a platform that aids entrepreneurs in launching and scaling beauty businesses. Kaylee shares her transition from management consulting to the startup world and the challenges she faced starting her own e-commerce beauty brand. These challenges inspired the creation of Blanka, which simplifies the process for independent brands by handling procurement, personalization, and fulfillment, allowing them to focus on sales and marketing. They also discuss the importance of community and narrative for brand success, the role of social media in gaining traction, and Blanka's future plans to support scaling brands and venture into custom formulation. Kaylee also mentions Blanka's integration with e-commerce platforms and their approach to dropshipping and financing. The conversation concludes with Kaylee providing contact information for Blanka and offering a promotional code for the podcast community. To help you kickstart your custom beauty brand, we’re giving you 10% off your first sample order with Blanka. Use code BEYONDBEAUTY10 at checkout at www.Blankabrand.com. About Kaylee: Kaylee is a start-up fanatic, ex-management consultant, and tech innovator. She is the Founder & CEO of Blanka, a disruptive platform that helps entrepreneurs launch and scale beauty businesses. In less than two years, Blanka became one of the top performing apps in the Shopify App Store and today has helped over 25,000 entrepreneurs start their businesses. Kaylee’s unwavering commitment to innovation and empowering other entrepreneurs has earned her a number of awards including Top 30 Under 30 and Top Female Founders to Watch in Canada. Timestamps: Kaylie Lee's background and Blanka's establishment (00:00:01) Kaylee's career transition, tech experience, and the inception of Blanka to support beauty entrepreneurs. Challenges of starting a beauty brand (00:01:47) Discussion on the difficulties faced by indie beauty brands, including formulation, manufacturing, and distribution. Evolution of Blanka's services (00:04:45) The development of Blanka's platform to simplify procurement, personalization, and fulfillment for emerging beauty brands. Integration with e-commerce platforms (00:11:57) Explanation of how Blanka integrates with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce for seamless order fulfillment. Customization and lifecycle involvement (00:09:34) Discussion on Blanka's private label service and its potential for custom formulations, as well as plans for continued involvement in brands' growth. Dropshipping and low minimums (00:15:06) Blanka's ability to facilitate dropshipping and its strategy of offering no minimums for seamless operations. Challenges and potential financing support (00:17:13) Insights into the challenges faced by early-stage brands and the potential for Blanka to explore financing support based on brand performance data. Key success factors and brand differentiation (00:19:52) Discussion on the importance of community focus, product narrative, and omnichannel approach for brand success. Success and Growth Strategies (00:21:55) The significance of a hero product going viral on social media, the need to build a collection of hero products, and the importance of nurturing a community for success. Supporting Established Beauty Brands (00:23:02) Blanka's role in supporting established beauty brands in scaling and expanding their product lines by providing complementary products and support. Venturing into New Verticals (00:23:22) The opportunity for successful beauty brands to test new products in different categories with low investment and quick market entry through collaboration with Blanka. Future Plans and Vision (00:23:50) Blanka's focus on nurturing and building relationships with scaling brands, custom formulation, and the vision of hosting the future Kylie Jenner on the platform.

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