Ashli Templer | Founder of Yours Only

Jessica Sepel | Founder of JSHealth Vitamins

In episode 129 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of JSHealth Vitamins, Jessica Sepel.

Top level- at age 27 or 28, Jess Sepel and her now-husband Dean bootstrapped JSHealth Vitamins, which they launched in 2018, and it is now worth a reported $600 million, is available in 1800 retail stores in Australia, over 1000 in the UK, and has experienced 300% year-on-year growth in US. If that’s not interesting to you, I’m not sure what will be.

More interesting than that, however, is Jess’ story from childhood to now- I was a bit floored by how open and vulnerable she was. Jess tells me that she always felt what she describes as a “weird, gravitational pull towards vitamins,” collecting them as a teenager like I might have collected Lip Smackers, and while her initial interest in wellness began as innocent, she soon fell into spiral of fad diets and an obsession with her own weight.

Jess got herself healthy and well, and then started documenting her journey in the form of a blog. That blog had about 20,000 readers within a couple of weeks of going live, the blog became an e-book, then an 8 week program was launched and then, in 2018, Jess and Dean launched JSHealth Vitamins with absolutely no intention of making waves within the industry- as Jess explains, they just wanted to create a sense of community. 

In this conversation, Jess shares what she feels it is about her approach to wellness that is resonating with so many people that a bottle of JSHealth Vitamins now sells somewhere in the world every 10 seconds, how she was scammed before bringing a single product to market, and how she physically went about launching a vitamin brand into such a heavily saturated market.

Read more at glowjournal.com

Follow Jess on Instagram @jshealth.

Follow JSHealth Vitamins @jshealthvitamins.

Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected]

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Jo Malone CBE | Founder of Jo Loves

When I first started planning season 1 of this podcast, that I thought would be a mini series, back in 2018, I wrote a list of dream guests- bucket list, beauty industry stalwarts whose brains I wanted to pick. Jo Malone was, of course, on that list, and on her most recent trip to Australia last month, we made it happen.

Jo’s story is unlike any other, and while we all know her name, I don’t believe as many people know her story as well as they probably should. Jo grew up in South East London and following a very, very early introduction to the beauty industry, she discovered her sense of smell was a bit of a superpower. She built her own brand, opened her first store in 1994 and sold that brand to Estée Lauder in 1999 while staying on as Creative Director. 

In 2003, Jo was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, and although she beat it, she completely lost her superpower- her sense of smell. She chose to exit the brand in 2006 and, exactly one month into a five year non compete, her sense of smell returned. Following what she describes as probably the hardest five years of her life, she launched Jo Loves in 2011- her second global fragrance brand and one she describes as bringing the best parts of herself to the world. 

This was so, so special for me, I’m so grateful to have had this time to physically sit down with Jo- no one tells her story like she does and I hope you love hearing it as much as I did. 

In this conversation, Jo shares why she has her father’s work as an artist to thank for introducing the Jo Loves brand to a new generation, why we can thank a woman named Doris Hilderbaker for Jo’s love of beauty, and what happens both physically and mentally when you walk away from a brand with your name on it. 

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James Vivian | Founder of Viviology

In episode 127 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Yours Only, Ashli Templer.

When I connect with someone over a love of beauty, whether it’s on this podcast or away from it, the thread or the through line always comes back to a feeling. I think it’s that feeling that separates people who truly love this industry from the people who do view it as solely superficial, and it’s also the feeling that you get from James when you listen to or sit down with him.

What drew James Vivian to beauty, initially, was how good a facial made him feel, and because he is so giving by his very nature, he wanted to be able to give that feeling to other people as well. He spent years studying beauty and the science of skin, he founded his own mobile facial business some 14 years ago, he later opened the first James Vivian skin clinic which is now one of the most popular clinics in the country, and in 2022 he launched his own skincare brand, Viviology. 

James is so, so passionate about ensuring people feel welcomed into the beauty space and feel like they belong, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to facilitate this conversation because I know the barrier to entry can sometimes feel really high, even as a consumer, but this conversation with James was a really beautiful reminder of what it’s all about and why we all love beauty in the first place- it’s about feeling good and helping others to feel the same. 

In this conversation, James shares how he’s working to ensure everyone feels at home in his skin clinic, how he launched his own skincare brand with one of the country’s biggest beauty retailers, and how he went from an Australian Idol finalist to one of Australia’s most in demand dermal therapists.

Read more at glowjournal.com

Follow Viviology on Instagram @viviologyskin.

Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ashli Templer | Founder of Yours Only

In episode 126 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Yours Only, Ashli Templer.

We obviously talk a lot on this podcast about identifying a gap for a product and developing out of a really genuine need, and I think the Yours Only story is probably one of the best examples of that that we’ve covered across all 6 seasons.

Ash grew up, in her words, “not being able to eat any cake at birthday parties.” She’s always had many, many food allergies, and things were only heightened in her 20s when she was diagnosed with both Hashimoto’s and a salicylate intolerance. It was following prolonged exposure to mould that Ash’s health was at its worst, and for an extended period there were only 7 foods she could consume. After having to overhaul every single element of her daily routine, she realised that there were only very few skin and haircare brands that she could use- and none that she particularly wanted to use.

Ash launched Yours Only in 2020, a skin and haircare line for dramatic skin, and has cultivated one of the most incredible communities I’ve ever seen online. Ash started her founder journey with a wish to change lives and, as you’ll hear here, I really believe that’s exactly what she’s done.

In this conversation, Ashli shares how she rebuilt after losing her entire inventory in an arson attack, why she uses her customers as models, and the serendipitous story behind how she found her manufacturer.

Read more at glowjournal.com

Follow Yours Only on Instagram @yoursonly

Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected]

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Adrian Norris | Founder of IKKARI

In episode 125 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of IKKARI, Adrian Norris.

I have thought Adrian Norris to be one of the most interesting brand founders in the country for many, many years now, since he co founded fashion house Aje in 2008, and I have loved watching him enter the beauty space upon founding skincare and wellness brand IKKARI last year.

There’s so much about this brand and Adrian’s story that I love but one thing in particular that I found so interesting, and I think you will too, is Adrian’s passion for retail. It’s been a while since I’ve had a founder on who can talk to the retail experience the way that Adrian can, given that Aje and Aje Athletica currently have 48 standalone stores. One of the reasons Adrian is so passionate about the experience of bricks and mortar retail is because he is so, so customer focused, which is something he talked a lot about in this conversation. The other reason that touchpoint is important, and a factor that just blew my mind when I first heard about the brand ahead of its launch last year, was that IKKARI launched with 72 SKUs. That’s 72 individual products and 5 plus years of development, which I find so interesting at a time when we’re seeing so many brands launch with a singular hero. 

In this conversation, Adrian shares how his first ever business plan was written up out of boredom, whether Aje and IKKARI have any mystery investors, and, of course, exactly WHY he chose to launch a brand with 72 SKUs. 

Read more at glowjournal.com

Follow IKKARI on Instagram @ikkari.australia.

Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.