It all started with a Swedish exchange student's concealer. At 18, Chris Salgardo was dealing with what many teenagers face: stubborn acne. But this wasn't just any acne story – it was the 1980s, when skincare solutions were more about drying out your face than actually helping it. One day, his Swedish exchange student roommate came home with mysteriously clear skin. Being naturally curious, Salgardo went into full Sherlock Holmes mode.

Join Bora Celik as he chats with Chris Salgardo, the Founder of ATWATER.

Watch/Listen: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed

"I switched into Sherlock Holmes mode," Salgardo recalls with a laugh. "We shared a bathroom, and he had this dopp kit. Right at the top was a small tube of Covergirl concealer."

That moment sparked something in young Salgardo that would shape his entire career. Fast forward a few decades, and that curious teenager would become the president of Kiehl's, leading the brand for 12 years and helping build it into a global powerhouse.

But after 18 years at L'Oréal, working with iconic brands like Giorgio Armani and Shu Uemura, Salgardo decided to take a leap that surprised many. He left it all behind to start his own men's skincare brand, ATWATER.

"Being president of Kiehl's was an honor, but it didn't define me," Salgardo explains. "I looked at my life as all these experiences that I didn't want to be at the end and looking back and go, 'Gosh, I wish I would have done that.'"

But even with decades of experience and industry relationships, entrepreneurship proved to be a humbling journey. Despite his impressive background, Salgardo faced challenges that reminded him success isn't guaranteed – even for industry veterans.

"I had months where my body just physically was like, 'What have I done? Have I really messed this up?'" he admits. "Even for somebody like me, even for somebody with my experience, it gets scary. You feel very much alone and it's frightening."

One costly lesson came in the form of a simple packaging mistake. "We did three moisturizers because I wanted to invest in skin typing with ATWATER. And because we had a small team, we didn't check the copy on one of the tubes closely enough. It says 'oil-free.' And you really cannot claim oil-free in skincare." The result? Ten thousand unusable tubes.

But Salgardo's experience helped him build ATWATER with intention. Every detail of the brand tells a story: the blue of Oil Regulators matches the perfect Kingston sky where he lives; the gold comes from his love of comic books and Thor's shield; the gray reflects memories of growing up in his father's garage. Even the name ATWATER comes from his father's hometown in California.

Today, ATWATER is growing steadily, with an unexpected twist – 16% of their customers are women. "Women really understand ingredients really well," Salgardo notes. "They love a strong founder story."

Looking ahead, Salgardo is excited about the changing landscape of men's skincare. "Men have paid a high price for toxic masculinity," he reflects. "Men are still thought of as like, we can't cry. We can't take care of ourselves. That's an ego thing. That's gay. If somebody wants to take a hot bubble bath, good for you."

From that teenage boy investigating his roommate's concealer to challenging traditional notions of masculinity through skincare, Salgardo's journey shows that sometimes the best stories in business aren't about overnight success but about the courage to start something new – even after you've already made it to the top.

"Stop watching the Kylie's and this and that where it just came out of the gate and did so well. Stop. That story is rare," he advises. "The story of brands taking 10, not five, 10 years to build. That's the reality."

Help build the opportunity economy for creators and brands. Request your invite at collabs.io