Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in beauty and cosmetics but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Shannon Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Izzy Zero Waste Beauty Inc., located in Tampa, FL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The global beauty industry is a $532-billion-dollar business that creates more than 120 billion units of packaging every year. This packaging is the number one contributor to plastic production in the world. By 2050, there will be an estimated 12 billion tons of plastic in landfills and more plastic than fish in our oceans. In the US alone, over 200 million mascaras are used and discarded every year–70% of which are not recyclable.
Meet Izzy, the world's first zero-waste mascara. Operating out of New York City, Izzy is taking big steps to reduce plastic waste with a prestige mascara that is 100% reusable, 100% recyclable, and 100% gorgeous. Izzy is zero waste.
Izzy mascara comes with no outer packaging and is shipped in reusable mailers manufactured from upcycled materials. Our medical-grade, American-made stainless steel tubes are designed to be refilled and reused again and again. The tubes contain zero plastic components, while the plastic wipers and brushes are reground and recycled at our facility–resulting in a mascara that uses 96% less plastic than the leading brands. Even the water from our patent-pending antibacterial cleansing process is reused rather than dumped into the ocean. And thanks to our breakthrough membership model for replenishment, we can incentivize reuse and generate zero waste from start to finish.
Izzy has the smallest carbon footprint of any mascara in the world. All of our manufacturing takes place within a 400-mile radius, which means that our carbon emissions from transportation alone are exponentially lower than those of any other beauty brand. Compared to the industry standard, our mascara has a 78% smaller carbon footprint after 25 refills. The more our mascaras are reused, the smaller our relative carbon footprint becomes over time. Izzy is clean.
Not only is our prestige mascara formulated by the same filler that currently services some of the world's leading mascara brands, but it is clean, vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, certified organic by the FDA, and free of gluten, GMOs, alcohol, oil, parabens, phthalates, silicone, and talc.
Tell us about yourself
What's your first memory of falling in love with beauty products? From the time I was a little girl, I loved makeup and fragrances. I would sneak into my mother's vanity and play with her products any chance I could. From her shimmery Chanel lip glosses and rosy Bobbi Brown blushes to her fine fragrances and bath products, beauty products have always felt magical to me. When it was time to apply to colleges, I knew I had to be in the heart of all things glamour and fashion: New York City. I ended up going to The Fashion Institute of Technology, where I majored in Cosmetic and Fragrance Marketing. From that point on, beauty is the only world that I've known. After nearly two decades in the industry, which included leadership roles at Peter Thomas Roth Clinical Skin Care and Madonna's MDNA SKIN, I was ready for a meaningful change. I wanted to stay in the world of beauty, but I also wanted to make it better. At the beginning of the pandemic, I came across an article in National Geographic that pointed out how the beauty industry produces over 120 billion units of unrecyclable plastic every year. I suddenly realized that I was a BIG part of the problem–and that I had been effectively sleepwalking through my entire beauty career! Never once had I stopped to think about plastic and paper waste, carbon footprints, or clean ingredients–it was always about launching a brand or a product as quickly and cheaply as possible. Knowing that the world was heading down a more sustainable path, I no longer wanted to be a part of the problem. That's when the aha moment came for Izzy Zero Waste Beauty, which I envisioned first and foremost as a brand that would check all the boxes in question: clean, cruelty-free, vegan-friendly, sustainable, and zero waste. But I also wanted a brand that was luxurious, easy, fun, and performance-driven–a unicorn, so to speak, that would also constitute an industry first.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
It's interesting because some of our most challenging life experiences are often our most rewarding. Izzy is the first brand to offer a fully recyclable, refillable, and reusable beauty line, but I hope we're not the last. When you're the first to market with any idea, there's no ruler you can borrow from another brand to measure your success. So there's quite a bit of tripping, falling, and getting back up along the way. But we figured out a way to be the most sustainable product solution out there by manufacturing something once–our components–and getting unlimited uses out of them. At the same time, we're very deliberately maintaining a premium brand positioning and debunking the myth that clean and eco-friendly brands are only for tree huggers. So basically, we're making sustainability luxurious, cool, and easy- and the reward lies in saving the planet one Izzy at a time!
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest part of being a business owner for me is simple: Learning to be comfortable in times of discomfort. I don't like being "on the way," and I certainly don't like not knowing what's around the corner. I think this all stems from a fear of feeling out of control. With market shifts, political tension, and inflation, this "post-pandemic" world keeps all of us on our toes. Truly we only have one real choice to lean into, and that's embracing the unknown.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
How about ten tips? If I could give any advice about life in the start-up world, I would love for you to know 👇🏼
- You will screw things up. But when you feel yourself failing, it's important to fail fast. Take matters into your hands, assume responsibility, and be agile. Fix things as you go.
- There's no such thing as failure. You just figured out a way not to do something.
- Fish rots from the head. I think that's a pretty straightforward point.
- Your friends and family are NOT your customers.
- Meet your team where they are. Between babies, a global pandemic, losses, moves, etc., we all show up with life "stuff." Be aware. Be mindful, and take care of yourself 1st, so you can fully be there for others.
- Take things one minute at a time. Right in the middle of the chaos is a perfectly imperfect reality. Know that all seasons are temporary.
- Choose people who choose you.
- If you have to force it, leave it alone. That door isn't opening for a reason.
- You don't need to hustle 24/7. This is a hard one for me, but my best days are when I'm relaxing and focusing inward.
- Lastly, build a business or brand that you don't want to run away from. Let that one sink in.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://yourizzy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becoming_eco_friendlier/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-goldberg-cruz-500a776/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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