Behind the gloss

“We collect the most exciting and effective must-discover beauty products, and we invite members via a daily email to explore, experiment, and fall in love,” says Gloss48 co-founder Jill Kravetz. “We founded Gloss48 because we are passionate about changing things up. Think of us as your digital beauty counter, with all of the expert advice but none of the pressure." 

Must-have merch

Gloss48 co-founder and beauty-product fanatic Jill Kravetz shared her personal favorites. “For lipsticks, I am a huge fan of Besame. They make it easy to create that vintage Great Gatsby/Madmen/The Artist look for the novice who just wants a little spice. For glosses, I love Armour Beauty. They are highly pigmented, long-lasting, and go on lusciously. (I’m partial to the hot pink, Grace.) For eyes, I love Girlactik’s sparkle eyeliner set. I’m not usually a pixie dust kind of person, but these eyeliners are both fun and, ahem, age-appropriate.”

D.I.Y. H.O.T.

“Some products are fairly self-explanatory...Other products and brands can be used to create a specific look. It’s really just about everyday, relatable women trying out product. Red lips draw attention, but so do red teeth and lipstick that bleeds beyond the lip line,” says Gloss48 co-founder Jill Kravetz. “Beauty products can be intimidating. We offer an easy, step-by-step breakdown on how to use the product.” 

Beauty and brains

Gloss48 co-founder Jill Kravetz offers a few quick tips for the startup wannabe:

1. “Do your homework…. You will not get very far without researching the fundamentals of the opportunity and creating a realistic business plan.”

2. “Don’t overdo your homework. There is such a thing as analysis paralysis. At a certain point, you need to be satisfied with your plan. There is no better test of an opportunity than just doing it.”

3. “Find your inner Einstein, who defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. As you launch and operate your business, you will inevitably make bad decisions. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes.”

 
Scents and cents

 "We just closed our seed round and started developing the concept 18 months ago!” says Gloss48 co-founder Jill Kravetz. “Having said that, here are a few quick tips:

1. If you think it’s going to take you six months to raise money, double it. It will take WAY longer than you think.

2. Approach your fundraising strategy as a marketing strategy and stay disciplined. Dig up your Marketing 101 and segment your potential investors, matching the stage, size of the raise, and type of business with potential investors.

3. Become a LinkedIn Jedi Master. I like to call it the ‘send and slam’ — in other words, write the email asking for the intro, EVEN if this is the first time you’ve made contact since you ditched him at prom. Then slam your computer shut. You will be surprised at how much people want to help.

4. Learn to read the tea leaves quickly. I can’t tell you how many pitches we have made where, if we were really honest with ourselves, it was abundantly clear within the first five minutes that this was not a love match…. Be gracious and polite, but know when to just take your toys, ask for a few additional intros, and leave the sandbox.”

Beauty Strong

Warning: we are about to enter another world. A realm where rivers flow with herbal shampoo, gardens pop with rosebud salve, and every damsel looks like a CoverGirl. Except that there's no CoverGirl. Nay, nay, this is a paradise of must-have beauty products that no one knows about. Yet. 


That is, until word gets around about what Jill Kravetz, Jodi Slater, and Laura Bronner have created. Called Gloss48, it will be to beauty merch what Zappos is to shoes, the women reckon. But instead of big brands like Estée Lauder and Maybelline, customers can discover the newest players in the beauty biz. The e-commerce site offers everything from leg lotion to eye shadow (anything you would find in the bathroom, the ladies tell us), as well as video tutorials that show customers how to use each product. 


The trio isn’t new to beauty or business. Jill, who hails from Toronto and earned her MBA from the Wharton School, flexed her professional muscles as the first female partner at the Parthenon Group before starting up MiniLuxe, a nail and beauty lounge chain, while Laura ran a chain of nail salons in her hometown of Chicago. Jodi, from Longmeadow, earned her stripes as a digital strategist at the Monitor Group before joining Jeffrey Rayport to head up Marketspace, a digital-strategy advisory firm. Off-hours, the women are mothers to a total of five children, and they say that part of the appeal of opening their own business is creating a culture that embraces the day-to-day balance of work and family. All while looking gorgeous, of course. 


 

www.gloss48.com

info@gloss48.com 

 

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