CreatorIQ | Rea Ann Silva, Founder + CEO of Beautyblender, on Creating Industry-Changing Tools @CreatorIQOfficial | Uploaded 8 months ago | Updated 15 hours ago
In our 115th episode of Earned, Conor sits down with Rea Ann Silva, Founder and CEO of Beautyblender—the egg-shaped sponge that took the makeup industry by storm. To start, we dive into the creation of Beautyblender, and Rea Ann’s journey along the way. Rea Ann explains that by cultivating her love of dreaming big, she was introduced to new things, people, and experiences that shaped her life into what it is today. Rea Ann’s time in Hollywood production honed her desire to be a makeup artist, and with the assistance of superstars early on in their careers, Rea Ann’s celebrity makeup artist career took off with no end in sight. Rea Ann reveals that the majority of her lessons have been learned through catastrophes—like the one she experienced when trying to recreate airbrushed makeup without the airbrushing machine. We explore how Rea Ann’s fellow celebrity makeup artist, Kelsey Frye, gave her insights into “on set” procedures, which led to the creation of the iconic sponge. Rea Ann explains that even though the Beautyblender is well known and well loved, there were still growing pains as she evolved from being a “creative at her core” to becoming a business owner. While unpacking Rea Ann’s journey to becoming the successful business woman she is today, we learn that managing people was the trickiest part for her to master. Rea Ann explains the double-edged sword that is owning the business all on her own, as well as her thoughts on celebrity-founded beauty brands. Rea Ann emphasizes that in the beginning of the founding journey, every decision matters, and that a lack of passion can be a roadmap to failure. To close the show, Rea Ann speaks about her goal of Beautyblender eventually becoming a heritage business—with someone in her family taking the reins!
In this episode, you will learn:
1) How leveraging personal skills and relationships can transform a practical solution into a successful business.
2) How to turn "catastrophes" into valuable learnings that empower you to make better decisions in the future.
3) Why creating a product that satisfies a distinct need in the market can lead to organic growth and endorsement by top industry influencers.
If you're new to our Earned series, be sure to catch up on all of our previous episodes here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLopFdTZxUD9agClzFvKX_QykXrw8uFJRp
Listen to and follow the podcast on:
Spotify - open.spotify.com/show/6EvXMeMcgGHxjDXBmXqjFL
Apple Podcasts - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/earned-unlocking-the-power-of-the-creator-economy/id1504030691
Google Podcasts - podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXN0ZWQudXMvMTAzL0Vhcm5lZCUzQS1TdHJhdGVnaWVzLWFuZC1TdWNjZXNzLVN0b3JpZXMtRnJvbS10aGUtQmVzdC1pbi1CZWF1dHktJTJCLUZhc2hpb24tYmFjNTliZGQvZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CBsQ27cFahcKEwiQta33gIb9AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQNQ
Resources:
Beautyblender - www.beautyblender.com
Connect with the Guest:
Rea Ann’s LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/reaannsilva
Connect with Conor Begley & CreatorIQ:
Conor’s LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/conormbegley
CreatorIQ LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/creatoriq
Follow us on Social:
CreatorIQ Instagram - instagram.com/creatoriq/?hl=en
CreatorIQ TikTok - tiktok.com/@creator.iq?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
CreatorIQ X - twitter.com/CreatorIQ?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
In our 115th episode of Earned, Conor sits down with Rea Ann Silva, Founder and CEO of Beautyblender—the egg-shaped sponge that took the makeup industry by storm. To start, we dive into the creation of Beautyblender, and Rea Ann’s journey along the way. Rea Ann explains that by cultivating her love of dreaming big, she was introduced to new things, people, and experiences that shaped her life into what it is today. Rea Ann’s time in Hollywood production honed her desire to be a makeup artist, and with the assistance of superstars early on in their careers, Rea Ann’s celebrity makeup artist career took off with no end in sight. Rea Ann reveals that the majority of her lessons have been learned through catastrophes—like the one she experienced when trying to recreate airbrushed makeup without the airbrushing machine. We explore how Rea Ann’s fellow celebrity makeup artist, Kelsey Frye, gave her insights into “on set” procedures, which led to the creation of the iconic sponge. Rea Ann explains that even though the Beautyblender is well known and well loved, there were still growing pains as she evolved from being a “creative at her core” to becoming a business owner. While unpacking Rea Ann’s journey to becoming the successful business woman she is today, we learn that managing people was the trickiest part for her to master. Rea Ann explains the double-edged sword that is owning the business all on her own, as well as her thoughts on celebrity-founded beauty brands. Rea Ann emphasizes that in the beginning of the founding journey, every decision matters, and that a lack of passion can be a roadmap to failure. To close the show, Rea Ann speaks about her goal of Beautyblender eventually becoming a heritage business—with someone in her family taking the reins!
In this episode, you will learn:
1) How leveraging personal skills and relationships can transform a practical solution into a successful business.
2) How to turn "catastrophes" into valuable learnings that empower you to make better decisions in the future.
3) Why creating a product that satisfies a distinct need in the market can lead to organic growth and endorsement by top industry influencers.
If you're new to our Earned series, be sure to catch up on all of our previous episodes here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLopFdTZxUD9agClzFvKX_QykXrw8uFJRp
Listen to and follow the podcast on:
Spotify - open.spotify.com/show/6EvXMeMcgGHxjDXBmXqjFL
Apple Podcasts - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/earned-unlocking-the-power-of-the-creator-economy/id1504030691
Google Podcasts - podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXN0ZWQudXMvMTAzL0Vhcm5lZCUzQS1TdHJhdGVnaWVzLWFuZC1TdWNjZXNzLVN0b3JpZXMtRnJvbS10aGUtQmVzdC1pbi1CZWF1dHktJTJCLUZhc2hpb24tYmFjNTliZGQvZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CBsQ27cFahcKEwiQta33gIb9AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQNQ
Resources:
Beautyblender - www.beautyblender.com
Connect with the Guest:
Rea Ann’s LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/reaannsilva
Connect with Conor Begley & CreatorIQ:
Conor’s LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/conormbegley
CreatorIQ LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/creatoriq
Follow us on Social:
CreatorIQ Instagram - instagram.com/creatoriq/?hl=en
CreatorIQ TikTok - tiktok.com/@creator.iq?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
CreatorIQ X - twitter.com/CreatorIQ?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
