Mabel Frias started her career working for major companies including Macy’s, Nordstrom and Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty. But in 2019 she and her sister launched Luna Magic, a makeup line where Latinas could see their culture celebrated. They even beat out 40,000 applicants to make an appearance on Shark Tank. Luna Magic is now carried at major retail stores such as Target, Walmart and CVS. In this episode, Mabel shares with us how her and her sister brought their vision to life, and how her Abuela’s botanica inspired it all.
You can find Luna Magic at lunamagic.com
Follow Mabel Frias at @mabel.frias.xo
Naibe Reynoso is the Host and Executive Producer of Latinas Take the Lead.
Production Assistant is Anna Sophia Monzon
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome, Mavelle. You founded Luna Magic Beauty in twenty nineteen
and it is blowing up. I am so happy for
you and your sister. Can you talk about the latest developments.
I mean, I just want to dive right into that,
and then we're going to go back into how you
started and why and all of that.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Of course. Well, Muja, we're still so happy to be
here today. Our latest and greatest is really expansion and
finding more interesting ways to reach our customer. We just
launched a new retailer, CBS, so so much great storytelling
and collaborations not only with our retail partners, but also
other LATINX beauty entrepreneurs.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
You just heard mavel frias one of the co founders
of Luna Magic. Did you know that Latinas in the
US alone spend more than two billion dollars on makeup
products and on average, Latina spend about thirty five to
fifty dollars more per year on beauty products than any
other group. In twenty nineteen, Maveland her sister, wanted to
(01:09):
create a beauty brand that appealed to one of the
biggest consumers in the beauty industry, while also celebrating their
Afro Latini that they created Luna Magic, a beauty brand
that's just as bright and bold as their heritage and culture.
The following year, the Freia sisters went on Shark Tank
to promote Luna Magic and since then it has been
(01:30):
a sensation. Today you can find Luna Magic products in Target, Walmart,
and CVS. This is an episode you don't want to miss.
Heads up, the audio quality had a bit of an echo,
but trust me, don't let that get in the way
of the pearls of wisdom. Mabel drops throughout the entire episode.
(01:52):
So you did launch in twenty nineteen, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Correct? Wow?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
So it's only been a couple of years, right, So
you have grown exponentially with the all of the exposure,
the distribution, et cetera. This is an entrepreneur's dream come true.
And like I said, we are going to dive into
your origin story. But how how was the path to
get these big box distributors like CVS and all of
(02:17):
the other ones that are carrying Luna Magic plato.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Like, what a lot of people don't realize is, you know,
everyone is seeing the visual end result of many years
of hard work prior to becoming an entrepreneur. I worked
in corporate America, you know, I started in executive training programs.
I looked at worked at different companies, different business models.
So I was always very curious, very fortunate to have
(02:41):
people mentor me. Also very fortunate to work in startups. Right.
The one advice I would give to every entrepreneur is
work on someone else's dream before your own, because you
learn a lot, You learn a lot about you know,
mistakes on somebody else's dying, You're allowed to make mistakes
in somebody else's dying. You're allowed to ask a lot
of questions. So all of those things were kind of
(03:01):
like the building blocks. So what you guys are seeing
with Luna Magic, by the time that we launched in
twenty nineteen, I was very clear. I was very clear
about what we are. I was very clear about what
we were not, and it was really more about, you know,
put one foot in front of the other and let's
just go get it. We were also very fortunate. I'm
very fortunate to have my sisters my co founder. I know,
sometimes when people are building dreams, you know, it's hard
(03:22):
for people, if you're a visionary, for people to go
on that journey with you. So I see that as
a competitive edgeend of privilege that I do not take
for granted. That I had a sister who kind of,
you know, believed in everything I was saying at that time,
like we need to go this, we need to start
a company, you know, and she kind of went on
that journey with me, was still on that journey together.
So yeah, So a lot of discipline, a lot of
(03:43):
asking and not being afraid to hear no. A lot
of people count themselves out before they even asked the question,
and that's probably what I'm growing into. I ask a
lot of questions and for me to hear a no,
I don't hear no. I just hear that's not the
right door. Find another one. Right.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You mentioned that you did a lot of work with
other companies, Right, I understand that you worked for Macy's,
for Nordstrom, for fen Tee. Even what did you do
for those companies?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So for Macy's, I was part of their executive training program.
So they recruited me straight up straight out of college,
which was actually a really great place to start to
understand the world of retail. You know, I understood, uh,
you know, just the idea, the concept of cost margins,
marked downs, like it was just such a big machine
(04:30):
at that time. I mean Macy's is still a big machine,
but it was definitely a place where a lot of
customers like us, like my mother, Macy's to us was
a treat. So learned a lot about customer segmentation, meaning
the things that they would buy to put in a
Florida store was different than what they would buy to
put in a New York store, different than what they
would put in a California store, because customers were different.
(04:52):
Then for Nordstrum, I got my I was there overlooking
digital beauty strategy, so really looking at that is from
the digital when digital it still is a significant and
it's exploding. And then for Savage, it was like my
corporate dream job. I mean, I couldn't even believe if
that I that I got to work there overlooking against strategy,
(05:14):
digital strategy. When the brand was really early. I had
always felt like in a startup, I was never too
early enough. That was the first company that I was
like super early I felt, and you know Rihanna and
Savage Fany. The brand kind of created room for brands
like Luna Magic to exist around inclusivity, diversity, et cetera.
And what a lot of people don't know is when
(05:35):
I was working at Savage, Luna Magic was also my
side hustle, So I was what I was learning at Savage.
I would try to see what that made sense for
my business, but also having honest conversations with my bosses
that they knew I was doing both, but they weren't
of interest. Also being smart and transparent and strategic or
you can if it's something if you still need a
(05:55):
day job to pay those And.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
That's interesting that you said that you were being trans parent,
because that could be a really hard conversation to have
at your current company, especially if it's corporate. So how
did you approach your managers or your coworkers about, Hey,
you know, I'm here. Just want to let you know
I have the side hustle happening, Because I think a
lot of times entrepreneurs wrestle with that, like how much
(06:17):
should I tell my bosses or my coworkers about my
side hustle because you don't want to get punished for like, oh,
you came late because it must because of your side hustle.
You're tired, it must be because of your side, hustle,
et cetera. Right, So how did you approach the subject
in your corporate environment?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, the good The first thing I did was I
studied a lot the company, and I understood that I
was working for people that were entrepreneurs as well, so
that I knew first from a company culture perspective. I said, Okay,
these are people that are used to growing big businesses.
They may I could probably do good work there because
I like to move fast and things to the agile.
You have to be smart when you're having these conversations.
(06:55):
The conversations I had were when it was things were
moving so quick that I was like, oh my god,
I think I need I don't want my boss to
find me on an article, right right, right? Oh? I
need I needed to I need for them to hear
it from me what I was. You know, I think
what a lot of people don't realize is if you
treat your day job with the respect that it deserves.
Meaning I was. I didn't work during the nine to six, like,
(07:21):
I still delivered all my pro I was still very
invested in Savage because I care about doing a great job.
But I understood that the lunar magic I had clear boundaries.
I woke up at six in the morning. I gave
it two hours. I went through my savage day, then
I went back home. I slept that one in the
morning and on the weekend. Right, But I did it
with a lot of integrity and respect because to your point,
(07:42):
I would never want my bosses to be like, I
see that you're slipping. I see. I treated that job
with a lot of respect because those were the same
people that were when we launched shar ting. They came
to my viewing party, my whole team, at my viewing parties,
they were so on my last day they were like,
oh my god, we wish you the best. And even
to this day my expose, we went to lunch together.
So that just tells you like treating it with authenticity
(08:05):
and respect. But also I think sometimes entrepreneurs we could
jump the gun too soon. Right. I protected it as
much as I could until, like again, things were pointing
or I'm like, oh my god, I think that.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Right, Like you said, better they hear it from me
than they Yes, you know, turn the TV on and
say what you be shown is interviewing my employee, but
not about my product.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Right on, shark Tink right. It's because when Shark Tank
episode the previews were going out, a lot of people
didn't know, and then my coworkers saw previews. I saw
you all here, and I'm like, thank god I said something, yeah,
because it's but anyway, it's a.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Blessing and I'm dying to know. Did you work directly
with Rihanna at any point in time?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
No, no, no. I was on the corporate side, but
there was teens. But to be honest, her influence was
felt for sure, because you know, a lot of the decisions,
believe it or not, still had, still has a lot
of the approvals, even down to color names, certain colors
and creativity around how we're naming the colors to collection
she touched. So I personally did not work with her
(09:11):
but yet, but she definitely had her presence and her
point of view certainly felt within the organization.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
And that's so good to know because sometimes we do
hear about these celebrity brands and we wonder, like do
they really are they really involved? So it's good to
know that my girl Rihanna is really involved and invested
in her products, and it shows because it's top seller.
Everyone loves it. Et cetera. So what did you study?
I'm curious did you study business when you were going
in school? Did you study completely different? And how did
(09:39):
you end up like here, like an incorporate, well in
corporate America.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
That's a great question, you know. You know, I went
to school for history, and then I went to grad
school for history of decorative arts and design because at
that point in time, I wanted to be a curator,
a museum curator. It's funny about life. You have to
remain a select simple because I actually still use my
history training. What did I learn in history? Fact checking, researching,
(10:06):
how to develop an argument, how to position thoughts and
ideas right, how to take feedback because you're dealing with faculty, right,
everyone if you submit a research paper, I mean, everyone
has something to say, so you have to be and
when defending my thesis, you have to get really comfortable
with articulating your thoughts. So I use that training every day.
But what gave me like my business hustle, aside from
(10:28):
working in these companies, was really my family. You know.
My grandmother dea a healing store and we grew up
in the store with her stalking the candles. My grandma
my mother was at the register. So my earliest memories
or the women that I saw doing things in my family,
they were business owners, micro business owners. So in the
(10:48):
back of my mind, in hindsight, as I was navigating
life and corporate and being so grateful because I was
the first prison my family to have a corporate job,
I'm realizing now I always wondered what what what did
the buena of something look like? Like? I remember feeling
thinking and still feeling how powerful my grandmother was. It
felt like in her own healing store. She she had
(11:10):
the sense of confidence and she was the owner of
her destiny. And those are the things that my sister
and I always wondered, like what what is our version
of For us, it's the beauty company. There's something healing
about cosmetics, right, especially when people are feeling down. A
lot of women look to cosmetics to feel better.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
So that is our botanica, right, And you're also creating
that space right Like when you were telling the story
about euro Boy, Let's like, whoever walked into the store,
I'm sure felt safe, and that's a felt nurtured right
and nourished. So now you are creating a space for
you know, black and brown Latinas that are trying to
find makeup that they can relate to, that they can
(11:52):
that you know, calls to them. And that's why I
love some of the names of your of your makeup products,
like Mama Sita. So talk to us about that process,
like how do you go about picking names for your products?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Yes, so we look to our culture and our upbringing
for inspiration. The beauty about Latino culture is that there's
so many Spanish speaking countries, but at least American Latino culture.
We only watched two television shows, I mean two channels,
so that means that for as a group, we were
(12:28):
watching similar things like Sao like. Culturally, there's a lot
of unity in our childhood experiences. I remember when we
were kids remaining facto the astrology of what mercal okay
we would you know, we didn't, We had no idea
(12:49):
what he was saying, but it was a cultural moment.
So for us to bring these names that mean a
lot of people Mamitae reg is to signal to the
customer that yeah, you know, at the end of the day,
we're providing great makeup for anyone that was makeup, but
we're being very intentional to our Latinas and multicultural customers
(13:11):
that you know that we are the ones behind it.
But there's there's there's women like you that are making
decisions that are being intentional, that want to make sure
that we are represented in the makeup ailes.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Definitely, And you also have like a pal that inspired
by the lenovelas, Right, what was your favorite? Like, talk
to me about that, because I want to hear all
about that.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Our eyelashes are inspired by the Lenola series because again,
like we watched I was actually speaking to someone Todays
about this. Remember you would Watchla for nine months, right,
you know I would like rush home to be like no, no, no,
I got to watch the teleola with my mom and
my American friends had no idea what the hell I
was talking about because it was like it was a
(13:55):
family bonding time. So and also, telenovelas, at least in
Latin America always had a very important female figurehead. The
story usually centered around a matriarch, if you will, whether
it be to her beauty and her power and all
these family dynamics. If when you really think about it,
latinos a little bit. Lenoila was always about La familia
(14:16):
and love and things like that. So we wanted to
name because lashes to us is like very transformative. Lashes
are also very dramatic. So we have Rubi, which was
a Mexican lenovela characters Ruby.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
That was That's one of my favorite lenovelas.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Exactly rub And then we have one Chica, which was
a Portuguese delenola that got dubbed in Spanish and it
was super scandalous in colonial Brazil. So yeah, we look
to to our again, to our culture, things that our
customers what realize is the cultural wink, right Rui. The
(14:56):
fact that I said through we and you understood what
I meant. That is the connection that we want with
our customers.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Definitely, you're listening to Latina's take the lead. Don't go away.
We'll be right back after this quick break. So going
back because I'm still curious about this. Going back, you know,
you graduated from school, you were a history major. What
(15:25):
was your first job, Because usually you know your first job.
It's like you either dive into your career or you
start experimenting with all kinds of different jobs until you
finally land to where you know something that resonates with you. So,
what was your first job right after college?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
My first job after college was the Macy's training program,
which was great because they did it with the cohort
of other kids, similar kids, similar age, So it was
an assistant buyer again looking at spreadsheets and things like that.
After that, I just kept trying different things. I've worked
if I've worked at as a paralegal. I've worked in antist office,
(16:01):
i worked in a bank, I've worked in you know, beauty,
I've worked. I mean, I continue to push myself. The
good thing about working is I love working. So everywhere
I've been I have contributed, right like the skill set,
the thought, the mindset of being excited, being wanting to learn,
wanted to contribute. You can transfer that no matter where
(16:22):
you go. But what I kept always chasing was that
extra connection to myself. I didn't realize, you know, working
with Savage was the first time that I felt complete
where I felt like, Wow, a brand that gets me,
a founder that is not that similar to me most
I feel, you know. But obviously now having my own company,
I'm realizing there's nothing more gratifying than that your own company,
(16:46):
right because you get to take an idea and I
could see it come to life by five pm. It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Wow, speaking of that idea that sparked, your sister is
your co founder, and I understand that she's a makeup
art or she was a makeup artist. So it's like
a perfect marriage, right, like, this is your makeup line.
She was a makeup artist. You are. You have the
business acumen. So when was that moment that was it
over a cafecito? Was it over you know? What was
that moment that you're like, you know what, let's start
(17:15):
a beauty line.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, it was a It was an example of our relationship,
meaning she kind of as she was being like this
makeup artist, I would come to her and I would
and I was having this first corporate experiences, always climbing
the ladder if you will. I would always come back
and be like, I'm learning this, I'm learning that. She
would just be a sponge and listen or I'm learning this,
or did you know this fact? Or this market research
(17:39):
and this, and then I remember one time I came
to her and I said, hey, I just learned that
sixty percent of the makeup customers or Latinas women like
you and me. Wow, what would it be like if
we walked down the makeup aile and we saw ourselves
the power of that, and she goes and you know,
she had her own makeup journey when it comes to
being more dark skin and not finding the shade right.
(18:01):
So part of it is like the business acumen, but
it's also the personal experiences of why is a big
conglomerate like Loreal, for example, they have to hire talent
to sell to us. What if we sold our own story?
What if we shared you know, because we grew up
in the culture, we know exactly what to say, well
not to say, you know, because we were just part
(18:25):
of it. So those and and then my sisters like
more the creative and I'm definitely a creative from an
idea perspective, but you know, the business acumen. But we
just kept having more conversations and more conversations and more conversations,
and then at some point we were like, you know what,
we started with lipstick, Okay, five products, and little by
(18:46):
little just kept snowballing, you know. But it helps, like
I said earlier, to have that partnership. It's important to
have that co founder that you can bounce off ideas
and they go somewhere.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
And when you're starting a beauty line, like with lipsticks
that you know there's there's ingredients. Did you go to
like a scientist or what was like your first first
step as far as like let's create a lipstick and
what color I don't know if you remember, like what
color or shade was that first product?
Speaker 2 (19:14):
That first first one was red and it continues to
be one of our best seller and it's a color
by the name Ghostosa, which is a you know, it's
like a resilient word for central woman. But yes, we
were very fortunate to have some friends in the beauty industry.
They connected us quickly to labs and that was so
(19:35):
exhilarating to realize, holy moly, like human beings are the
ones making these decisions and deciding. So the deeper we
got into realizing that we could choose our own components,
we could have a point of view on ingredients, we
could decide, hey, we want to make sure it's bru
to free and on toxic, we just kept feeling more powerful,
like wait a minute, Okay, we can do this for
(19:56):
make up. What about for eyeshadow palettes? Oh wow, we
can choose these colors, we can call it like. The
creative pieces of putting it all together was probably it
continues to be the most exciting pieces because you know,
you feel powerful when you realize that you can create
something meaningful that people like.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Right, and then what about the name Luna Magic? How
did that come about?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Luna Magic is the example of the partnership that my
sister and I have, So it was very simple. You know,
at some point this was spiraling that we were like,
I think we need to call this something. We were
in New York City and I said, hey, you pick
a name, you pick a word, and I'll pick a
word and then we'll see if the mush is together.
(20:42):
So then the word I chose was magic because I
feel like the people that change the world have to
have some level of imagination and magic to go out
and pursue it, because it's not easy. And then she
chose the word moon because she's obsessed with feminine moon energy,
so I was like moon man, and then she brought
Then I'm like, moon magic magic, Okay, where's the Latin?
(21:02):
How would people know that there's a Latin wink in there?
And then she's like, well moon in moon in Spanish,
and Luna Luna Magic, La Magic. It's a big mooint
I said now because as we stuck with our first instinct,
is it Luna Magic. It's also Spanish Extannglish, right, just perfect?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And then did you have to do like your due
diligence as far as like did anyone like Google? Did
anyone have this like crazy?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
What are the odds that we choose the name the
first one that trademark we have to trade that everything
like checked out?
Speaker 1 (21:36):
It was crazy amazing, And that's a good tip for
people that are thinking right of starting a business to
please check the name before you start branding, before you
start creating a website. I have seen entrepreneurs that have
had to rebrand entirely because right they used a name
that was already in use. And maybe even Google is
(21:57):
not even the best way to find out. You have
to get a trademark attorney and do right all the research. Yes,
So I also want to talk about your cultural background,
you and your sister Afro Latina, So talk to us
about where where your parents are from. Our grandparents are
from Amos.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
I don't know if your audience English management was Eanglish
Dominican Republic. So we were born to immigrant parents gave
me that home. You know, we were born in Miami,
so you know, we we have wei we've shared that
immigrant experience that many Latinos do. In my household, we
were very fortunate that blackness was encouraged. Blackness was celebrated
(22:35):
me Mama la Polo. The nickname in the family was Negave.
So we didn't In our immediate family, we never felt
the sense of like blackness was an issue, maybe until
we moved to New York and on our extended family
that grew up in the United States of America much
earlier than we did because we grew up in the Caribbean.
(22:57):
They they they then they started having oh but you're
darker and you're lighter. And I remember my sister and
now thinking like what, we've never thought about our skin down,
like we're just Mabel and saida. So that when you know,
the Afro data discussion started kind of becoming a thing,
because it's it's actually a real thing. You know, I
have extended family members that they don't want to you know,
(23:21):
when I say, well, I'm after Latina, They're like, Noicana.
I'm like, no, I'm racially I did my DNA I'm
part of the African diaspora, you know, so at the
end of the day, for us too, it's a celebration.
It's it's it's just being authentic. It's the identity that
we're from. I can't hide it. I mean, look look
at the way that I look. So it's just being
(23:44):
proud of who you are. And I think that's what
after Latina Latini that means to us and again Dominican culture,
it's so much fun with Yourta Domingo sante como scinthe
Dominican people were about having a good time and family values,
you know.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
And I'm curious to know are your customers majority Latino
or are your customers like all across the board? You
know why everything yes, And that is what I.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Think makes it exciting because you know, depending on the retailer,
we're learning from customer data the customers who they are.
You know, Lashes is skewing latinas an African American, our
Lash Primer is queuing Caucasian. There's a big segment of
Caucasian customer that just love cosmetics like you know, like
(24:35):
when you think about that brand from the past, urban decay,
like there's a lot of women that love pigment and
they love fun, exciting makeup. So for us, this is
what we say. We're beating with the vibe. We provide
the party Lacomida, the venue, the energy, and if you're
passing by and it resonates with you, anybody can come party.
(24:58):
We just so happen to be Latina founders, right. But
if you look at our cosmetics and you love cosmetics
at a great price, Luna mat and you love the
color and everything we stand for, you know I love it?
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And are is Lunar Magic available nationwide at CVS or
just certain stores.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Certain stores the best stores of New York City, California, Florida.
Walmar is available nationwide and Target is California and New York.
So we're in the key markets. That makes sense for us.
But it's it's a lot of distribution for brands so early,
so we're very happy.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
And did you have to do like fundraising for that?
Because we know that when you distribute massively, you also
have to have the inventory before the funds come in.
So how did you make that happen? Did you have
to get you know, VC funding or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Not yet, we've been fortunate to still be self funded,
and that is tied to how in Latin culture, you know,
we are very disciplined when it comes to making financial decisions.
And for example, believe it or now, we haven't spent
money on marketing yet. We have to start now because
(26:13):
we have to scale the company. But it's all been organic,
which tells us a lot about that the customer has
been hungry, you know. Obviously shows like Shark Tank helped us,
you know, four million viewers overnight, but now it's just
been whatever we make and put it right back into
the business.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
So I'm a big Shark Tank fan. Like I'm like,
do not miss an episode because I just love that
conversation between entrepreneurs and like people that challenge them right
and challenge their their businesses. Was it hard to get
on Shark Tank? How was that process?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
I found out after it happened. Then it is really difficult.
A lot of people don't realize it's a lot of
due diligence. They just you know, you have to expose
your financials, a lot of legal They got to make
sure that the clean that you're going to make on
television are real. So after the do do and then
you have to practice your pitch. You only get one shot.
(27:12):
A lot of people don't realize that. And it's like
you walk in and then the cameras are everywhere and
you they're looking at you, and you're supposed to like
remember everything, and then you're in there. Could be anywhere
between forty five minutes to an hour. We were in
there for about forty five minutes. So there's a lot
of people things that people don't see. But it was fun,
it was exhilarating. We had concerns are we too early?
(27:35):
Are we too early? But I'm happy that I stick
my guns because I still like we don't have the
crazy revenues, Like it's no, it's not about have because
I've seen businesses that generate three million dollars and they
still get turned down. You know. So I studied the show.
I studied the show, and I said, you know what,
the world is ready to listen to us.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
So and you applied and all that.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
We applied ABC dot Com. We applied and then you know,
went through every round and another step. Forty thousand people
applied that season. So we made it. And what a
lot of people don't realize that you can tape get
a deal and still not air. So the fact that
on our first try we made it the whole way.
It continues to give me goosebumps to know that we're
(28:21):
onto something special.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
And obviously you didn't get a deal. Correct, we did?
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Oh you did with Barbara Corkoran.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
So does she still work with you or didn't work
out or you can't talk about it.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
We can't talk about it. But love there, there's so
much love there. But we continue to be self funded.
That's the answer, Okay.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Perfect. One piece of advice for someone that wants to
start a business or started, you know, early on in
their business, one.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Piece of advice is spend as much time as you
can with yourself to make sure that everything that you're
doing is because you want to do it. When it
comes to dreams, it's part of it is intuition. The
other part of it is selling. You have to have
the intuition. You have to listen to yourself, you have
to honor your feelings and your vision, but then you
(29:10):
also have to sell it to everybody and anybody who's
willing to listen, you know what I mean. So just
having that grace for yourself to know that this is
a difficult thing, but also because what's crazy? People come
out of the woodworks to help you. And if I
had known that people would come out of the woodworks
to help me, like I know this now, I probably
(29:32):
would have been an entrepreneur a lot earlier in my life.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
All right, Another question I have is what is something
you're reading, listening to, using, or doing that you are
obsessed with and that you want to recommend.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
M So I'm obsessed with working out, I'm obsessed with
now podcasts, which is why I'm excited that I'm on yours.
I read a lot of books about business, but yeah,
but right now I'm also obsessed with self development, Like, okay,
kind of leader do I want to be? What kind
of CEO do I want to be? Because now that
(30:05):
the company at the beginning, it was just me, my
sister and a dream. But now it's becoming me my
sister dream and employees, me my sister and a dream
and external partners. So that how I need to evolve?
I have to, you know, go on that journey of
you know, how do I want to grow up with you?
Speaker 1 (30:19):
In the Magic Perfect The name of the show is
Latinas take the lead? How are you taking the lead
in your life.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
I'm taking the lead by existing. I'm taking the lead
by understanding that I am an example to many other
women and people. I take the lead by trying to
show you know, not just say things, but walk in
that as well, which you know, when you do two things,
(30:46):
that's when you're even more powerful. And I take the
lead by having fun and bringing others with me. For example,
like in New York, we're launching our Mentor Magic Initiative,
which is our our commitment to off string a community
of entrepreneurs in beauty and fashion and opening up our rotodecs.
Right like, I want to be my best mentor that
(31:09):
I wish I had when I started this journey. So
for us, it's about taking the lead to as we climb,
bring others with us because it's really important to you know, share,
share the knowledge, share the wealth so that we can
all win.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Definitely love it And where can people find you your products?
Follow you all of that.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yes, you can find in a Magic on Instagram and
TikTok at Luna Magic Beauty. You can find us on
our website Lunamagic dot com. You can find us in
our retailers Walmart, Target, CBS. We have a store page
on our website, and thank you so much for this
great experience.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Which has got ask us at the This was such
a pleasure. I feel like I wish, you know, we
were like best friends because I just love your energy
and everything and obviously the spirit that is signed here,
you bring it to your your product. It's an extension
of you and who you are, and obviously that's why
it's successful, I think.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
And we had had a great time. What a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Thank you so much for listening. Please subscribe and give
us a review, Tell your friends and go madries about
our podcast and hope you join us next week. Latin
Us Take the Lead is executive produced by Hodston Reinoso
Media Group, LLC and hosted by me naive Reno. So
Production Assistant is Ana Sofia Monson. Latinus Take the Lead
(32:37):
is a production of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
As Lapproxima
Welcome, Mavelle. You founded Luna Magic Beauty in twenty nineteen
and it is blowing up. I am so happy for
you and your sister. Can you talk about the latest developments.
I mean, I just want to dive right into that,
and then we're going to go back into how you
started and why and all of that.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Of course. Well, Muja, we're still so happy to be
here today. Our latest and greatest is really expansion and
finding more interesting ways to reach our customer. We just
launched a new retailer, CBS, so so much great storytelling
and collaborations not only with our retail partners, but also
other LATINX beauty entrepreneurs.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
You just heard mavel frias one of the co founders
of Luna Magic. Did you know that Latinas in the
US alone spend more than two billion dollars on makeup
products and on average, Latina spend about thirty five to
fifty dollars more per year on beauty products than any
other group. In twenty nineteen, Maveland her sister, wanted to
(01:09):
create a beauty brand that appealed to one of the
biggest consumers in the beauty industry, while also celebrating their
Afro Latini that they created Luna Magic, a beauty brand
that's just as bright and bold as their heritage and culture.
The following year, the Freia sisters went on Shark Tank
to promote Luna Magic and since then it has been
(01:30):
a sensation. Today you can find Luna Magic products in Target, Walmart,
and CVS. This is an episode you don't want to miss.
Heads up, the audio quality had a bit of an echo,
but trust me, don't let that get in the way
of the pearls of wisdom. Mabel drops throughout the entire episode.
(01:52):
So you did launch in twenty nineteen, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Correct? Wow?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
So it's only been a couple of years, right, So
you have grown exponentially with the all of the exposure,
the distribution, et cetera. This is an entrepreneur's dream come true.
And like I said, we are going to dive into
your origin story. But how how was the path to
get these big box distributors like CVS and all of
(02:17):
the other ones that are carrying Luna Magic plato.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Like, what a lot of people don't realize is, you know,
everyone is seeing the visual end result of many years
of hard work prior to becoming an entrepreneur. I worked
in corporate America, you know, I started in executive training programs.
I looked at worked at different companies, different business models.
So I was always very curious, very fortunate to have
(02:41):
people mentor me. Also very fortunate to work in startups. Right.
The one advice I would give to every entrepreneur is
work on someone else's dream before your own, because you
learn a lot, You learn a lot about you know,
mistakes on somebody else's dying, You're allowed to make mistakes
in somebody else's dying. You're allowed to ask a lot
of questions. So all of those things were kind of
(03:01):
like the building blocks. So what you guys are seeing
with Luna Magic, by the time that we launched in
twenty nineteen, I was very clear. I was very clear
about what we are. I was very clear about what
we were not, and it was really more about, you know,
put one foot in front of the other and let's
just go get it. We were also very fortunate. I'm
very fortunate to have my sisters my co founder. I know,
sometimes when people are building dreams, you know, it's hard
(03:22):
for people, if you're a visionary, for people to go
on that journey with you. So I see that as
a competitive edgeend of privilege that I do not take
for granted. That I had a sister who kind of,
you know, believed in everything I was saying at that time,
like we need to go this, we need to start
a company, you know, and she kind of went on
that journey with me, was still on that journey together.
So yeah, So a lot of discipline, a lot of
(03:43):
asking and not being afraid to hear no. A lot
of people count themselves out before they even asked the question,
and that's probably what I'm growing into. I ask a
lot of questions and for me to hear a no,
I don't hear no. I just hear that's not the
right door. Find another one. Right.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You mentioned that you did a lot of work with
other companies, Right, I understand that you worked for Macy's,
for Nordstrom, for fen Tee. Even what did you do
for those companies?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So for Macy's, I was part of their executive training program.
So they recruited me straight up straight out of college,
which was actually a really great place to start to
understand the world of retail. You know, I understood, uh,
you know, just the idea, the concept of cost margins,
marked downs, like it was just such a big machine
(04:30):
at that time. I mean Macy's is still a big machine,
but it was definitely a place where a lot of
customers like us, like my mother, Macy's to us was
a treat. So learned a lot about customer segmentation, meaning
the things that they would buy to put in a
Florida store was different than what they would buy to
put in a New York store, different than what they
would put in a California store, because customers were different.
(04:52):
Then for Nordstrum, I got my I was there overlooking
digital beauty strategy, so really looking at that is from
the digital when digital it still is a significant and
it's exploding. And then for Savage, it was like my
corporate dream job. I mean, I couldn't even believe if
that I that I got to work there overlooking against strategy,
(05:14):
digital strategy. When the brand was really early. I had
always felt like in a startup, I was never too
early enough. That was the first company that I was
like super early I felt, and you know Rihanna and
Savage Fany. The brand kind of created room for brands
like Luna Magic to exist around inclusivity, diversity, et cetera.
And what a lot of people don't know is when
(05:35):
I was working at Savage, Luna Magic was also my
side hustle, So I was what I was learning at Savage.
I would try to see what that made sense for
my business, but also having honest conversations with my bosses
that they knew I was doing both, but they weren't
of interest. Also being smart and transparent and strategic or
you can if it's something if you still need a
(05:55):
day job to pay those And.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
That's interesting that you said that you were being trans parent,
because that could be a really hard conversation to have
at your current company, especially if it's corporate. So how
did you approach your managers or your coworkers about, Hey,
you know, I'm here. Just want to let you know
I have the side hustle happening, Because I think a
lot of times entrepreneurs wrestle with that, like how much
(06:17):
should I tell my bosses or my coworkers about my
side hustle because you don't want to get punished for like, oh,
you came late because it must because of your side hustle.
You're tired, it must be because of your side, hustle,
et cetera. Right, So how did you approach the subject
in your corporate environment?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, the good The first thing I did was I
studied a lot the company, and I understood that I
was working for people that were entrepreneurs as well, so
that I knew first from a company culture perspective. I said, Okay,
these are people that are used to growing big businesses.
They may I could probably do good work there because
I like to move fast and things to the agile.
You have to be smart when you're having these conversations.
(06:55):
The conversations I had were when it was things were
moving so quick that I was like, oh my god,
I think I need I don't want my boss to
find me on an article, right right, right? Oh? I
need I needed to I need for them to hear
it from me what I was. You know, I think
what a lot of people don't realize is if you
treat your day job with the respect that it deserves.
Meaning I was. I didn't work during the nine to six, like,
(07:21):
I still delivered all my pro I was still very
invested in Savage because I care about doing a great job.
But I understood that the lunar magic I had clear boundaries.
I woke up at six in the morning. I gave
it two hours. I went through my savage day, then
I went back home. I slept that one in the
morning and on the weekend. Right, But I did it
with a lot of integrity and respect because to your point,
(07:42):
I would never want my bosses to be like, I
see that you're slipping. I see. I treated that job
with a lot of respect because those were the same
people that were when we launched shar ting. They came
to my viewing party, my whole team, at my viewing parties,
they were so on my last day they were like,
oh my god, we wish you the best. And even
to this day my expose, we went to lunch together.
So that just tells you like treating it with authenticity
(08:05):
and respect. But also I think sometimes entrepreneurs we could
jump the gun too soon. Right. I protected it as
much as I could until, like again, things were pointing
or I'm like, oh my god, I think that.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Right, Like you said, better they hear it from me
than they Yes, you know, turn the TV on and
say what you be shown is interviewing my employee, but
not about my product.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Right on, shark Tink right. It's because when Shark Tank
episode the previews were going out, a lot of people
didn't know, and then my coworkers saw previews. I saw
you all here, and I'm like, thank god I said something, yeah,
because it's but anyway, it's a.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Blessing and I'm dying to know. Did you work directly
with Rihanna at any point in time?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
No, no, no. I was on the corporate side, but
there was teens. But to be honest, her influence was
felt for sure, because you know, a lot of the decisions,
believe it or not, still had, still has a lot
of the approvals, even down to color names, certain colors
and creativity around how we're naming the colors to collection
she touched. So I personally did not work with her
(09:11):
but yet, but she definitely had her presence and her
point of view certainly felt within the organization.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
And that's so good to know because sometimes we do
hear about these celebrity brands and we wonder, like do
they really are they really involved? So it's good to
know that my girl Rihanna is really involved and invested
in her products, and it shows because it's top seller.
Everyone loves it. Et cetera. So what did you study?
I'm curious did you study business when you were going
in school? Did you study completely different? And how did
(09:39):
you end up like here, like an incorporate, well in
corporate America.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
That's a great question, you know. You know, I went
to school for history, and then I went to grad
school for history of decorative arts and design because at
that point in time, I wanted to be a curator,
a museum curator. It's funny about life. You have to
remain a select simple because I actually still use my
history training. What did I learn in history? Fact checking, researching,
(10:06):
how to develop an argument, how to position thoughts and
ideas right, how to take feedback because you're dealing with faculty, right,
everyone if you submit a research paper, I mean, everyone
has something to say, so you have to be and
when defending my thesis, you have to get really comfortable
with articulating your thoughts. So I use that training every day.
But what gave me like my business hustle, aside from
(10:28):
working in these companies, was really my family. You know.
My grandmother dea a healing store and we grew up
in the store with her stalking the candles. My grandma
my mother was at the register. So my earliest memories
or the women that I saw doing things in my family,
they were business owners, micro business owners. So in the
(10:48):
back of my mind, in hindsight, as I was navigating
life and corporate and being so grateful because I was
the first prison my family to have a corporate job,
I'm realizing now I always wondered what what what did
the buena of something look like? Like? I remember feeling
thinking and still feeling how powerful my grandmother was. It
felt like in her own healing store. She she had
(11:10):
the sense of confidence and she was the owner of
her destiny. And those are the things that my sister
and I always wondered, like what what is our version
of For us, it's the beauty company. There's something healing
about cosmetics, right, especially when people are feeling down. A
lot of women look to cosmetics to feel better.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
So that is our botanica, right, And you're also creating
that space right Like when you were telling the story
about euro Boy, Let's like, whoever walked into the store,
I'm sure felt safe, and that's a felt nurtured right
and nourished. So now you are creating a space for
you know, black and brown Latinas that are trying to
find makeup that they can relate to, that they can
(11:52):
that you know, calls to them. And that's why I
love some of the names of your of your makeup products,
like Mama Sita. So talk to us about that process,
like how do you go about picking names for your products?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Yes, so we look to our culture and our upbringing
for inspiration. The beauty about Latino culture is that there's
so many Spanish speaking countries, but at least American Latino culture.
We only watched two television shows, I mean two channels,
so that means that for as a group, we were
(12:28):
watching similar things like Sao like. Culturally, there's a lot
of unity in our childhood experiences. I remember when we
were kids remaining facto the astrology of what mercal okay
we would you know, we didn't, We had no idea
(12:49):
what he was saying, but it was a cultural moment.
So for us to bring these names that mean a
lot of people Mamitae reg is to signal to the
customer that yeah, you know, at the end of the day,
we're providing great makeup for anyone that was makeup, but
we're being very intentional to our Latinas and multicultural customers
(13:11):
that you know that we are the ones behind it.
But there's there's there's women like you that are making
decisions that are being intentional, that want to make sure
that we are represented in the makeup ailes.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Definitely, And you also have like a pal that inspired
by the lenovelas, Right, what was your favorite? Like, talk
to me about that, because I want to hear all
about that.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Our eyelashes are inspired by the Lenola series because again,
like we watched I was actually speaking to someone Todays
about this. Remember you would Watchla for nine months, right,
you know I would like rush home to be like no, no, no,
I got to watch the teleola with my mom and
my American friends had no idea what the hell I
was talking about because it was like it was a
(13:55):
family bonding time. So and also, telenovelas, at least in
Latin America always had a very important female figurehead. The
story usually centered around a matriarch, if you will, whether
it be to her beauty and her power and all
these family dynamics. If when you really think about it,
latinos a little bit. Lenoila was always about La familia
(14:16):
and love and things like that. So we wanted to
name because lashes to us is like very transformative. Lashes
are also very dramatic. So we have Rubi, which was
a Mexican lenovela characters Ruby.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
That was That's one of my favorite lenovelas.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Exactly rub And then we have one Chica, which was
a Portuguese delenola that got dubbed in Spanish and it
was super scandalous in colonial Brazil. So yeah, we look
to to our again, to our culture, things that our
customers what realize is the cultural wink, right Rui. The
(14:56):
fact that I said through we and you understood what
I meant. That is the connection that we want with
our customers.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Definitely, you're listening to Latina's take the lead. Don't go away.
We'll be right back after this quick break. So going
back because I'm still curious about this. Going back, you know,
you graduated from school, you were a history major. What
(15:25):
was your first job, Because usually you know your first job.
It's like you either dive into your career or you
start experimenting with all kinds of different jobs until you
finally land to where you know something that resonates with you. So,
what was your first job right after college?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
My first job after college was the Macy's training program,
which was great because they did it with the cohort
of other kids, similar kids, similar age, So it was
an assistant buyer again looking at spreadsheets and things like that.
After that, I just kept trying different things. I've worked
if I've worked at as a paralegal. I've worked in antist office,
(16:01):
i worked in a bank, I've worked in you know, beauty,
I've worked. I mean, I continue to push myself. The
good thing about working is I love working. So everywhere
I've been I have contributed, right like the skill set,
the thought, the mindset of being excited, being wanting to learn,
wanted to contribute. You can transfer that no matter where
(16:22):
you go. But what I kept always chasing was that
extra connection to myself. I didn't realize, you know, working
with Savage was the first time that I felt complete
where I felt like, Wow, a brand that gets me,
a founder that is not that similar to me most
I feel, you know. But obviously now having my own company,
I'm realizing there's nothing more gratifying than that your own company,
(16:46):
right because you get to take an idea and I
could see it come to life by five pm. It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Wow, speaking of that idea that sparked, your sister is
your co founder, and I understand that she's a makeup
art or she was a makeup artist. So it's like
a perfect marriage, right, like, this is your makeup line.
She was a makeup artist. You are. You have the
business acumen. So when was that moment that was it
over a cafecito? Was it over you know? What was
that moment that you're like, you know what, let's start
(17:15):
a beauty line.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, it was a It was an example of our relationship,
meaning she kind of as she was being like this
makeup artist, I would come to her and I would
and I was having this first corporate experiences, always climbing
the ladder if you will. I would always come back
and be like, I'm learning this, I'm learning that. She
would just be a sponge and listen or I'm learning this,
or did you know this fact? Or this market research
(17:39):
and this, and then I remember one time I came
to her and I said, hey, I just learned that
sixty percent of the makeup customers or Latinas women like
you and me. Wow, what would it be like if
we walked down the makeup aile and we saw ourselves
the power of that, and she goes and you know,
she had her own makeup journey when it comes to
being more dark skin and not finding the shade right.
(18:01):
So part of it is like the business acumen, but
it's also the personal experiences of why is a big
conglomerate like Loreal, for example, they have to hire talent
to sell to us. What if we sold our own story?
What if we shared you know, because we grew up
in the culture, we know exactly what to say, well
not to say, you know, because we were just part
(18:25):
of it. So those and and then my sisters like
more the creative and I'm definitely a creative from an
idea perspective, but you know, the business acumen. But we
just kept having more conversations and more conversations and more conversations,
and then at some point we were like, you know what,
we started with lipstick, Okay, five products, and little by
(18:46):
little just kept snowballing, you know. But it helps, like
I said earlier, to have that partnership. It's important to
have that co founder that you can bounce off ideas
and they go somewhere.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
And when you're starting a beauty line, like with lipsticks
that you know there's there's ingredients. Did you go to
like a scientist or what was like your first first
step as far as like let's create a lipstick and
what color I don't know if you remember, like what
color or shade was that first product?
Speaker 2 (19:14):
That first first one was red and it continues to
be one of our best seller and it's a color
by the name Ghostosa, which is a you know, it's
like a resilient word for central woman. But yes, we
were very fortunate to have some friends in the beauty industry.
They connected us quickly to labs and that was so
(19:35):
exhilarating to realize, holy moly, like human beings are the
ones making these decisions and deciding. So the deeper we
got into realizing that we could choose our own components,
we could have a point of view on ingredients, we
could decide, hey, we want to make sure it's bru
to free and on toxic, we just kept feeling more powerful,
like wait a minute, Okay, we can do this for
(19:56):
make up. What about for eyeshadow palettes? Oh wow, we
can choose these colors, we can call it like. The
creative pieces of putting it all together was probably it
continues to be the most exciting pieces because you know,
you feel powerful when you realize that you can create
something meaningful that people like.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Right, and then what about the name Luna Magic? How
did that come about?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Luna Magic is the example of the partnership that my
sister and I have, So it was very simple. You know,
at some point this was spiraling that we were like,
I think we need to call this something. We were
in New York City and I said, hey, you pick
a name, you pick a word, and I'll pick a
word and then we'll see if the mush is together.
(20:42):
So then the word I chose was magic because I
feel like the people that change the world have to
have some level of imagination and magic to go out
and pursue it, because it's not easy. And then she
chose the word moon because she's obsessed with feminine moon energy,
so I was like moon man, and then she brought
Then I'm like, moon magic magic, Okay, where's the Latin?
(21:02):
How would people know that there's a Latin wink in there?
And then she's like, well moon in moon in Spanish,
and Luna Luna Magic, La Magic. It's a big mooint
I said now because as we stuck with our first instinct,
is it Luna Magic. It's also Spanish Extannglish, right, just perfect?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And then did you have to do like your due
diligence as far as like did anyone like Google? Did
anyone have this like crazy?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
What are the odds that we choose the name the
first one that trademark we have to trade that everything
like checked out?
Speaker 1 (21:36):
It was crazy amazing, And that's a good tip for
people that are thinking right of starting a business to
please check the name before you start branding, before you
start creating a website. I have seen entrepreneurs that have
had to rebrand entirely because right they used a name
that was already in use. And maybe even Google is
(21:57):
not even the best way to find out. You have
to get a trademark attorney and do right all the research. Yes,
So I also want to talk about your cultural background,
you and your sister Afro Latina, So talk to us
about where where your parents are from. Our grandparents are
from Amos.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
I don't know if your audience English management was Eanglish
Dominican Republic. So we were born to immigrant parents gave
me that home. You know, we were born in Miami,
so you know, we we have wei we've shared that
immigrant experience that many Latinos do. In my household, we
were very fortunate that blackness was encouraged. Blackness was celebrated
(22:35):
me Mama la Polo. The nickname in the family was Negave.
So we didn't In our immediate family, we never felt
the sense of like blackness was an issue, maybe until
we moved to New York and on our extended family
that grew up in the United States of America much
earlier than we did because we grew up in the Caribbean.
(22:57):
They they they then they started having oh but you're
darker and you're lighter. And I remember my sister and
now thinking like what, we've never thought about our skin down,
like we're just Mabel and saida. So that when you know,
the Afro data discussion started kind of becoming a thing,
because it's it's actually a real thing. You know, I
have extended family members that they don't want to you know,
(23:21):
when I say, well, I'm after Latina, They're like, Noicana.
I'm like, no, I'm racially I did my DNA I'm
part of the African diaspora, you know, so at the
end of the day, for us too, it's a celebration.
It's it's it's just being authentic. It's the identity that
we're from. I can't hide it. I mean, look look
at the way that I look. So it's just being
(23:44):
proud of who you are. And I think that's what
after Latina Latini that means to us and again Dominican culture,
it's so much fun with Yourta Domingo sante como scinthe
Dominican people were about having a good time and family values,
you know.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
And I'm curious to know are your customers majority Latino
or are your customers like all across the board? You
know why everything yes, And that is what I.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Think makes it exciting because you know, depending on the retailer,
we're learning from customer data the customers who they are.
You know, Lashes is skewing latinas an African American, our
Lash Primer is queuing Caucasian. There's a big segment of
Caucasian customer that just love cosmetics like you know, like
(24:35):
when you think about that brand from the past, urban decay,
like there's a lot of women that love pigment and
they love fun, exciting makeup. So for us, this is
what we say. We're beating with the vibe. We provide
the party Lacomida, the venue, the energy, and if you're
passing by and it resonates with you, anybody can come party.
(24:58):
We just so happen to be Latina founders, right. But
if you look at our cosmetics and you love cosmetics
at a great price, Luna mat and you love the
color and everything we stand for, you know I love it?
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And are is Lunar Magic available nationwide at CVS or
just certain stores.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Certain stores the best stores of New York City, California, Florida.
Walmar is available nationwide and Target is California and New York.
So we're in the key markets. That makes sense for us.
But it's it's a lot of distribution for brands so early,
so we're very happy.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
And did you have to do like fundraising for that?
Because we know that when you distribute massively, you also
have to have the inventory before the funds come in.
So how did you make that happen? Did you have
to get you know, VC funding or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Not yet, we've been fortunate to still be self funded,
and that is tied to how in Latin culture, you know,
we are very disciplined when it comes to making financial decisions.
And for example, believe it or now, we haven't spent
money on marketing yet. We have to start now because
(26:13):
we have to scale the company. But it's all been organic,
which tells us a lot about that the customer has
been hungry, you know. Obviously shows like Shark Tank helped us,
you know, four million viewers overnight, but now it's just
been whatever we make and put it right back into
the business.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
So I'm a big Shark Tank fan. Like I'm like,
do not miss an episode because I just love that
conversation between entrepreneurs and like people that challenge them right
and challenge their their businesses. Was it hard to get
on Shark Tank? How was that process?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
I found out after it happened. Then it is really difficult.
A lot of people don't realize it's a lot of
due diligence. They just you know, you have to expose
your financials, a lot of legal They got to make
sure that the clean that you're going to make on
television are real. So after the do do and then
you have to practice your pitch. You only get one shot.
(27:12):
A lot of people don't realize that. And it's like
you walk in and then the cameras are everywhere and
you they're looking at you, and you're supposed to like
remember everything, and then you're in there. Could be anywhere
between forty five minutes to an hour. We were in
there for about forty five minutes. So there's a lot
of people things that people don't see. But it was fun,
it was exhilarating. We had concerns are we too early?
(27:35):
Are we too early? But I'm happy that I stick
my guns because I still like we don't have the
crazy revenues, Like it's no, it's not about have because
I've seen businesses that generate three million dollars and they
still get turned down. You know. So I studied the show.
I studied the show, and I said, you know what,
the world is ready to listen to us.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
So and you applied and all that.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
We applied ABC dot Com. We applied and then you know,
went through every round and another step. Forty thousand people
applied that season. So we made it. And what a
lot of people don't realize that you can tape get
a deal and still not air. So the fact that
on our first try we made it the whole way.
It continues to give me goosebumps to know that we're
(28:21):
onto something special.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
And obviously you didn't get a deal. Correct, we did?
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Oh you did with Barbara Corkoran.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
So does she still work with you or didn't work
out or you can't talk about it.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
We can't talk about it. But love there, there's so
much love there. But we continue to be self funded.
That's the answer, Okay.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Perfect. One piece of advice for someone that wants to
start a business or started, you know, early on in
their business, one.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Piece of advice is spend as much time as you
can with yourself to make sure that everything that you're
doing is because you want to do it. When it
comes to dreams, it's part of it is intuition. The
other part of it is selling. You have to have
the intuition. You have to listen to yourself, you have
to honor your feelings and your vision, but then you
(29:10):
also have to sell it to everybody and anybody who's
willing to listen, you know what I mean. So just
having that grace for yourself to know that this is
a difficult thing, but also because what's crazy? People come
out of the woodworks to help you. And if I
had known that people would come out of the woodworks
to help me, like I know this now, I probably
(29:32):
would have been an entrepreneur a lot earlier in my life.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
All right, Another question I have is what is something
you're reading, listening to, using, or doing that you are
obsessed with and that you want to recommend.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
M So I'm obsessed with working out, I'm obsessed with
now podcasts, which is why I'm excited that I'm on yours.
I read a lot of books about business, but yeah,
but right now I'm also obsessed with self development, Like, okay,
kind of leader do I want to be? What kind
of CEO do I want to be? Because now that
(30:05):
the company at the beginning, it was just me, my
sister and a dream. But now it's becoming me my
sister dream and employees, me my sister and a dream
and external partners. So that how I need to evolve?
I have to, you know, go on that journey of
you know, how do I want to grow up with you?
Speaker 1 (30:19):
In the Magic Perfect The name of the show is
Latinas take the lead? How are you taking the lead
in your life.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
I'm taking the lead by existing. I'm taking the lead
by understanding that I am an example to many other
women and people. I take the lead by trying to
show you know, not just say things, but walk in
that as well, which you know, when you do two things,
(30:46):
that's when you're even more powerful. And I take the
lead by having fun and bringing others with me. For example,
like in New York, we're launching our Mentor Magic Initiative,
which is our our commitment to off string a community
of entrepreneurs in beauty and fashion and opening up our rotodecs.
Right like, I want to be my best mentor that
(31:09):
I wish I had when I started this journey. So
for us, it's about taking the lead to as we climb,
bring others with us because it's really important to you know, share,
share the knowledge, share the wealth so that we can
all win.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Definitely love it And where can people find you your products?
Follow you all of that.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yes, you can find in a Magic on Instagram and
TikTok at Luna Magic Beauty. You can find us on
our website Lunamagic dot com. You can find us in
our retailers Walmart, Target, CBS. We have a store page
on our website, and thank you so much for this
great experience.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Which has got ask us at the This was such
a pleasure. I feel like I wish, you know, we
were like best friends because I just love your energy
and everything and obviously the spirit that is signed here,
you bring it to your your product. It's an extension
of you and who you are, and obviously that's why
it's successful, I think.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
And we had had a great time. What a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Thank you so much for listening. Please subscribe and give
us a review, Tell your friends and go madries about
our podcast and hope you join us next week. Latin
Us Take the Lead is executive produced by Hodston Reinoso
Media Group, LLC and hosted by me naive Reno. So
Production Assistant is Ana Sofia Monson. Latinus Take the Lead
(32:37):
is a production of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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