March 3, 2025 • 37 mins
This week, we welcome Gina Elmanasterly, the visionary founder and CEO of FULLY FYNE, who's changing the haircare game for people with fine hair everywhere.
Coming from a lineage of entrepreneurs, Gina's business acumen was shaped by watching her grandfather and father build their own ventures. These early influences planted the seeds for her own entrepreneurial journey, which began taking shape even during her college years.
What makes Gina's story compelling is how FULLY FYNE was born from frustration. When battling dermatitis, she discovered a market saturated with steroid-heavy treatments unsuitable for her fine hair. After connecting with others facing the same dilemma, she identified an untapped opportunity.
Despite having no background in the beauty industry, Gina partnered with a chemist to develop a steroid-free hair mask. From humble beginnings—personally packaging and shipping orders—to now selling through QVC and building robust social media communities, her growth trajectory demonstrates the power of solving real problems.In this honest conversation, Gina shares her entrepreneurial rollercoaster, including:
Listen now to be inspired by Gina's journey from frustrated consumer to industry innovator.
Subscribe to our podcast for more stories of entrepreneurs transforming their industries through creative problem-solving.
Checkout FULLY FYNE
https://www.instagram.com/fullyfyne/
https://www.tiktok.com/@fullyfyne
https://www.qvc.com/beauty/fully-fyne/_/N-rhtyZ1xzo92n/c.html
Coming from a lineage of entrepreneurs, Gina's business acumen was shaped by watching her grandfather and father build their own ventures. These early influences planted the seeds for her own entrepreneurial journey, which began taking shape even during her college years.
What makes Gina's story compelling is how FULLY FYNE was born from frustration. When battling dermatitis, she discovered a market saturated with steroid-heavy treatments unsuitable for her fine hair. After connecting with others facing the same dilemma, she identified an untapped opportunity.
Despite having no background in the beauty industry, Gina partnered with a chemist to develop a steroid-free hair mask. From humble beginnings—personally packaging and shipping orders—to now selling through QVC and building robust social media communities, her growth trajectory demonstrates the power of solving real problems.In this honest conversation, Gina shares her entrepreneurial rollercoaster, including:
- The exact moment she realized FULLY FYNE needed to exist
- Navigating the challenges of entering an unfamiliar industry
- How she built her initial customer base
- Her vision for expanding the FULLY FYNE product line
- The critical role her family plays in her success
Listen now to be inspired by Gina's journey from frustrated consumer to industry innovator.
Subscribe to our podcast for more stories of entrepreneurs transforming their industries through creative problem-solving.
Checkout FULLY FYNE
https://www.instagram.com/fullyfyne/
https://www.tiktok.com/@fullyfyne
https://www.qvc.com/beauty/fully-fyne/_/N-rhtyZ1xzo92n/c.html
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Startup Still Safe podcast. Thank you for
tuning in, you as a favorite, like, subscribe on YouTube
and LinkedIn, and be sure to give us your feedback.
Hope you enjoyed this episode.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to a brand new episode of Startups, They'll say.
I'm your host, Anthony Prakash, and today I'm super delighted
to bring to you Gina Elman Astley, who is based
in the Florida area. She brings to us a story
of fully fine and her journey of coming from an
immigrant family, settling down in the US, making a brand
(00:36):
by herself, her ups and downs as a founder and CEO,
and everything in life that has brought her to this point. Gina,
Welcome to the show. So great to have you here.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Thank you, Anthony, thanks for having me. Well.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
First of all, we should tell our audience that we've
tried to schedule this quite a few times. You're a
global citizen yourself. You travel from continent to continent, and
so I'm glad we are able to record this. I'm
recording this set of even before six a m. And
the Pacific Pacific time too. Yeah, and you as well.
(01:13):
So you're right now in Egypt visiting family. Yeah, So
why didn't we get started with just a little bit
about yourself, Gina, your journey in general as a founder,
what brought you here? Just give us a little backstory.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, sure, So I was born and raised in Egypt,
so I think, you know, being raised in a third
world country taught me a lot from a very young age.
I love it here. It's just that opportunities here are not,
you know, the same as in the United States, for example.
(01:51):
So so yeah, so from a from a very young age,
I know that this might sound kind of cliche, but
I've always wanted to do something of that. You make
a difference. I just wasn't sure what exactly yet. And
then I graduated college, moved to the US about five
years ago, and that's when I started the whole journey
(02:14):
of starting my own business, which is fully Fine.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
So well, we surely touch upon fully Fine and what
fully fine is. But let's go back to what you said.
You know, you see your upbringing and your college and
all of that. Were there any other entrepreneurs in the family, Gina,
that you looked up to and said, hey, I mean,
(02:40):
this is he or she is my inspiration and you
look up to in your current journey as well.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, so it all started with my grandfather. He passed
away when I was younger. I always think that if
he was still alive till this day, I would have
learned a lot from him. He was always a onrepreneur.
This man I'm like, just an amazing guy in general.
And then so after him, my dad also an entrepreneur,
and a lot from him as well when it comes
(03:08):
to business and so so yeah, I think it runs
in the family. So maybe that's where I get from.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
That was cool that, I mean, you know those did that.
DNA has kicked engine and you're on your way as well.
So in terms of your journey, obviously we spoke about
this recy that you've you've moved around right now you
are catering to the US market with fully Fine. You're
(03:39):
based in in the US. Where did you actually get
the idea for fully Fine? I see from your background,
I mean, you know you did not start off as
an entrepreneur. You tried various jobs. You you probably did
not like him, and that you you got that park somewhere, right,
So that about what was the imptatus behind saying, hey,
(04:03):
I mean she has a market, I'm passionate about and
I want to do this.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, So from you know, a long time ago, I've
always tried to take good care of my hair. I
remember I tried a bunch of products out there, and
nothing really stuck with me. Nothing was like wow, like
work perfectly. Everything with either way down my hair make
my scalp more oily and greasy, or just dry out
my hair. So nothing really works. And then a few
(04:32):
years ago, I was diagnosed with mild support dermatitis on
my scalp, which I wasn't even aware of what that
is at the time, but I guess. My dermatologist said
it was from stress or it could be you know,
multiple different reasons, but he recommended I use shampoo with
steroids in it. I didn't like the idea of using
(04:54):
steroids consistently on my scalp because it like penetrates and stuff.
So that's when I I did even more market research,
and I did a lot of market research during that time.
I tried every in any product that I could find
out there that's either stated to be for fine hair
or for all hair types. And then I tried all
(05:15):
the products that said, you know, they're for all hair types.
Nothing works, and that's when I dug even deeper and
tried to find products that said that they were just
for fine or thin hair, because that's my hair type.
A lot of people say, a lot of people you know,
have come to me and say, but you know you,
you seem like you have thick hair. But it's like, no,
I have fine hair. I just have a lot of it.
(05:36):
It's just that because a lot of people might not
be aware of what fine hair is, it means that
the hair strand itself is very thin. You can have
a lot of it, you can have little of it,
but it's that's what fine or thin hair is. And
so so yeah, so I tried to find products that worked.
I tried everything that said it was for fine hair.
(05:57):
Nothing worked, same problem way down my hair, made my
hair heavy, my scalp even more oily, dried out my hair.
Nothing really work. So and then I found a lot
of brands out there that were either just focusing on
thick horst hair or curly thick hair. But I couldn't
find anything out there that was for fine hair. There
(06:21):
are brands that have, you know, fine hair lines or
some products for fine hair, but they're not specialized in
creating products specifically focusing on fine hair needs with the
ingredients that they need for it to be lightweight enough
yet effective. So that was sort of like the light
bulb moment of I started to think, why can't I
find a brand out there that's just for fine hair,
(06:44):
because something I would want myself. And then I started
to speak with many different women, like friends or friends
of friends, because I didn't want any like biased opinions.
And then I started asking more people with fine hair,
you know, what are your struggles? Have you found products
at work? And I was actually surprised to see that
everyone that I spoke with said that they still they
(07:07):
were still trying to find products that worked for them.
They still complained that the products weigh down their hair,
or they were still trying to find something. And so
that pushed me and motivated me even more to do this.
And so that's how fully Fine came about. And I
decided that I want to fill this gap in the market,
(07:27):
you know, be the market leader in this niche industry
and hopefully, you know, be the go to brand for
people who find hair to make their lives easier. You know.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
So it's a beautiful story. I mean, it's almost almost
like self inspired. I mean, you went through that struggle
yourself and those around you says that. But at the
same time, you know, having a great idea or the
(07:58):
sac that I mean you're going to that pain is
I mean a lot of us go through that. Very
few of us say I want to do something about it.
Now take those next few steps, which you did, So
kudos to you on that. But at the same time,
I'm assuming you would have also had a lot of
apprehension about it in the sense saying can I do this?
(08:21):
I don't come from this background because you know, imagining
something saying oh I want this for pine hair is
one thing. At the same time, to your point, doing research,
doing at the end of the day, you are creating
a compound which you're going to put on your head
and have everybody else tried as well. Right, I mean
(08:44):
there's a lot of chemistry involved. I'm assuming. So how
did how did you bring that all all all together?
And I mean in the first I mean, like I said,
maybe it's a two part question. How did you overcome
that mental barrier saying can I do this? And secondly,
I mean how did you say, Okay, here's the network
that I need to actually put something.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yeah, definitely. So I've tried many businesses before, fully Fine,
that have failed or that I just wasn't really passionate about,
and I learned a lot from them. So I'm very
glad that I went through that experience and that journey
and I learned a lot. And I did that to learn,
you know, it's like learn as you go type of thing.
(09:27):
And so when I had this idea, fully Fine, because
I always knew, you know, I wanted to do something,
I just wasn't sure what. And I didn't want to
just do, you know, just start a business for the
sake of it. That's not the purpose of this. I
actually wanted to create something of value and not just
another product on the shelf. So that's why I was patient.
(09:49):
I was like, Okay, I'm just gonna wait until you know,
I find something that's worth pursuing and something that's actually
going to help people, not just you know, a random product.
So that's why, you know, the the stuff that I
did in the past and the businesses I did in
the past, I learned a lot from that experience. And
then as I was going through you know, one business
(10:09):
to another or the different challenges, different ideas, and then
I found this when I got this diagnosis, and then
I started doing my research on the hair care products,
started speaking with multiple other people and found that there
is this common struggle and this problem that doesn't have
a solution yet. Now it does, but you know, before
(10:30):
fully fine. So so that that inspired me. That was like, okay,
you know, I have something like, this is something of value.
This is something that's actually gonna help people and help
make them feel better about themselves, change their lives, make
their lives easier. For example, I get these, you know,
(10:51):
stories from multiple customers. One of my customers she experienced
postpartum hair loss, so she's been using our product for
six months and helped her hair grow. So just these
stories are the reason why, you know I I was like, exactly,
so these are these are the stories that it's like,
this is why I want to do this, this is why.
(11:13):
So that's in the beginning, of course, it was very
difficult because I wasn't sure if this was going to
work or you know, if this was like worth it.
But then how I was able to pass that was
by speaking to people first. So before I, you know,
jumped into starting a business, starting a product. I spoke
with a lot of different people, first talked to them
(11:35):
about the idea presented it and then based on their
feedback saying that they would love something like this, and
the demand was there. People were looking at this. So
that's why I was like, Okay, I'm going to do
this because people want this and I want this, and
you know, so I was like, you know, I thought
it was just me in the beginning, but then when
I spoke to multiple different people, I found that, you know,
(11:59):
a lot of people. I even posted once on a
Facebook group, a local Facebook group in Tampa, and I
got like a ton of comments within twenty four hours
saying you know, oh yeah, yeah, I want this. I
would love to try this product. So that was proof
that people want this, people are waiting for this, and
(12:19):
this is going to help them. So and then to
answer the second question of the chemistry, I then started
looking for a cosmetic chemist. I spoke with many, many
different people until I found someone who's amazing and we
started working on it together. I think it took us
about a year to perfect the formula and put everything together.
(12:43):
We did a lot of research on ingredients, what's good,
what's safe, also, that was my number one thing. I
kept telling her, like, this has to be safe. It
has to be safe. I'm not putting it on the
market if it's not safe. So that's why it took
us a while, but it was obviously works the way.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Yeah yeah, uh yeah. I mean I've never been through
a journey like this, but I can imagine. I mean,
you know how every failed experiment must have been, right,
I mean to to your point. I mean, you didn't
want you didn't want steroids. You know, that's that's a
first thing. And for it to be natural and you
(13:22):
know safe, that's that's a big deal. I mean, especially
with a product like this that you're using on yourself
and the last thing you want is to cast damage
to anybody. So I'm not probably familiar with the process, Gine.
I mean, is there's this for both uh the use
(13:44):
as well?
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Right?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I mean you did mention a lot of women. Can
men use this as well?
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Yes, yes, yeah, yeah, so yeah it's for everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Yes, everybody was fine or thin hair or even like
thinning hair.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yes, I'm way past that, so I can't image.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Maybe for like hair growth.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I'm just kidding, yeah, Jox aside so so back to
the story. You know, so you you start this and
for every business, I mean you need not only the demand, right,
I mean you obviously need the financial backing somebody to say, Pat,
and I believe in you and I want to invest
(14:31):
in you. I mean, how how is how is that
network for you? And who is currently supporting you on
on the financial journey behind?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
So so far fully fun has been self funded. It's
still we're still bootstrapped. Yeah, it's been a long journey.
I had to work two jobs at some point to
be able to save up and you know, invest the
capital that I wanted to. I will say that at
(15:02):
some point my parents were very helpful because I got
to live with them and not pay rent, which is
I used to. So I lived with them at first,
and then I moved out for like a short period
of time, and then I decided I want to go
all in on my business and be very serious about it,
so I moved back in with them. To everything that
(15:25):
I was saving up or making from the jobs that
I had at the time, I wanted to put it
in my business rather than put it in rent. So
my parents have been helping me a lot with that.
So so yeah, so far it's self funded everything from
my savings and obviously reinvesting in the business. And yeah,
(15:51):
I'm definitely looking for investors trying to grow that network.
So I've been dranked network through LinkedIn networking events like
local events, so you know, still on that journey and
open to it. But I'm also still considering if it's
(16:12):
too early on for us, maybe we should just wait
a little bit, or maybe you know, if I if
I find the right strategic partner, it would it would
be worth it.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, got it, got it? And speaking of too earlier
or not, I'm you obviously have your e commerce sort
of channel, right, I mean where people can come to
your website take a look at it. I mean, you know,
pick it up if needed. So where can people find
fully find today? And what is your strategy so to
(16:44):
speak on saying, you know, will it be fully e
commerce driven? Do you plan to have it in you know,
the brick and motor retailers at some point and the
people trying to partner with you, I mean, you know
what sort of partnerships are looking at as well?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
So the business. Yeah, so right now, we launched online
and it's only been about a year and a half,
so still very early on, but within our first year,
I'm very happy. I'm proud of what we've accomplished. We
partnered with QVC, so as of now, people can find
our products on our website fully fine dot com, on
(17:26):
our Instagram like social media TikTok at fully Fine, or
also on QVC's website, so qvc dot com and right
now these are where our distribution channels. For the future,
I'm definitely planning on going into big retailers like you know,
(17:47):
maybe one day Sophora or All to Beauty or I'm
also I have like a big vision, so not sure
if I'm supposed to give everything out right now, but
that too. Yeah, but you know, one of my big,
big long term goals, you know is maybe I'm not
one hundred percent sure yet how that's going to go,
(18:09):
but maybe one day, when we make it big, we
can open up like our own Fine Hair salon and
then have our products there. So yeah, I have a
lot of ideas for long term growth. It's yeah, it
takes time, it's going to be a long journey ahead,
but I'm excited for what's to come, and yeah, definitely
(18:31):
looking at those bigger partnership retailers I already had, like
some people, I had a big retailer from Canada reach
out to me and we I'm just keeping you know,
these relationships for long term because right now we are
still small, so it didn't make sense to do that
right now, but keeping that relationship for when we get
(18:53):
bigger and bigger and have more products, then we can
you know, also distribute outside of US and like worldwide.
But right now just starting with the US and social
media and like retailers.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And in terms of products, Gina, I mean, is it
is it more like what sort of product line do
you have? I mean in the sense it's a shampoo,
conditioner or something else they apply. What are the different
products as part of your line that you have.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, so right now, we started with what I call
our hero product, which is our hair mask. So it's
a hair treatment mask that it's a deep conditioner, so
it conditions your hair, makes your hair much softer, and
adds like fullness and volume and bounce. And also another
thing that makes us very unique is that with this
hair mask, it's not that you just can't actually recommend
(19:49):
people massage it into their scalp, not gonna weigh down.
It's not going to leave any residue behind, none of that.
So that's something I want to do for like most
of our products to come. And so the products that
I'm looking at in the pipeline would be shampoo, conditioner next.
And then not to give out information again, but like
(20:11):
maybe you know hair cereal stuff, There's there's a lot
of ideas going on. I don't want to like give
out everything now sports, but yeah, definitely shampoo would be
what's next, because that's I've actually had customers ask for it. Yeah, well,
so yeah, that's very cool.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
I mean, I'm so I'm so inspired by I mean
the big division and uh you know thinking that you have.
So that's going to serve you well. But I also
want to touch upon some of the failures that you
said in the previous businesses that you faced, right, I
(20:53):
mean obviously those are you can take it either way, right,
I mean you can be bogged down by it and say,
oh my god, I mean this is not for me
and never start this journey of fully fine, you could say, oh,
I'm much more happier in a full time job, and
you know that's my safe zone if you will. But
(21:13):
Gina is not that person genas like, you know what,
I want to learn from this and do better the
next time. Can you talk a little or share some
experiences on failures that have really made you stronger, and
you know you any advice when people are listening for
advice and experiences that they don't have to go through
(21:37):
as well. So anything that jumps to your head that
you always think back and say, I'm never doing that,
or because I had this experience, you know I would
do this differently for fully fine.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
If you definitely Yeah, So I definitely have those thoughts
of just sticking with a nine to five, having the
job security. I think any entrepreneur goes through that, and
that's that's the most challenging thing I would say that
I had to go through is overcoming like the mental
struggles and like hurdles of the uncertainty of what's to
(22:16):
come next and just wanting that period. So so yeah,
in the past, I yeah, I mean now thinking about it,
I don't think I would do anything. I think the
the number one thing I would probably do differently is
maybe focusing more on having I guess like a better
(22:37):
Like I I graduated with marketing, I worked in sales
and then I did sales support because I just I
didn't really enjoy doing sales for you know, other companies
and just being on the phone twenty four to seven
and all that. But I think I would have maybe
pursued something more of something I was passionate about while
(22:59):
I was in or something with a better like career plan.
Because something that I did learn is, you know, instead
of me having to go work those two jobs and
do all this and that, because I worked at a
restaurant and then I worked full time like an corporate
office desk job, and you know, they're all fine, they're
(23:20):
all great. I learned a lot, but it was exhausting.
I wish I would have maybe chosen a different, like
a better career path where I had more of a
stable job that paid me more, where I could just
put this money into my business, have that as like
security while I'm working on my business, and then as
(23:40):
my business grows, I can then decide to quit or whatever.
But so, so I think that's one thing, you know,
I would have done differently instead of like freaking out
about my career. So so yeah, and then the stuff
that I did in the past was I remember by
(24:00):
last year of college, I started a website called the
Random Posit. That was the first business that I did,
and I was just like sell random stuff online, like
popular random products, and because that at the time, that's
when the whole online people buying online and stuff was
starting to boom, and I wasn't really buying it at first,
(24:23):
so I said, let me try it and see if
this actually works, because it sounded very interesting, like, oh,
I can just you know, start an online business. Okay,
let me, let me see. So I started that started
selling like some random products, and then I created an AD,
but like I was doing everything on my own just
to also learn everything about it. And then I started
getting like a few sales. I think in the beginning,
(24:45):
I got like three or four from that ad that
I put out in only like in a matter of
twenty four to forty hours, and I was I started
to freak out because I wasn't even sure what to
do about it, like and then it was during Chris
So then I remember FedEx and like the ups all
those people they were there was a lot of traffic
(25:07):
during that time, so they that the products the order
was delayed for some customers, and then so a customer
wanted to return it because they weren't going to get
it in time. I didn't even know how to do returns,
Like I was like, I don't know what I'm doing,
you know, so I.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I'm assuming.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
It was. Yeah, at the time, I was at my
best friend's house. So I was in uh born and
raised and went to school in Alexandria, Egypt. My best
friend moved to Cairo for school, so I used to
visit her there a lot. So at the time, I
remember I was staying at her place for a bit.
Even I even have a picture of like the desk
(25:54):
that I was. I had my laptop there and I
was just sitting there every day just working on it.
So it was it was a good time. It was fun.
Like I learned a lot and you know, and then
I shut down that business because I I was like,
I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want this
to be you know, unethical or anything like that. I
(26:16):
could have continued or do you know, and and just
learned more and and but I just it. I learned
what I wanted to learn. I saw that, you know,
the proof that this works. So I decided to shut
it down. And then after I had like another idea,
I didn't really pursue it that much. And then when
I moved to the US, I started getting people from
(26:39):
like network marketing MLM companies reach out to me. And
at the first, like in the beginning, I I didn't
even know what that was because I had just moved
to the US. I I didn't like, I wasn't sure
what this is, but you know, but everyone was like, oh,
you can do this and let me teach you. And
and again I went into it just as a learning experience.
(27:03):
So so I tried doing that for a bit. Didn't
like it. I just it just wasn't ethical for for me.
You know. I know some people do it professionally and
that's fine, but it just didn't sit well with me.
So I decided, you like, I don't want to do this,
And I decided I wanted to do something that's actually
(27:24):
like my own products, like might be something that I'm
passionate about.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
So yeah, cool, I mean these are all these are
all stories that you can put in your book someday.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Yeah maybe.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, that's so speaking of a book, you know, people
always talk about their instration as well their ole model.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
You you did mention, you know, entrepreneurship is in your blood.
So to speak with your grandfather and your dad, I mean,
any anybody else that you look up to, Gina saying,
I mean, you know, here's my old model or my
inspiration and tick tick atch me their path and their principles,
(28:10):
if you will, as as a CEO and founder, anyone
you look up to.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yeah, I there is someone I look up to. He's
not a CEO or founder, yet I know he wants
to be my brother he uh. And my mom as well.
She she she always wanted to start home thing. And
so I learn a lot from both of them, whether
they know it or not. But my brother, for example,
(28:37):
he's super disciplined, super disciplined, and that's something that I
learned from him, Like sticks to a schedule, you know,
works out every day in the morning, goes to work
doing great. So that's something that he taught me. And
he you know, if it wasn't for them, I probably
would have never moved to the US. So he pushed
(29:00):
me to dream big and he always supported me. And
so I've I've learned a lot from him in the
very beginning of this journey, and I still continue to
learn a lot from him and from my mom. Yeah,
I mean, she taught me a lot about strength and
just you know, continuing to be humble and so yeah,
(29:23):
I I yeah, I learn a lot from my family
and that's that's good.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I mean, you have a it looks like you have
a beautiful family and you're very very thankful for their support, right,
which is super important in a journey like this, especially
it's a it's a tough journey and you know you're
you're in a way. I'm sure you'll say. I've heard
(29:48):
a lot of founders say you feel like you're so
alone in that massive, massive world and there's nobody to
lean on and uh support. But in your case, yes,
I mean you have a model strength you know, system
if you will, or a network if you will. Just
turn your family with your family and your own experiences
(30:11):
are supporting you saying okay, keep pushing, right, which is awesome.
So in terms of next steps, you did give us
a glimpse of what you what you're planning to do
right now, Gina. I mean, but one of the things
that I was thinking about is obviously you have to
(30:32):
create the product, which you did, you know, the mask
and everything else, but in terms of mass production as well, right,
I mean that's a different step by itself to say, Okay,
you create one one batch is fine, but I mean
do you have to create partnerships with that ecosystem to
mass produce your product and ship it? I mean, it's
(30:54):
a whole supply chain as well, right, I mean do
you are you doing all that through partnerships right now
or have you built that yourself for the company already?
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, So I work with third party people again in
the in the beginning, it was very tough to find
a good manufacturer to work with. I network with a lot,
spoke with a lot of them on the phone, visited
multiple facilities before I actually found someone who's really good.
They're a family owned business, so really good people. Uh
(31:30):
went there, visited the facility, had lunch with them, and
it just you know, it really worked out like that,
where after going through multiple people who I wasn't too
sure about, and then I finally found people who were
actually really good and cooperate with me and you know,
help me because they you know, they see this as
a partnership as as we grow, they grow. So so
(31:53):
I'm very glad that I ended up finding them and
with supply chain. Right now, for QBC, we work with
a third party also really good people who ship out
the stuff for us for the website I right now.
(32:14):
I initially started also with like another Pokemon center, but
things weren't going to well, so I decided to for
our website. I still ship things out personally from my
parents' house.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Yeah, so that's I'm assuming the FedEx guys.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
So the USPS guys know you're really well, right, so you.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Shout out to Brian. He's uh, he's amazing over there
in Odessa, Florida. He's been very helpful. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, I mean these are all stories you got to tell.
Tell people someday to ask you how you moved from
strength to strength and uh, from strength strength gena. I mean,
you've already done what a lot of founders I wish
they had as part of their journey, right. I mean,
you you feel feels like, I mean, you were born
(33:13):
to be a founder based on your story. Yeah, but
I think I would love to hear some feedback that
you can give want to be founders as well as
to saying you know what what to expect, what not
to expect, and any any pieces of advice, anything you
(33:33):
normally say to even a friend who says, hey, Gena,
what would you tell me in my journey if your well, so.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Go for it. Yeah. So actually something that I I'm
very convinced about this and I'm going to always say it.
If it's in your heart, it's in there for a reason.
Put out all the noise. Because I when I was
first getting started, I and I know that you know
a lot of my close time and friends were doing
(34:01):
this out of protection that you know, this is too risky,
or the market is too saturated, or this might not work.
And I have these thoughts as well, like that's normal.
But every time I would kind of like take a
step back from fully fine or you know, if I'm
going through any mental struggles that this is too much,
this is too overwhelming. Every time I took a step back,
(34:25):
or every time I, you know, took kind of like
a break and not really working on it for like
a day or two, I just it's always at the
back of my mind, like and it's always in in need,
like in my heart, in my gut. I just working
on it is something I'm very passionate about. It makes
me feel alive. I love doing it. So that's my
(34:46):
advice is if it's in your heart, it's in there
for a reason, so go for it and cut out
the noise. It's gonna be very hard, You're gonna have doubts,
you're gonna have a lot of mental challenges, but the
most important thing is just to keep going. In my opinion,
that's what separates someone who succeeds from someone who doesn't.
(35:09):
Is not because this person is more talented or smarter
or any of that. It's just that they kept going
so consistency, keep that momentum going. Doesn't have to be perfect,
it just has to be done.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
So beautiful advice. I love it. If it's in your heart,
it's an desperate reason, so I'll remember that as well. Yeah, good, awesome.
So anything else you'd like to share, Gene about your story,
anything that anything about fully find that you want people
who have the Fine Hair to know, your customers to
(35:48):
know your investment, people who want to invest to know
about fully find that I've not touched upon.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
I think we've pretty much covered everything I would say. Yoh.
I do have a long term vision for fully Fine,
and we're already seeing amazing feedback from customers, amazing results,
just amazing stories from them. Oh yeah, I'm excited for
what's to come. And he's someone with fine or thin hair.
(36:17):
Come join our community. I'm still, you know, trying to
grow this community. For me, it's it's not just a
brand or a business selling products. It's a community of
people who share these common struggles and where we can
tell our stories and help each other, uplift each other.
And so yeah, and then hopefully you know, my commitment
(36:39):
is to always continue to make the best quality, high quality,
safe products We're fine here that make people feel good
about themselves.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
And yeah, great, great to have you on the show, Gina,
thanks to sharing your story. I loved your story background
and your passion to do this and uh even even
more so because you have an incredible support system around you.
(37:11):
Uh you know, family is everything, and in your case,
I mean, your family is your backbone and they've helped
you so far. I wish you the very best with
fully Fine. I'll hope to see you on the shelves
of all the stores one day and I'll call out
as well, Hey that's Gina. Gina was on Startups still
say so, thanks so much, Gina, with you the best.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Thank you so much, Anthony. I really appreciate it and
thanks for having me. It was great speaking with you.
Enjoyed this
This is the Startup Still Safe podcast. Thank you for
tuning in, you as a favorite, like, subscribe on YouTube
and LinkedIn, and be sure to give us your feedback.
Hope you enjoyed this episode.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to a brand new episode of Startups, They'll say.
I'm your host, Anthony Prakash, and today I'm super delighted
to bring to you Gina Elman Astley, who is based
in the Florida area. She brings to us a story
of fully fine and her journey of coming from an
immigrant family, settling down in the US, making a brand
(00:36):
by herself, her ups and downs as a founder and CEO,
and everything in life that has brought her to this point. Gina,
Welcome to the show. So great to have you here.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Thank you, Anthony, thanks for having me. Well.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
First of all, we should tell our audience that we've
tried to schedule this quite a few times. You're a
global citizen yourself. You travel from continent to continent, and
so I'm glad we are able to record this. I'm
recording this set of even before six a m. And
the Pacific Pacific time too. Yeah, and you as well.
(01:13):
So you're right now in Egypt visiting family. Yeah, So
why didn't we get started with just a little bit
about yourself, Gina, your journey in general as a founder,
what brought you here? Just give us a little backstory.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, sure, So I was born and raised in Egypt,
so I think, you know, being raised in a third
world country taught me a lot from a very young age.
I love it here. It's just that opportunities here are not,
you know, the same as in the United States, for example.
(01:51):
So so yeah, so from a from a very young age,
I know that this might sound kind of cliche, but
I've always wanted to do something of that. You make
a difference. I just wasn't sure what exactly yet. And
then I graduated college, moved to the US about five
years ago, and that's when I started the whole journey
(02:14):
of starting my own business, which is fully Fine.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
So well, we surely touch upon fully Fine and what
fully fine is. But let's go back to what you said.
You know, you see your upbringing and your college and
all of that. Were there any other entrepreneurs in the family, Gina,
that you looked up to and said, hey, I mean,
(02:40):
this is he or she is my inspiration and you
look up to in your current journey as well.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, so it all started with my grandfather. He passed
away when I was younger. I always think that if
he was still alive till this day, I would have
learned a lot from him. He was always a onrepreneur.
This man I'm like, just an amazing guy in general.
And then so after him, my dad also an entrepreneur,
and a lot from him as well when it comes
(03:08):
to business and so so yeah, I think it runs
in the family. So maybe that's where I get from.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
That was cool that, I mean, you know those did that.
DNA has kicked engine and you're on your way as well.
So in terms of your journey, obviously we spoke about
this recy that you've you've moved around right now you
are catering to the US market with fully Fine. You're
(03:39):
based in in the US. Where did you actually get
the idea for fully Fine? I see from your background,
I mean, you know you did not start off as
an entrepreneur. You tried various jobs. You you probably did
not like him, and that you you got that park somewhere, right,
So that about what was the imptatus behind saying, hey,
(04:03):
I mean she has a market, I'm passionate about and
I want to do this.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, So from you know, a long time ago, I've
always tried to take good care of my hair. I
remember I tried a bunch of products out there, and
nothing really stuck with me. Nothing was like wow, like
work perfectly. Everything with either way down my hair make
my scalp more oily and greasy, or just dry out
my hair. So nothing really works. And then a few
(04:32):
years ago, I was diagnosed with mild support dermatitis on
my scalp, which I wasn't even aware of what that
is at the time, but I guess. My dermatologist said
it was from stress or it could be you know,
multiple different reasons, but he recommended I use shampoo with
steroids in it. I didn't like the idea of using
(04:54):
steroids consistently on my scalp because it like penetrates and stuff.
So that's when I I did even more market research,
and I did a lot of market research during that time.
I tried every in any product that I could find
out there that's either stated to be for fine hair
or for all hair types. And then I tried all
(05:15):
the products that said, you know, they're for all hair types.
Nothing works, and that's when I dug even deeper and
tried to find products that said that they were just
for fine or thin hair, because that's my hair type.
A lot of people say, a lot of people you know,
have come to me and say, but you know you,
you seem like you have thick hair. But it's like, no,
I have fine hair. I just have a lot of it.
(05:36):
It's just that because a lot of people might not
be aware of what fine hair is, it means that
the hair strand itself is very thin. You can have
a lot of it, you can have little of it,
but it's that's what fine or thin hair is. And
so so yeah, so I tried to find products that worked.
I tried everything that said it was for fine hair.
(05:57):
Nothing worked, same problem way down my hair, made my
hair heavy, my scalp even more oily, dried out my hair.
Nothing really work. So and then I found a lot
of brands out there that were either just focusing on
thick horst hair or curly thick hair. But I couldn't
find anything out there that was for fine hair. There
(06:21):
are brands that have, you know, fine hair lines or
some products for fine hair, but they're not specialized in
creating products specifically focusing on fine hair needs with the
ingredients that they need for it to be lightweight enough
yet effective. So that was sort of like the light
bulb moment of I started to think, why can't I
find a brand out there that's just for fine hair,
(06:44):
because something I would want myself. And then I started
to speak with many different women, like friends or friends
of friends, because I didn't want any like biased opinions.
And then I started asking more people with fine hair,
you know, what are your struggles? Have you found products
at work? And I was actually surprised to see that
everyone that I spoke with said that they still they
(07:07):
were still trying to find products that worked for them.
They still complained that the products weigh down their hair,
or they were still trying to find something. And so
that pushed me and motivated me even more to do this.
And so that's how fully Fine came about. And I
decided that I want to fill this gap in the market,
(07:27):
you know, be the market leader in this niche industry
and hopefully, you know, be the go to brand for
people who find hair to make their lives easier. You know.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
So it's a beautiful story. I mean, it's almost almost
like self inspired. I mean, you went through that struggle
yourself and those around you says that. But at the
same time, you know, having a great idea or the
(07:58):
sac that I mean you're going to that pain is
I mean a lot of us go through that. Very
few of us say I want to do something about it.
Now take those next few steps, which you did, So
kudos to you on that. But at the same time,
I'm assuming you would have also had a lot of
apprehension about it in the sense saying can I do this?
(08:21):
I don't come from this background because you know, imagining
something saying oh I want this for pine hair is
one thing. At the same time, to your point, doing research,
doing at the end of the day, you are creating
a compound which you're going to put on your head
and have everybody else tried as well. Right, I mean
(08:44):
there's a lot of chemistry involved. I'm assuming. So how
did how did you bring that all all all together?
And I mean in the first I mean, like I said,
maybe it's a two part question. How did you overcome
that mental barrier saying can I do this? And secondly,
I mean how did you say, Okay, here's the network
that I need to actually put something.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yeah, definitely. So I've tried many businesses before, fully Fine,
that have failed or that I just wasn't really passionate about,
and I learned a lot from them. So I'm very
glad that I went through that experience and that journey
and I learned a lot. And I did that to learn,
you know, it's like learn as you go type of thing.
(09:27):
And so when I had this idea, fully Fine, because
I always knew, you know, I wanted to do something,
I just wasn't sure what. And I didn't want to
just do, you know, just start a business for the
sake of it. That's not the purpose of this. I
actually wanted to create something of value and not just
another product on the shelf. So that's why I was patient.
(09:49):
I was like, Okay, I'm just gonna wait until you know,
I find something that's worth pursuing and something that's actually
going to help people, not just you know, a random product.
So that's why, you know, the the stuff that I
did in the past and the businesses I did in
the past, I learned a lot from that experience. And
then as I was going through you know, one business
(10:09):
to another or the different challenges, different ideas, and then
I found this when I got this diagnosis, and then
I started doing my research on the hair care products,
started speaking with multiple other people and found that there
is this common struggle and this problem that doesn't have
a solution yet. Now it does, but you know, before
(10:30):
fully fine. So so that that inspired me. That was like, okay,
you know, I have something like, this is something of value.
This is something that's actually gonna help people and help
make them feel better about themselves, change their lives, make
their lives easier. For example, I get these, you know,
(10:51):
stories from multiple customers. One of my customers she experienced
postpartum hair loss, so she's been using our product for
six months and helped her hair grow. So just these
stories are the reason why, you know I I was like, exactly,
so these are these are the stories that it's like,
this is why I want to do this, this is why.
(11:13):
So that's in the beginning, of course, it was very
difficult because I wasn't sure if this was going to
work or you know, if this was like worth it.
But then how I was able to pass that was
by speaking to people first. So before I, you know,
jumped into starting a business, starting a product. I spoke
with a lot of different people, first talked to them
(11:35):
about the idea presented it and then based on their
feedback saying that they would love something like this, and
the demand was there. People were looking at this. So
that's why I was like, Okay, I'm going to do
this because people want this and I want this, and
you know, so I was like, you know, I thought
it was just me in the beginning, but then when
I spoke to multiple different people, I found that, you know,
(11:59):
a lot of people. I even posted once on a
Facebook group, a local Facebook group in Tampa, and I
got like a ton of comments within twenty four hours
saying you know, oh yeah, yeah, I want this. I
would love to try this product. So that was proof
that people want this, people are waiting for this, and
(12:19):
this is going to help them. So and then to
answer the second question of the chemistry, I then started
looking for a cosmetic chemist. I spoke with many, many
different people until I found someone who's amazing and we
started working on it together. I think it took us
about a year to perfect the formula and put everything together.
(12:43):
We did a lot of research on ingredients, what's good,
what's safe, also, that was my number one thing. I
kept telling her, like, this has to be safe. It
has to be safe. I'm not putting it on the
market if it's not safe. So that's why it took
us a while, but it was obviously works the way.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Yeah yeah, uh yeah. I mean I've never been through
a journey like this, but I can imagine. I mean,
you know how every failed experiment must have been, right,
I mean to to your point. I mean, you didn't
want you didn't want steroids. You know, that's that's a
first thing. And for it to be natural and you
(13:22):
know safe, that's that's a big deal. I mean, especially
with a product like this that you're using on yourself
and the last thing you want is to cast damage
to anybody. So I'm not probably familiar with the process, Gine.
I mean, is there's this for both uh the use
(13:44):
as well?
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Right?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I mean you did mention a lot of women. Can
men use this as well?
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Yes, yes, yeah, yeah, so yeah it's for everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Yes, everybody was fine or thin hair or even like
thinning hair.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yes, I'm way past that, so I can't image.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Maybe for like hair growth.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I'm just kidding, yeah, Jox aside so so back to
the story. You know, so you you start this and
for every business, I mean you need not only the demand, right,
I mean you obviously need the financial backing somebody to say, Pat,
and I believe in you and I want to invest
(14:31):
in you. I mean, how how is how is that
network for you? And who is currently supporting you on
on the financial journey behind?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
So so far fully fun has been self funded. It's
still we're still bootstrapped. Yeah, it's been a long journey.
I had to work two jobs at some point to
be able to save up and you know, invest the
capital that I wanted to. I will say that at
(15:02):
some point my parents were very helpful because I got
to live with them and not pay rent, which is
I used to. So I lived with them at first,
and then I moved out for like a short period
of time, and then I decided I want to go
all in on my business and be very serious about it,
so I moved back in with them. To everything that
(15:25):
I was saving up or making from the jobs that
I had at the time, I wanted to put it
in my business rather than put it in rent. So
my parents have been helping me a lot with that.
So so yeah, so far it's self funded everything from
my savings and obviously reinvesting in the business. And yeah,
(15:51):
I'm definitely looking for investors trying to grow that network.
So I've been dranked network through LinkedIn networking events like
local events, so you know, still on that journey and
open to it. But I'm also still considering if it's
(16:12):
too early on for us, maybe we should just wait
a little bit, or maybe you know, if I if
I find the right strategic partner, it would it would
be worth it.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, got it, got it? And speaking of too earlier
or not, I'm you obviously have your e commerce sort
of channel, right, I mean where people can come to
your website take a look at it. I mean, you know,
pick it up if needed. So where can people find
fully find today? And what is your strategy so to
(16:44):
speak on saying, you know, will it be fully e
commerce driven? Do you plan to have it in you know,
the brick and motor retailers at some point and the
people trying to partner with you, I mean, you know
what sort of partnerships are looking at as well?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
So the business. Yeah, so right now, we launched online
and it's only been about a year and a half,
so still very early on, but within our first year,
I'm very happy. I'm proud of what we've accomplished. We
partnered with QVC, so as of now, people can find
our products on our website fully fine dot com, on
(17:26):
our Instagram like social media TikTok at fully Fine, or
also on QVC's website, so qvc dot com and right
now these are where our distribution channels. For the future,
I'm definitely planning on going into big retailers like you know,
(17:47):
maybe one day Sophora or All to Beauty or I'm
also I have like a big vision, so not sure
if I'm supposed to give everything out right now, but
that too. Yeah, but you know, one of my big,
big long term goals, you know is maybe I'm not
one hundred percent sure yet how that's going to go,
(18:09):
but maybe one day, when we make it big, we
can open up like our own Fine Hair salon and
then have our products there. So yeah, I have a
lot of ideas for long term growth. It's yeah, it
takes time, it's going to be a long journey ahead,
but I'm excited for what's to come, and yeah, definitely
(18:31):
looking at those bigger partnership retailers I already had, like
some people, I had a big retailer from Canada reach
out to me and we I'm just keeping you know,
these relationships for long term because right now we are
still small, so it didn't make sense to do that
right now, but keeping that relationship for when we get
(18:53):
bigger and bigger and have more products, then we can
you know, also distribute outside of US and like worldwide.
But right now just starting with the US and social
media and like retailers.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And in terms of products, Gina, I mean, is it
is it more like what sort of product line do
you have? I mean in the sense it's a shampoo,
conditioner or something else they apply. What are the different
products as part of your line that you have.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, so right now, we started with what I call
our hero product, which is our hair mask. So it's
a hair treatment mask that it's a deep conditioner, so
it conditions your hair, makes your hair much softer, and
adds like fullness and volume and bounce. And also another
thing that makes us very unique is that with this
hair mask, it's not that you just can't actually recommend
(19:49):
people massage it into their scalp, not gonna weigh down.
It's not going to leave any residue behind, none of that.
So that's something I want to do for like most
of our products to come. And so the products that
I'm looking at in the pipeline would be shampoo, conditioner next.
And then not to give out information again, but like
(20:11):
maybe you know hair cereal stuff, There's there's a lot
of ideas going on. I don't want to like give
out everything now sports, but yeah, definitely shampoo would be
what's next, because that's I've actually had customers ask for it. Yeah, well,
so yeah, that's very cool.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
I mean, I'm so I'm so inspired by I mean
the big division and uh you know thinking that you have.
So that's going to serve you well. But I also
want to touch upon some of the failures that you
said in the previous businesses that you faced, right, I
(20:53):
mean obviously those are you can take it either way, right,
I mean you can be bogged down by it and say,
oh my god, I mean this is not for me
and never start this journey of fully fine, you could say, oh,
I'm much more happier in a full time job, and
you know that's my safe zone if you will. But
(21:13):
Gina is not that person genas like, you know what,
I want to learn from this and do better the
next time. Can you talk a little or share some
experiences on failures that have really made you stronger, and
you know you any advice when people are listening for
advice and experiences that they don't have to go through
(21:37):
as well. So anything that jumps to your head that
you always think back and say, I'm never doing that,
or because I had this experience, you know I would
do this differently for fully fine.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
If you definitely Yeah, So I definitely have those thoughts
of just sticking with a nine to five, having the
job security. I think any entrepreneur goes through that, and
that's that's the most challenging thing I would say that
I had to go through is overcoming like the mental
struggles and like hurdles of the uncertainty of what's to
(22:16):
come next and just wanting that period. So so yeah,
in the past, I yeah, I mean now thinking about it,
I don't think I would do anything. I think the
the number one thing I would probably do differently is
maybe focusing more on having I guess like a better
(22:37):
Like I I graduated with marketing, I worked in sales
and then I did sales support because I just I
didn't really enjoy doing sales for you know, other companies
and just being on the phone twenty four to seven
and all that. But I think I would have maybe
pursued something more of something I was passionate about while
(22:59):
I was in or something with a better like career plan.
Because something that I did learn is, you know, instead
of me having to go work those two jobs and
do all this and that, because I worked at a
restaurant and then I worked full time like an corporate
office desk job, and you know, they're all fine, they're
(23:20):
all great. I learned a lot, but it was exhausting.
I wish I would have maybe chosen a different, like
a better career path where I had more of a
stable job that paid me more, where I could just
put this money into my business, have that as like
security while I'm working on my business, and then as
(23:40):
my business grows, I can then decide to quit or whatever.
But so, so I think that's one thing, you know,
I would have done differently instead of like freaking out
about my career. So so yeah, and then the stuff
that I did in the past was I remember by
(24:00):
last year of college, I started a website called the
Random Posit. That was the first business that I did,
and I was just like sell random stuff online, like
popular random products, and because that at the time, that's
when the whole online people buying online and stuff was
starting to boom, and I wasn't really buying it at first,
(24:23):
so I said, let me try it and see if
this actually works, because it sounded very interesting, like, oh,
I can just you know, start an online business. Okay,
let me, let me see. So I started that started
selling like some random products, and then I created an AD,
but like I was doing everything on my own just
to also learn everything about it. And then I started
getting like a few sales. I think in the beginning,
(24:45):
I got like three or four from that ad that
I put out in only like in a matter of
twenty four to forty hours, and I was I started
to freak out because I wasn't even sure what to
do about it, like and then it was during Chris
So then I remember FedEx and like the ups all
those people they were there was a lot of traffic
(25:07):
during that time, so they that the products the order
was delayed for some customers, and then so a customer
wanted to return it because they weren't going to get
it in time. I didn't even know how to do returns,
Like I was like, I don't know what I'm doing,
you know, so I.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I'm assuming.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
It was. Yeah, at the time, I was at my
best friend's house. So I was in uh born and
raised and went to school in Alexandria, Egypt. My best
friend moved to Cairo for school, so I used to
visit her there a lot. So at the time, I
remember I was staying at her place for a bit.
Even I even have a picture of like the desk
(25:54):
that I was. I had my laptop there and I
was just sitting there every day just working on it.
So it was it was a good time. It was fun.
Like I learned a lot and you know, and then
I shut down that business because I I was like,
I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want this
to be you know, unethical or anything like that. I
(26:16):
could have continued or do you know, and and just
learned more and and but I just it. I learned
what I wanted to learn. I saw that, you know,
the proof that this works. So I decided to shut
it down. And then after I had like another idea,
I didn't really pursue it that much. And then when
I moved to the US, I started getting people from
(26:39):
like network marketing MLM companies reach out to me. And
at the first, like in the beginning, I I didn't
even know what that was because I had just moved
to the US. I I didn't like, I wasn't sure
what this is, but you know, but everyone was like, oh,
you can do this and let me teach you. And
and again I went into it just as a learning experience.
(27:03):
So so I tried doing that for a bit. Didn't
like it. I just it just wasn't ethical for for me.
You know. I know some people do it professionally and
that's fine, but it just didn't sit well with me.
So I decided, you like, I don't want to do this,
And I decided I wanted to do something that's actually
(27:24):
like my own products, like might be something that I'm
passionate about.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
So yeah, cool, I mean these are all these are
all stories that you can put in your book someday.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Yeah maybe.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, that's so speaking of a book, you know, people
always talk about their instration as well their ole model.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
You you did mention, you know, entrepreneurship is in your blood.
So to speak with your grandfather and your dad, I mean,
any anybody else that you look up to, Gina saying,
I mean, you know, here's my old model or my
inspiration and tick tick atch me their path and their principles,
(28:10):
if you will, as as a CEO and founder, anyone
you look up to.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yeah, I there is someone I look up to. He's
not a CEO or founder, yet I know he wants
to be my brother he uh. And my mom as well.
She she she always wanted to start home thing. And
so I learn a lot from both of them, whether
they know it or not. But my brother, for example,
(28:37):
he's super disciplined, super disciplined, and that's something that I
learned from him, Like sticks to a schedule, you know,
works out every day in the morning, goes to work
doing great. So that's something that he taught me. And
he you know, if it wasn't for them, I probably
would have never moved to the US. So he pushed
(29:00):
me to dream big and he always supported me. And
so I've I've learned a lot from him in the
very beginning of this journey, and I still continue to
learn a lot from him and from my mom. Yeah,
I mean, she taught me a lot about strength and
just you know, continuing to be humble and so yeah,
(29:23):
I I yeah, I learn a lot from my family
and that's that's good.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I mean, you have a it looks like you have
a beautiful family and you're very very thankful for their support, right,
which is super important in a journey like this, especially
it's a it's a tough journey and you know you're
you're in a way. I'm sure you'll say. I've heard
(29:48):
a lot of founders say you feel like you're so
alone in that massive, massive world and there's nobody to
lean on and uh support. But in your case, yes,
I mean you have a model strength you know, system
if you will, or a network if you will. Just
turn your family with your family and your own experiences
(30:11):
are supporting you saying okay, keep pushing, right, which is awesome.
So in terms of next steps, you did give us
a glimpse of what you what you're planning to do
right now, Gina. I mean, but one of the things
that I was thinking about is obviously you have to
(30:32):
create the product, which you did, you know, the mask
and everything else, but in terms of mass production as well, right,
I mean that's a different step by itself to say, Okay,
you create one one batch is fine, but I mean
do you have to create partnerships with that ecosystem to
mass produce your product and ship it? I mean, it's
(30:54):
a whole supply chain as well, right, I mean do
you are you doing all that through partnerships right now
or have you built that yourself for the company already?
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, So I work with third party people again in
the in the beginning, it was very tough to find
a good manufacturer to work with. I network with a lot,
spoke with a lot of them on the phone, visited
multiple facilities before I actually found someone who's really good.
They're a family owned business, so really good people. Uh
(31:30):
went there, visited the facility, had lunch with them, and
it just you know, it really worked out like that,
where after going through multiple people who I wasn't too
sure about, and then I finally found people who were
actually really good and cooperate with me and you know,
help me because they you know, they see this as
a partnership as as we grow, they grow. So so
(31:53):
I'm very glad that I ended up finding them and
with supply chain. Right now, for QBC, we work with
a third party also really good people who ship out
the stuff for us for the website I right now.
(32:14):
I initially started also with like another Pokemon center, but
things weren't going to well, so I decided to for
our website. I still ship things out personally from my
parents' house.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Yeah, so that's I'm assuming the FedEx guys.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
So the USPS guys know you're really well, right, so you.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Shout out to Brian. He's uh, he's amazing over there
in Odessa, Florida. He's been very helpful. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, I mean these are all stories you got to tell.
Tell people someday to ask you how you moved from
strength to strength and uh, from strength strength gena. I mean,
you've already done what a lot of founders I wish
they had as part of their journey, right. I mean,
you you feel feels like, I mean, you were born
(33:13):
to be a founder based on your story. Yeah, but
I think I would love to hear some feedback that
you can give want to be founders as well as
to saying you know what what to expect, what not
to expect, and any any pieces of advice, anything you
(33:33):
normally say to even a friend who says, hey, Gena,
what would you tell me in my journey if your well, so.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Go for it. Yeah. So actually something that I I'm
very convinced about this and I'm going to always say it.
If it's in your heart, it's in there for a reason.
Put out all the noise. Because I when I was
first getting started, I and I know that you know
a lot of my close time and friends were doing
(34:01):
this out of protection that you know, this is too risky,
or the market is too saturated, or this might not work.
And I have these thoughts as well, like that's normal.
But every time I would kind of like take a
step back from fully fine or you know, if I'm
going through any mental struggles that this is too much,
this is too overwhelming. Every time I took a step back,
(34:25):
or every time I, you know, took kind of like
a break and not really working on it for like
a day or two, I just it's always at the
back of my mind, like and it's always in in need,
like in my heart, in my gut. I just working
on it is something I'm very passionate about. It makes
me feel alive. I love doing it. So that's my
(34:46):
advice is if it's in your heart, it's in there
for a reason, so go for it and cut out
the noise. It's gonna be very hard, You're gonna have doubts,
you're gonna have a lot of mental challenges, but the
most important thing is just to keep going. In my opinion,
that's what separates someone who succeeds from someone who doesn't.
(35:09):
Is not because this person is more talented or smarter
or any of that. It's just that they kept going
so consistency, keep that momentum going. Doesn't have to be perfect,
it just has to be done.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
So beautiful advice. I love it. If it's in your heart,
it's an desperate reason, so I'll remember that as well. Yeah, good, awesome.
So anything else you'd like to share, Gene about your story,
anything that anything about fully find that you want people
who have the Fine Hair to know, your customers to
(35:48):
know your investment, people who want to invest to know
about fully find that I've not touched upon.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
I think we've pretty much covered everything I would say. Yoh.
I do have a long term vision for fully Fine,
and we're already seeing amazing feedback from customers, amazing results,
just amazing stories from them. Oh yeah, I'm excited for
what's to come. And he's someone with fine or thin hair.
(36:17):
Come join our community. I'm still, you know, trying to
grow this community. For me, it's it's not just a
brand or a business selling products. It's a community of
people who share these common struggles and where we can
tell our stories and help each other, uplift each other.
And so yeah, and then hopefully you know, my commitment
(36:39):
is to always continue to make the best quality, high quality,
safe products We're fine here that make people feel good
about themselves.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
And yeah, great, great to have you on the show, Gina,
thanks to sharing your story. I loved your story background
and your passion to do this and uh even even
more so because you have an incredible support system around you.
(37:11):
Uh you know, family is everything, and in your case,
I mean, your family is your backbone and they've helped
you so far. I wish you the very best with
fully Fine. I'll hope to see you on the shelves
of all the stores one day and I'll call out
as well, Hey that's Gina. Gina was on Startups still
say so, thanks so much, Gina, with you the best.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Thank you so much, Anthony. I really appreciate it and
thanks for having me. It was great speaking with you.
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