Lessons in Resilience and Reinvention After Business Failure

Key Quotes

"how do you arm people with enough information that they can make an informed choice without fearmongering without scaring them to death and how do you show financial and business success that you catch the attention of those that are still using the old school practices and seeing well they're actually winning what would you know some of these great leaders that have come before me what would they have done if they had been afforded this opportunity and can i look at this as a gift and can i give myself the space to really think i think our health is worth fighting for i think women are worth fighting for and when it comes to there's no better way to change the world than lighting a fire under the asses of a bunch of women who care"

Gregg Renfrew articulates a dual challenge: educating consumers without causing alarm and demonstrating that ethical business practices can also be financially successful. Renfrew suggests that viewing difficult situations as opportunities and allowing oneself space for reflection are crucial for navigating these challenges and driving change.

"it's funny because when when we met prior to his signing the contract he said i kind of look at this as like 70 30 you know and certain areas you know i'll have 70 of the decision making and in certain areas you will and the things that i really cared about were the mission because that's why i started beautycounter in the first place was to protect the health and safety of people by removing toxic chemicals from personal care and cosmetics as well as just in general from the world as best i could so i was supposed to own the mission and the brand and the community of women that we had served and that of which there were about 60 000 of these women who were looking to me and also were building businesses with us some large and some small so i kind of felt at the beginning that i was going to have a lot more say but what happened was he he really felt like he had something in his mind i don't really know what it was and i didn't really fit into that equation"

Renfrew recounts a pre-deal conversation where a new CEO outlined a 70/30 decision-making split, with Renfrew expecting to retain control over the mission, brand, and community. Renfrew explains that this initial understanding was not realized, as the CEO had a different vision that did not accommodate Renfrew's integral role.

"i remember saying this to to j samons who's the who was the lead from carlyle and i remember saying to him j there's the spreadsheet and there's the real world you need to start living in the real world and he still laughs about it today because there was a couple weeks ago there was a cargo incident in the long beach port and someone dropped a bunch of cargo into the water and that water is my holiday packaging so i was like you literally can't make this stuff up and that did not exist on today's spreadsheet or what's your spreadsheet and i think that's one of the biggest rubs and it's why you see so many companies either falter or become irrelevant is because there's a disconnect between the people that are investing who haven't operated and the operators"

Renfrew highlights a fundamental disconnect between investors focused on spreadsheets and operators who understand real-world complexities. Renfrew uses a personal anecdote about a cargo incident impacting packaging to illustrate how unforeseen events can disrupt financial models, emphasizing the importance of practical operational experience.

"i remember my friends were like we've listened to you go on and on about this guy like you got to go talk to a therapist like you can't like we can't help you anymore and i went to talk to this therapist and i was you know crying whatever i'm in this is like you know 1989 or something and i was like but i love him and whatever and he said i remember him saying if you want any chance of that that relationship starting again you need to let it completely die he's like don't talk to him don't look with him definitely don't have sex with him like let it die and if you let it die there's a chance that it can be reborn"

Renfrew draws a parallel between a past romantic breakup and the decision to shut down her business, illustrating a therapeutic insight. Renfrew explains that the therapist advised letting the relationship "completely die" to create an opportunity for it to be "reborn," a principle Renfrew applied to her business situation.

"i think that you know one of the opportunities i saw in the old company that i see and counter today is is that if you can demonstrate that you can build a financially viable and successful corporate entity that is also doing good work in the world you can keep you can actually garner the respect and get the attention of some of these other companies puts market pressure on yeah on these other companies and i think that for some of these other companies you know there are there are i think one of the problems the challenges that we face as a nation in general and certainly with respect to this issue about whether it's on the food side of things or personal care side of things whatever it might be is there still a significant level of ignorance"

Renfrew believes that demonstrating a financially successful company that also does good work can influence other businesses and create market pressure. Renfrew notes that a significant challenge is the general lack of awareness regarding the impact of certain products and practices.

"i think that with counter one of the reasons that we made the decision to go back into a business model that incorporated community based commerce and created a platform upon which women can you know represent the brand as brand partners and sell products should they so desire one of the reasons i did that is because i think we believe friends we listen to our trusted friends and i think that if you arm an army of women with information small amounts of information they don't need to have the doctorate and you know whatever but just if you know a little bit and you can help people make more informed choices we tend to trust one another"

Renfrew explains the strategic decision to re-incorporate community-based commerce into the Counter business model. Renfrew highlights the power of trusted friends and the impact of arming women with even small amounts of information, as people tend to trust recommendations from their peers.