How the Founder of Suja Cold-Pressed Juice Found Her Second Life in Clean Makeup

Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who've made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer atBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing , each episode will give you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to stay tuned.

Annie Lawless founded her clean, cruelty-free makeup line back in 2017, right as the clean movement was taking off. She was quickly approached by Sephora, which picked up her brand online and subsequently in-store. Paired with her direct-to-consumer business, the line saw explosive growth. From the start, Lawless has been clear on who her customer is and how to provide her with unique value. "I've tried all this clean makeup on the market, and it's really for the no-makeup makeup girl, and that is just not my journey,” she says with a laugh. "I love full-coverage, full-pigmentation, long-wearing performance.” And that’s exactly what she was creating in her assortment: products for the true makeup lover. 

But beyond creating products that she felt were missing from the market, Lawless is clear about her intention­—her customer comes first. "My whole passion is to create products that make people's lives better,” she says. "What is she missing? What does she need? What does she want? How can I fill that hole for her?” It’s a lesson she learned years earlier when she was obsessing over natural ingredients in a different industry altogether: food and beverage. Before her foray into beauty, Lawless was a co-founder of one of the biggest (and first) cold-pressed juice companies in the U.S., Suja.

After a celiac disease diagnosis led Lawless to a passion for holistic wellness, she started Suja out of her San Diego apartment. Only three years later, at the time of Lawless's exit, the brand was valued at $300 million. Tune in to Second Life to hear what it’s like for your company to grow bigger than your wildest dreams and when you know it’s time to part ways to find a more fulfilling path.

"A lot of times, your second life is so much richer because of everything that you've learned in your first life,” she says. Plus, Lawless provides a simplified explanation of what it really means to take in investor capital and what factors any entrepreneur should weigh when considering it.

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Up next, Hear How Reddit COO Jen Wong Found Her Stride in Digital Media