The Unexpected Entrepreneur | Alli Webb | TEDxIndianaUniversity
Summary
TLDRIn this inspiring narrative, the speaker recounts her journey from a lost high school graduate to the founder of Drybar, a company she sold for $255 million. Initially unsure of her path, she found her passion in cosmetology and started a mobile blowout business, which evolved into the successful Drybar brand. Despite feeling like an impostor in various roles, she embraced new challenges, leading to growth and success. The speaker also discusses overcoming personal struggles and shares her story in 'The Messy Truth,' encouraging others to pursue their dreams despite fear and self-doubt.
Takeaways
- 😀 The speaker sold her company, Drybar, for $255 million, a success she never anticipated when she started at 35 years old.
- 🏫 She felt lost after high school and decided against going to college, as she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life.
- 💇♀️ The speaker had a passion for hair and decided to attend cosmetology school in New York City, which was a pivotal moment in her career.
- 🤱 After becoming a stay-at-home mom, she started a mobile blowout business to maintain flexibility and pursue her passion for hair styling.
- 📈 The mobile business was so successful that she decided to open a brick and mortar store, which led to the creation of Drybar.
- 👨👧👦 With the support of her brother and ex-husband, she turned her mobile business into a successful chain with 150 locations across the country.
- 💡 The success of Drybar was attributed not just to the blowouts, but also to the happiness and confidence it provided to women.
- 🚀 The company expanded by launching a product line, which was sold exclusively with Sephora and contributed to the company's high valuation.
- 📚 The speaker wrote a book called 'The Messy Truth' to share her personal journey, mistakes, and lessons learned as an entrepreneur.
- 🦈 She appeared as a guest judge on 'Shark Tank', showcasing her growth and experience in the business world.
- 🔄 After selling Drybar, the speaker is now focused on building the next chapter of her life, embracing new challenges and opportunities.
Q & A
At what age did the speaker sell her company for $255 million?
-The speaker sold her company when she was 48 years old, 13 years after being 35.
What was the speaker's initial career path after high school?
-The speaker did not go to college and was initially lost, not knowing what to do with her life.
What was the speaker's passion that led her to cosmetology school?
-The speaker had a lifelong love for doing hair and struggled with her own naturally curly and frizzy hair, which led her to cosmetology school.
Why did the speaker move to New York City?
-The speaker moved to New York City to start her career, as she was unsure about her path and wanted to explore different opportunities.
What prompted the speaker to start a mobile blowout business?
-After being a stay-at-home mom for five years and wanting to do something for herself without a college degree, she decided to start a mobile blowout business to serve her mommy friends and still be able to pick up her kids from preschool.
What was the initial charge for the speaker's mobile blowout service in LA?
-The initial charge for the mobile blowout service was $40.
Who were the speaker's partners in starting the brick and mortar business?
-The speaker's brother and ex-husband were her partners in starting the brick and mortar business.
How many dry bars were there across the country when the speaker sold the business?
-There were 150 dry bars across the country when the speaker sold the business.
What product line did the speaker's company start three years into the business?
-The company started a product line that was launched exclusively with Sephora.
What is the title of the book the speaker wrote after selling her business?
-The title of the book is 'The Messy Truth'.
What does the speaker believe about the 'impostor syndrome'?
-The speaker believes that feeling like an impostor is not negative, but rather a sign that one is doing something right and stepping into new and exciting roles.
Outlines
💇♀️ From Lost to Entrepreneur: The Drybar Journey
The speaker reflects on her life over the past 13 years, starting at age 35 with no college degree and an uncertain future. Initially lost after high school, she found her passion for hair and moved to New York City to explore various career paths. Eventually, she attended cosmetology school and started a mobile blowout business in LA while being a stay-at-home mom. This venture's success led to the creation of Drybar, which unexpectedly became a global phenomenon. The speaker emphasizes the importance of seeking what excites you and taking risks, as she did when transforming her mobile business into a brick and mortar establishment with the support of her brother and ex-husband.
🚀 Scaling Success: The Magic of Drybar and Beyond
The speaker delves into the success of Drybar, highlighting that it's not just about selling blowouts but also about providing happiness and confidence to women. She credits the unique combination of her brother's business acumen, her ex-husband's creative direction, and her own expertise in hair for the company's rapid growth. Despite the challenges of not having a formal business education, she learned on the job and successfully expanded the business to 150 locations. The speaker also discusses the launch of a product line in partnership with Sephora, which played a significant role in the company's eventual $255 million sale. After selling Drybar, she embarked on writing a book, 'The Messy Truth,' sharing her personal journey, challenges, and lessons learned. She encourages embracing the 'impostor syndrome' as a sign of stepping into new roles and taking on exciting challenges without fear.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Dry Bar
💡Seeker
💡Cosmetology School
💡Mobile Business
💡Brick and Mortar
💡Impostor Syndrome
💡Product Line
💡Sweat Equity
💡Stay-at-Home Mom
💡Self-Discovery
💡Entrepreneurship
Highlights
The founder of Drybar reflects on her unexpected journey from a lost direction post-high school to selling her company for $255 million.
She reveals her initial reluctance to follow the traditional college path, instead choosing to pursue her passion for hair.
The speaker's move to New York City and her decision to attend beauty school marked the beginning of her career in cosmetology.
Her experience as a stay-at-home mom led to the idea of starting a mobile blowout business to maintain flexibility and still be present for her children.
The low pricing strategy of $40 for a home visit in LA demonstrated the potential demand for her services.
The realization that customers should come to her instead of her going to them led to the concept of a brick and mortar business.
The support from her brother and ex-husband, despite their lack of expertise in the beauty industry, was crucial in the establishment of Drybar.
The opening of the first Drybar location in Brentwood and the immediate success that followed indicated a captured market opportunity.
The speaker emphasizes that Drybar was selling not just blowouts, but happiness and confidence to women.
The strategic partnership of the speaker's brother's business acumen, her ex-husband's creative direction, and her hair expertise created a successful business model.
The growth of Drybar to 150 locations across the country within 13 years is a testament to the business's scalability and appeal.
The decision to sell the business three years prior to the talk, coinciding with the onset of the global crisis in 2020, marked a significant life transition for the speaker.
The launch of a product line in collaboration with Sephora, which was a key factor in the company's $255 million valuation.
The speaker's experience as a guest judge on Shark Tank and the impact it had on her personal brand and business.
The release of her book, 'The Messy Truth,' which encapsulates her life's journey, mistakes, and lessons learned.
The concept of 'imposs syndrome' is introduced and reframed as a positive indicator of stepping into new and exciting roles.
A quote by Zig Ziggler is shared to inspire overcoming fear and embracing new challenges.
Transcripts
I'm just G to give you a snapshot of my
life and what it's looked like for the
last 13 years this girl was it was I was
35 years old 13 years ago and if you had
told me back then that I would sell my
company for $255 million I would have
laughed in your face we never expected
dry bar to turn into the global
phenomenon that it did but before I get
into that I'm going to take you down a
walk down memory lane so this was me in
high school and you know I was really
lost uh After High School and when all
my friends were deciding to go to
college I I didn't know what to do I
didn't I didn't want to go to college no
offense I just it
wasn't sorry um I know where I am but
College just wasn't for me and I didn't
mostly because I didn't know what I
wanted to do with my life my whole life
I had loved doing hair I grew up in
South Florida so my naturally curly hair
was big and Frizzy and I never felt very
confident in myself because of my hair
and you know I wouldn't pay attention to
this for many years to come but as my
you know as my friends were all going to
college and I was lost I decided to move
to New York City I moved to New York
City and started my career kind of
jumping around and trying thing after
thing and you know I didn't decide to
actually take the plunge and go to
beauty school until you know all the
other things I was doing just weren't
working out you know I consider myself a
Seeker I'm always seeking the thing that
lights me up the thing that makes me
really excited and I was doing that when
I was in my early 20s which I urge all
of you to do as well and that's really
how I ended up in cosmetology school you
know my my parents weren't super excited
about that but I also grew up in a
generation where you know my my parents
were like we hope she married well which
I didn't by the way um but that's
another Ted Talk
um I um but you know but I I was like
the Lost Girl trying to figure out what
to do with her life and this is a shot
of my mom who was not hair a hair
stylist blow drying my hair so it's
always been a thing for me so anyways
fast forward I'm living in New York City
I meet my first ex-husband there we
that's not meant to be the theme of my
talk um but we we I want and I wanted to
have babies we moved to LA and I had two
sons who are now 16 and 18 and one is
actually in college so I'm very proud
but you know that after being a
stay-at-home mom for five years I just
got the itch to do something for myself
but what was I going to do I didn't have
a college degree and I didn't ID worked
in hair salons for years so I decided to
start a mobile blowout business because
that way I could blow out you know all
my mommy friends hair and then still
pick up my kids kids from preschool and
it felt like a really great thing to do
at the time and what was shocking about
that is it would ultimately lead to to
dry bar but you know I didn't I didn't
it was more of like again the seeking
and trying to figure out what made me
happy and as much as I love my children
to get away from my children for a
couple hours every day and talk to
adults was really awesome so I start
this mobile business it's going so well
and I'm so busy and that's you know when
I realized that like maybe I was on to
something I was only charging $40 to go
to women's home so I live in LA in La
that's very unheard of and most parts of
the country to get someone to go to your
house to blow up for $40 is unheard of
and that but that was when I realized
that maybe instead of me going to them
they should come to me and so I went to
my brother and said you know I want to I
want to turn my brick and mortar into my
mobile business into a brick and mortar
uh and he kind of looked at me like I
was crazy he also has no hair and he so
has no business in this it's my favorite
joke um but I you know I went to my
brother and said hey I'm having a lot of
success in my mobile business I think we
should turn it into a brick and mortar
and he you know reluctantly said yes he
also was quite willing to put up all of
the money and give me 50% Sweat Equity
which I didn't know even what that term
meant back then I didn't go to college
and I don't have a business degree but
lo and behold he supported me and and
this is my ex-husband also bald and had
no it's just not lost on me that we're
these these guys were my my partners in
this blowout Empire so you know none of
us saw the success of JY bar coming
truly you know we opened the first
location in Brentwood 13 years ago this
month and you know I thought it'd be my
business I'd pick up my kids from school
and that would be my life and my
livelihood and it could not have gone
more differently I mean we got we were
so busy so fast out of the that we knew
we had captured lightning in a bottle
and really the magic of dry bar is what
I very quickly realized is like we're
not just selling blowouts we're selling
the happiness and confidence that we
give to women and that was really the
secret sauce plus you know we have my
brother who's a world-class business
brain my ex-husband who's uh is an
advertising guy who's a creative
director so he was really cam was in
charge of branding my brother was
business and I was the hair so we were
just this perfect storm you know which I
don't believe in accidents and I think
we were all meant to come together at
this point in our lives to start this
business and run this business and you
know we didn't pay ourselves for so many
years and we were in the trenches but we
realized that you know we were really on
to something and and so we started
opening more and more stores today
there's 150 dry bars across the country
I've now sold the the business um three
years ago right before the world fell
apart in 2020 and my life has changed uh
quite a bit these are just some shots
from you know the the amazing staff I
mean we employ over 5,000 people at any
given time with 150 shops so it was it
was quite the Endeavor and I feel like I
got a business degree on the job
learning how to how to run this company
but now what so what's next for me um oh
before I get into that I should tell you
guys that we started a product line
about three years into starting the
company which we launched exclusively
with Sephora and
that is really what we ended up selling
for 255 million this is a very ominous
shot of me at Shark Tank when I was a
guest judge I'm just threw in there um
but the product line was you know was
was so successful because if you didn't
have a dry bar near you and most women
didn't they could buy our products and
use them and get the dry bar experience
and that's really what we were selling
so we sold that and then now what you
know um this was three years ago and my
life significantly changed and I started
to realize that I needed to kind of
build out the next chapter of my life so
I wrote a book as people often do called
the messy truth which is you know my
very my very messy truth I mentioned
some divorces there was rehab depression
you name it and this book is the
encapsulation of
my my whole life my journey my you know
all the mistakes all the things I did
wrong wrong and there were so many of
them as we were building this company
and not to mention you know the mistakes
I made with my kids and obviously my
husbands and all of that so the book
really encapsulates all of that and it's
been such a labor of love for me to not
only tell my story on a bigger scale but
also to help Inspire other entrepreneurs
that you know I'm just a mom I was just
a mom who had a great idea and built it
and it brings me to my next point which
is imposs syndrome you know it's it's a
term that gets thrown around quite a bit
as a negative and you know I'm here to
tell you it's not so if you feel like an
impostor you're doing something right I
was certainly an impostor I didn't know
how to run a business I didn't know how
to write a book I didn't know how to be
a guest shark on Shark Tank I didn't
know how to do any of it but I stepped
into those roles because they were new
and exciting and I'm always seeking new
and exciting and you know not letting
fear stop me there's a great quote by a
guy named Zig Ziggler that's that's an
acronym for
fear see if I know don't mess this up um
the first part is oh my gosh forget
everything and run or face everything
and Rise the choice is yours thank you
[Applause]
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