GARY: Next on Start Up, we head to Detroit, Michigan to meet up with Melissa Butler, the founder of The Lip Bar, a vegan and cruelty- free beauty brand on a mission to help change the way you think about beauty.

All of this and more is next on Start Up.

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♪ GARY: My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country continues to recover from extraordinary challenges, small business owners are showing us why they are the backbone of the American economy.

We've set out for our 11th consecutive season talking with a wide range of diverse business owners to better understand how they've learned to adapt, innovate and even completely reinvent themselves.

♪ This is Start Up.

♪ The lipstick industry is a significant part of the cosmetics market in the United States, which is valued at billions of dollars annually.

Lipstick is a popular cosmetic product that's used by people of all ages and genders.

The industry has seen a shift toward more natural and organic products in recent years.

Today, I'm heading to Detroit, Michigan to meet up with Melissa Butler, the founder of The Lip Bar.

From what I know, Melissa was rejected on Shark Tank, which only fueled her passion to turn The Lip Bar into a household name.

I can't wait to meet Melissa, and learn how she created this incredible company.

What is The Lip Bar?

MELISSA: I mean, it should be a simple answer, right?

But I feel like it's almost a loaded question, because, in many ways, it's a brand that I started in my Brooklyn kitchen to empower women.

In many ways, it's my life's work.

For me, it's actually never been about the products.

GARY: Hmm.

MELISSA: It's always been about the self-esteem.

GARY: Got it.

MELISSA: It's always been about making sure that people know that they are enough, and that they're worthy of, you know, feeling beautiful, and- and knowing that they are beautiful.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: So, like, the product is actually just that.

But it's deeper than that.

It's more about the emotion and the confidence that we're trying to build within our customers.

GARY: Getting to the root of your- your mission with self-esteem, did you ever face any self-esteem issues or challenges yourself?

MELISSA: The traditional beauty standards, in terms of body positivity or body shape, whatever the laundry list of things that make people feel insecure, like, I have certainly experienced some of that.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: But more importantly, I have witnessed people experience that, and I decided to take action against it.

I have a strong belief that if you look good, you'll feel good.

And if you feel good, you have the ability to go out into the world and accomplish whatever it is... GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: That you want to accomplish.

So, my perspective has always been, like, makeup is not important.

And it's crazy, because I own two makeup companies.

However, self-esteem is.

And so, if makeup allows you to step into your confidence a little bit more... GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: I'm all for it.

But, no one needs makeup.

Like, I'm so clear on that.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: But if you want to sort of, like, put on a red lipstick and then walk into the boardroom and, like, this is your power cover- color that's going to give you the confidence... GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: Then do that.

GARY: Did you end up going to school, college?

MELISSA: Yeah, I went to college.

College changed my life.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MELISSA: I made it out of my- my poor neighborhood on the east side of Detroit.

I'm going to go to college, and I'm going to study finance.

Like, if my goal is to make money, why not study money?

GARY: Yes, brilliant.

MELISSA: That was, essentially, (chuckles) my logic.

And after college, I immediately went and I worked on Wall Street.

I worked at Barclays.

Like, this was 2008, 2009, right after the big crash.

And I got there, and I was so excited, and I realized everyone was miserable, even me.

Like, when I went and I worked on Wall Street, straight out of college, I was making more money than my mother.

Straight out of college.

And I was really proud of that, and everyone in my family was really proud.

It's like, "She's working on Wall Street."

You know, it is something to sort of celebrate.

GARY: It's huge.

Yeah.

MELISSA: But I was like, "It's not all it's cracked up to be," sort of thing.

So, I think I understood that, like, being there, like, having that status, wouldn't necessarily make me happy.

But I could see sort of that I didn't want to be there for the long haul.

And that's when I started, like, thinking about entrepreneurship.

GARY: Go back to the- the days in that Brooklyn kitchen when you first started experimenting with- with making products.

MELISSA: I decided to start The Lip Bar because I was just frustrated, frankly.

I was frustrated and fed up with the beauty industry.

Its lack of diversity... GARY: Mm-hmm.

MELISSA: Its excessive amounts of chemicals.

This idea that beauty looked like one thing.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MELISSA: And I'm like, "No, beauty looks like everything... GARY: Yep.

MELISSA: And everyone."

And I was like, "Okay, well, instead of complaining about it, I'm going to do something about it."

GARY: Nice.

MELISSA: And so, my number one goal was to create something that worked for diverse skin tones... GARY: Mm-hmm.

MELISSA: But also that would be nontoxic, vegan, and cruelty free.

Meanwhile, I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I start making lipstick in my kitchen.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: How?

Like, no one just knows how to make lipstick in their kitchen.

GARY: No clue.

(chuckles) MELISSA: But, I started reading books.

I started reading books on cosmetic chemistry.

I started reaching out to cosmetic chemists, and I just started experimenting.

Like, there is no better teacher than- than practice, you know?

Like, practice doesn't always make perfect, but it certainly makes better.

And so, I started buying materials, and I probably made, I don't know, 1,200 batches of lipstick.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: Before I got to one that was even remotely okay.

People would come in to my home and- Lipstick has to cure.

So, you pour it into molds.

Like, I- I bought some molds from a factory that had gone out of business.

They were like, $600 each.

And I'm making these lipstick, you know, batches, and it has to like cool.

So, I'll put it in my freezer.

So people would come over looking for ice, and there would only be lipstick in my freezer.

(Gary laughs) And it's like my kitchen essentially became a lab.

GARY: Nice.

MELISSA: Like, every day while I was at work, I was doing research on, like, how to make my batches better.

At night, I was making the batches.

In the middle of the night, I was talking to suppliers in China trying to secure packaging.

So, it was like a 24 hour thing.

♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: What did you think when she first kind of pitched the whole concept to you?

ROSCO: I thought that Melissa was crazy when she first pitched the concept of TLB.

GARY: I keep hearing that.

(both chuckle) ROSCO: Because she had absolutely no expertise.

Like, Melissa is a finance girl.

So, when she said that she was going to make lipstick, I'm like, "Cool, how?"

(chuckles) And then she bought the molds, she read the books.

We lived in Brooklyn together.

Our apartment was very small, as you can imagine.

GARY: Yeah.

ROSCO: But there was lipstick everywhere.

Boxes everywhere, oils.

And she pretty much like grabbed all of her closest friends and said, "Well, you're pretty good with numbers.

I'll put you over finance."

I was the artist in the group, so I became creative director.

GARY: At that point, did you- did you have any idea that it would grow to what it is today?

ROSCO: When she was making the lipstick and we were, like, trying them on for the first time... GARY: Yeah.

ROSCO: Lips almost breaking off, I had no idea that we would be where we are now.

♪ GARY: Were you still working at- on Wall Street at the time?

MELISSA: I was absolutely still working on Wall Street.

GARY: Okay.

MELISSA: So, it took me about a year to like really work on the business pre-launch.

And then I worked at the business, or I worked on Wall Street for another year-and-a-half before I actually quit.

GARY: Okay.

Talk about how this went from the Brooklyn kitchen to, you know, the next phase of being an actual product that's being sold.

MELISSA: Honestly, for the first three years, and this is what's insane, it actually stayed in my kitchen.

The first three years, I made every single product with my bare hands.

GARY: Wow, were they buying off your website?

MELISSA: They were buying off of our website.

GARY: Okay.

MELISSA: And so, you know, no marketing.

No marketing budget, no team, no- no nothing.

GARY: By you.

(chuckles) MELISSA: Yeah, just, like, gut feelings and determination.

And then over time, I realized, like, "Well, Melissa, there's probably something "that you're better at.

"Like, you're obviously not the best possible person "to make the lipstick.

"You don't even really know what you're doing.

You're kind of just still experimenting."

So, I decided to outsource.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: And our very first supplier that we worked with was a beautiful manufacturer in Italy.

Started outsourcing the actual supply, and I started focusing more on the marketing, more on the social media, more on the customer service.

Putting- Putting the business message out there.

GARY: What were some of the first opportunities that came early on?

MELISSA: I remember wanting to be in retail, and understanding that I didn't have the dollars or the skill set to launch in retail.

And I was like, "I need to figure out "how to get the product into the hands of the customers."

GARY: Hmm.

MELISSA: And so, we were really creative, and we built, you know, a Lip Bar truck.

It was our mobile boutique.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: Like, it was our mobile beauty store.

And I took it on tour.

We did an Indiegogo campaign.

GARY: Nice.

MELISSA: And, I want to say we raised, like, $15,000.

I don't even remember how much.

Maybe it was $25,000.

But we bought this truck, and we- we built it out, and then we took it on tour.

I personally drove this, like, 26-foot truck all over the country.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: It was insane, but people loved it.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: People couldn't believe that, you know, they could get these unorthodox lip colors, because at that point, I was really just trying to sort of break the beauty box.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: Like, people were thinking that lipstick only came in reds and nudes.

And I was like, "No, I'm going to give you purple.

"I'm going to give you blue.

"I'm going to allow you to do whatever the heck you want to do."

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: Because, like, beauty is about self-expression.

That was, like, one of the big opportunities that we made for ourselves, like, building that truck.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: And I would just cold-email people.

I blind emailed Urban Outfitters, and they were selling us on our .com, and we did a pop up with them.

Like, it was things like that where I was literally just, like, deciding what I wanted to do and working towards it, and making it happen.

It was- it was such a invigorating time.

GARY: In researching The Lip Bar online, of course, the Shark Tank story comes up.

At what point did that opportunity happen with the show?

MELISSA: We went on Shark Tank in probably 2015.

GARY: Okay, so, a while ago.

MELISSA: And you know what's funny?

We actually pitched The Lip Bar truck on Shark Tank, and they thought it was a terrible idea.

They thought it was a terrible idea.

They thought the entire business was a terrible idea.

They said our business would just, frankly, never make it.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: And so with them saying that, you know, I had to take a step back and say, "Is this true?"

And then I decided, "It's only true if I allow it to be true."

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: It's only true if I believe what they say about me.

So, am I- am I going to let someone else write my story?

No, of course not.

GARY: Man.

MELISSA: And so, when it aired, because they said all of these nasty things, they literally called us "colorful cockroaches."

It was- it was terrible.

GARY: What?

MELISSA: But what happened is, like, we didn't have to stand up for ourselves.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MELISSA: Our community stood up for us.

GARY: Nice.

MELISSA: So, like, that part was so empowering, because it let me know that, like, we were doing this for a group of people who- who desperately wanted to be seen, and who desperately wanted us to win.

Like, they believed in us, and we believed in them.

And so- so I feel like we formed a pact.

Like, I held my hand out, and they like... GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: You know, they grasped it even tighter, and we- we walked to the finish line together.

So like, our community at The Lip Bar is so strong.

They are so loyal.

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: So, shout out to all of The Lip Bar babes out there.

(Melissa laughs) ♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: Tell me about the first time that you learned about The Lip Bar.

DIANA: I learned about The Lip Bar around ten- ten years ago when they first started.

GARY: What is the big difference in- in the products that they sell here versus something, you know, kind of more, you know, big corporate brands?

DIANA: Yeah, I think that the difference is that the quality is a lot better.

It's more customized to the customer, and I love that it's made in the city by a local Detroit resident.

GARY: What would you say to somebody who's never tried The Lip Bar brand?

DIANA: I would say that you should come down to Parker's Alley and try their products, because they're awesome.

♪ GARY: From that point, you're selling on your website.

Were you in Urban Outfitters at that point, or you just did a pop-up with them?

MELISSA: We did a pop-up, and I think we were online for a short period of time.

GARY: Okay, so it wasn't a permanent thing?

MELISSA: It wasn't a permanent thing.

GARY: Okay.

MELISSA: I end up emailing Target, a blind email.

I was like, "Target is the right retailer."

GARY: Okay.

MELISSA: They were the only ones that I was going after, frankly.

I was like, "I am going to get my product in Target."

And so, after months of just like reaching out and pitching them, they decided to give me a shot.

That was, like, epic.

It was, like, the best thing ever.

And I orchestrated... GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: This entire, like, marketing plan.

I was like, "I'm going to launch something on Target.com.

"This product, you will only be able to get "on Target's website.

"Like, I am going to show them how powerful and how impactful my community will be."

I got them all riled up.

GARY: Yep.

MELISSA: "The Lip Bar is launching on Target.com.

This is a new color."

And it's actually still one of our best-selling colors.

It's funny, but we launch on .com with that exclusive color, we do really well.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: They then invite me for a line review.

So, a line review is basically when you go and you actually pitch the buyers in real life.

And they decided to give us a shot in 44 stores.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: And so, we launch in Target, those 44 stores.

We do incredibly well.

And we grew, like, ten X within nine months.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: It was insane.

Once we figured out that it was working, we used that relationship and that leverage to launch additional retail partners.

So, we've since launched in Walmart.

So, we're in Walmart stores across the country.

We're based in Michigan.

Like, we are a Detroit born and bred business.

We have a Detroit office, we have a small Detroit store.

And so, there is a local retailer, it's primarily just focused in the Midwest, it's called Meijer.

That made sense for us, and we're working on additional retail.

So, retail has sort of truly been the unlock of- of, like, our growth trajectory with the business.

♪ GARY: What made you want to be involved in the first place?

KORI: I've always loved makeup.

I've always been a champion for women of color, so, it just made sense.

I wanted to help out, and I've learned so much from it.

GARY: For anyone who has not yet tried any of The Lip Bar products, what- what would you say to them?

KORI: Get started.

GARY: Yeah.

KORI: Like, you gotta find- there's something for you to try.

Whether it's the lip, a- a brow, face, we ha- we have it all.

We're expanding daily.

We are offering products in more retailers every year.

So, I think that is- it's something for you, and you can find it online, in store, downtown here.

Like, it's everywhere.

We're everywhere.

♪ GARY: What are the margins like in lipstick?

MELISSA: Margins are great in beauty, you know.

GARY: In beauty.

Not just in lipstick, but in beauty overall?

MELISSA: Yeah, just in general.

I mean, we used to only sell lipstick.

Today, we have al- almost 200 SKUs.

We sell tinted moisturizers and face products and eye products.

That's where the margin gets impacted, because beauty in its nature is an innovation business.

GARY: Yep.

MELISSA: Like, the customer is sort of trained to want and expect new things.

She wants new and exciting colors, new and exciting products every single year.

GARY: Yep.

MELISSA: So, while the margins are fantastic, you are constantly investing in innovation and research and development and testing, et cetera.

♪ GARY: What is it that makes their products different from- from other brands?

CUSTOMER: To me, it's like, because it's more a local brand, and just how it feels on like my skin and like how it goes really well with me as well.

I think I feel like a personal connection to it, as someone who was like born and bred in Detroit, just seeing like people from the city thrive and to grow to like such a large product right now.

GARY: Talk about when you finally got to the point where you're like, "This is it."

MELISSA: We've had so many incredible moments within the business, everything from like, you know, raising capital.

To date, we've raised a little under $8 million.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: To help grow the business, and to- to really show up.

We've launched a second brand.

So, The Lip Bar has a sister brand called Thread Beauty, which is very Gen Z and fun and cool, and just super affordable.

Everything is only $8.

So, launching a second brand, like incubating a brand within a brand... GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: Has been so much fun and so much work.

Working with Michelle Obama and her team was- is one of my biggest highlights.

We renamed our bestseller in the company, Bawse Lady, we renamed it to Bawse Voter, GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: And we helped register people to vote.

It was in partnership with When We All Vote.

And when she did the photo shoot, she was wearing Bawse Lady, and it was, like, life's dream.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: I was able to speak at the White House earlier this year.

GARY: What?

MELISSA: On a panel for- for women in business during Women's History Month.

So, there have been lots of moments where it's like, "Wait, what?"

And it's crazy, I wasn't even gon- I was going to say no to the White House.

GARY: Why would you say no?

(chuckles) MELISSA: Why would I say no to the White House?

That's insane, but I was so busy.

I was like, "I can't do this.

I can't pull this off."

And then my mom was like... GARY: Oh my gosh, what?

MELISSA: "Are you smoking?"

(Gary chuckles) Like, "You have to say yes to the White- It's the White House."

GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: And I'm so happy that I did it.

So, there have been so many momentous occasions within the company that I am just so incredibly proud of.

But I think the thing that I'm probably most proud of is the amount of people who have started businesses or kept going in business because of me.

They look at me and they're like, "Look, if this girl can start it in her kitchen, "get rejected on national TV and keep going, like, so can I."

GARY: Yep.

MELISSA: And I'm always transparent.

I- I don't sugarcoat how hard it is.

It is incredibly hard.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MELISSA: It requires a lot of sacrifice, but it is easily the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.

GARY: Where does the business sit as we are today?

MELISSA: Today, we have the largest Black-owned makeup company in Target.

That actually was announced just a few months ago.

GARY: Wow.

MELISSA: We're looking to hire more people.

We're looking to build a new store in the heart of downtown Detroit.

So, I mean, there are lots of positives that are happening within the business right now, and I feel really grateful to- to be in this position.

♪ GARY: What's your ultimate creative goal for this?

I've talked to some people where it's like, you know, they want to see a billboard in Times Square, or something like that.

ROSCO: Ah-hah.

What do you want, in terms of your vision for the brand?

ROSCO: My vision for the brand is really for an everyday woman, no matter who she is, no matter her race, skin tone, age, I want for her to see herself in our visuals.

So, it doesn't need to be in Times Square.

Everybody may not have access to Times Square.

GARY: Yep.

ROSCO: But if you can look online or in Walmart, you know... GARY: Yep.

ROSCO: And see a woman who looks like you on a display, then that's going to make me feel good.

GARY: Any advice to somebody who has a similar dream and vision?

MELISSA: Don't allow, you know, your background or your lack of capital or your lack of experience, don't allow that to hold you back.

Because if that's the case, like, I wouldn't be here today.

Like, I had no business making lipstick in my kitchen.

I didn't know how to do that.

(Gary chuckles) But I was determined... GARY: Yeah.

MELISSA: Enough that I learned.

I didn't know how to launch in Target, but I did it.

I didn't know how to be, you know, a leader.

I wasn't a compassionate leader overnight.

No, I was a nutcase.

I was like, you know, a perfectionist.

It was hard for me to let go.

It was hard for me to launch into retail.

It was har- hard for me to build a team.

But it's like, if you give yourself the time and the space and the ability to learn, like, you can actually accomplish whatever it is that you choose.

No matter what your family says, no matter what the statistics says, like, it's just about your willingness to go after it.

GARY: I absolutely love this story.

And Melissa is an exceptional entrepreneur that just gets it.

She possesses a clear vision, relentless direction, and the drive to transform her idea into a disruptive business in an incredibly competitive industry, despite facing early rejections from some of the most successful names in business.

Motivation is deeply personal, and can stem from various places.

It could be influenced by our childhood.

It could also be driven by a mission, like Melissa's desire to offer a wider range of lipstick colors that complement different skin tones.

Sometimes, motivation arises from people doubting your abilities, like when the Sharks expressed skepticism to Melissa and Rosco on national TV.

Regardless of its origin, it's ultimately up to you to harness that motivation and utilize that energy, whether positive or negative, to overcome challenges.

Difficult times are inevitable, but your ability to persevere can completely alter the trajectory of your life.

Starting from a Brooklyn kitchen and expanding to hundreds of major retail stores, it's evident that The Lip Bar has firmly established itself, and is here to stay.

I can't wait to see how far Melissa and her team take this incredible business.

For more information, please visit our website and search episodes for The Lip Bar.

♪ Next time on Start Up, we head to Ann Arbor, Michigan to meet up with Christy and Leslie, the founders of Wolverine Pickleball, a destination for pickleball enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels.

Be sure to join us next time on Start Up.

Would you like to learn more about the show or maybe nominate a business?

Visit our website at startup-usa.com and connect with us on social media.

GARY: (gasps) What happened?

PASCAL: I put the bird strikes on.

GARY: Oh!

WOMAN: Yay.

(laughs) GARY: Thank you so much.

WOMAN 2: You're welcome.

WOMAN 3: Next on Start Up.

(laughs) WOMAN 4: Gary Bredow, superstar.

Okay.

GARY: With no nose.

GARY: He's gonna go tell all his buddies, like... ANNOUNCER: Spectrum Business is a proud supporter of Start Up.

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TOYIN: Food is my love language.

If you think about it food is really shared humanity.

It doesn't matter who you are we've all go to eat.

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