"Don't wait. Start chasing your dreams today. Excuses pile up over time. Seize the moment."
Rachel Reid isn’t just an entrepreneur; she’s a trailblazer, an inventor of innovation. Breaking free from the conventional beauty norms, Rachel’s vision gave birth to Subtl – a brand that’s rewriting the rules of everyday beauty routines. Rachel’s secret?
She listens to real needs. Subtl’s Stak is a culmination of valuable feedback and desires from Subtl’s amazing customers. It’s not just about products; it’s about a lifestyle.
Say goodbye to cluttered bags and hello to a sleek, streamlined routine that empowers you to express your unique style effortlessly.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Rachel Reid: Thank you so much for having me today! I’m Rachel Reid and I started Subtl Beauty back in 2019 when I was inspired by an experience we’ve all been through.
I was in a new relationship and thinking about spending the night at my boyfriend’s place. What would I need? What if I forgot something?
My just-in-case bag turned into an overflowing not-so-subtle bag. That’s when I realized what if everything I needed was in one handy stack?
Subtl Beauty was born. I created this brand as a simple beauty routine that is wearable and wonderful for everything you need today, tonight or tomorrow.
Subtl’s stackable makeup solution compactly holds your beauty routine in the palm of your hand. All products in the revolutionizing “stak” are crafted with the utmost care – vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and fragrance-free.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Rachel Reid: We had many exciting successes this past year! We won the BeautyMatter Next award, introduced the new Stak 2.0 with elevated packaging and elite formulations, and we just received Series A funding.
At Subtl Beauty, we believe in empowering busy individuals to embrace their natural beauty with simplicity and style.
Our goal is always to provide high-quality, stackable solutions that enhance confidence and empower our customers to shine, without weighing them down. I am excited to see what’s in store for the new year!
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Rachel Reid: It is very important to trust your own instincts and intuition. I wish I had learned earlier on to be careful who you accept advice from. Not all advice is created equal.
Pay attention to what feedback you are receiving from customers and/or someone who has been in a similar journey before.
For the most part, everything else is noise. In the next quarter, I hope to continue growing my team and the brand both nationally and internationally.
Here is a two-fold question: What is the book that influenced you the most and how? Please share some life lessons you learned. Now what book have you gifted the most and why?
Rachel Reid: I can’t think of a specific book but I would say running my own company I have learned a tremendous amount including not outspending bad unit economics, making small changes in can have just as much of an impact as a winning marketing strategy, don’t get too comfortable because nothing is forever, and ignore market pressures to grow fast. It is important to adjust your focus when necessary in business.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Rachel Reid: Working in the beauty industry definitely has its challenges. Standing out from competitors is crucial by offering a wide variety of price ranges and product offerings for different skincare concerns and customer needs.
We make sure all of our products are regulated to be cruelty-free, vegan, gluten-free, fragrance free, and paraben free.
The Subtl Stak allows customers to customize their own stak to find their perfect shade and satisfy their own needs.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Rachel Reid: I think in business and running your own company it is interesting how the more you learn the less you realize you know. One of the hardest parts of running Subtl was back in 2022 when the company was in a precarious situation.
We were over-inventoried and burning through cash faster than we could bring it in. We had to do something completely different, or the brand would shut down.
We formulated a plan to focus on profitability > grow at all costs which meant cutting back on any unnecessary spending and tools.
We also diversified our traffic sources as much as possible with the motto “Be everywhere, all at once.” We ended up doubling our top line and producing a sizable net income for the year.
What does “success” in 2024 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Rachel Reid: I think success on a personal level as an entrepreneur for me means having the room to grow and fail while still taking risks.
You can only learn from failure. It is beneficial to start young as an entrepreneur because there is less financial risk.
My advice for future entrepreneurs is to just do it. Go for that dream and start right away because all the reasons you are giving yourself not to do it are going to be even more present the older you get and the need to start something is never going to go away.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Rachel Reid for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
