Ning Li recently swappedsofasfor skincare.
Now hes on a journey: Typology.
Typology was born with amissionto demystify the complex skincare industry.
Its clean, genderless, and 100% digital.
The packaging, he says, is simple, minimal, and all made from recyclable materials.
Its also designed to be posted through the letterbox a must for any ecommerce business.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
They want to see reviews and proof points, Li says.
So we give substance and provable claims.
InParis, its a little bit trickier to do that, he notes.
The cityspopulation, he adds, is different.
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Currently, Typology employs 28 people in its Paris office.
According to Li, theteamis made up of 14 nationalities, severalethnicities, educationalbackgrounds, religions, and sexualities.
This key when building abusinessis not only to enrich ourcompany culturebut to identify our blind spots as abrand.
I needpeoplewho have different viewpoints and come at problems in different ways, based on theirexperiences.
Indeed, the beauty and skincare industry is notorious for its lack of inclusivity.
It often caters to a predominantly whitecustomer, something that becomes a detriment to otherraces.
At Revlon,only 5% of employeesat the director level or above are black.
Only6% of leadership rolesat Sephora are filled by blackpeople.
This is the opposite approach to large beauty brands that spend years and millions ofdollarsdeveloping newproducts, he says.
For us to really stand out, we have focussed on innovation and quality.
We have developed a largeportfolioofproductsthat didnt exist before within a very shortspaceof time.
For instance, our TEN range where allproductshave 10 ingredients or less takes a lot ofexpertiseto create.
Li certainly has a full plate, but he says he keeps focus by avoiding multitasking.
Controversial, I know.
I make a to-dolistof priorities and start with the first task.
I only move on to the following task when the top one is done, he says.
Be upfront and transparent withcustomers,shareholders, and employees.
If there are negative adjustments e.g.
downgrading a forecast, make those changes fast inorderto avoid deathby a thousand cuts, he concludes.
