How I Got Here: The Founder and CEO of Raaie Skincare on the art of not giving up
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“Even when you’ve heard no a million times or you’ve tried and failed at something… keep figuring out solutions and keep improving.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how on earth they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While the internet and social media might have us believe that our ideal job is a mere pipe dream, the individuals who have these jobs were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
But behind the awe-inspiring titles and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to women who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly the knowledge, advice and practical tips they’ve gleaned along the way.
This week we speak with Katey Mandy, the Founder and CEO of the award-winning New Zealand beauty brand, Raaie Skincare. Before the idea for Raaie was born, Katey spent 15 years working in ad agencies and specialising in beauty strategy, helping to build successful brands from the ground up. Here she gained valuable insight into exactly what makes a product work, and how to build community around your brand messaging.
After family tragedy struck, Katey found herself back in New Zealand, surrounded by the native botanicals that thrive under some of the harshest UV radiation in the world. The idea for Raaie was born – truly efficient formulas built from Aotearoa’s unique botanicals, housed in beautiful (and reusable) ceramic vessels. Below, she shares her journey of bringing the brand to life.
What do you do and what’s your official job title?
I’m the Founder and CEO of Raaie, a skincare brand that harnesses the oceanic and alpine botanicals of New Zealand for clear, luminous skin.
Take us back to when you were first starting out. Did you study to get into your chosen field, or did you start out with an internship/entry-level role and climb the ladder? Tell us the story.
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After graduating from uni, I landed an intern job at an ad agency and after two years, ended up travelling to London for a similar job up there. I worked on some really fun campaigns such as Katy Perry for GHD, Twiggy, Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Ryan Reynolds for M&S and renowned Hollywood stylist Kate Young for Target, before specialising in beauty brand strategy.
We worked for Unilever as they were building out the prestige beauty brand division (Unilever Prestige now owns Tatcha, Dermalogica, Kate Somerville, Garancia, Murad, Paula’s Choice, Ren, Hourglass and Living Proof). We mapped out the global beauty market, looked at the big macro trends that were shaping the industry over the next 10 to 20 years, and then helped them acquire brands or build their own ones from the ground up.
Before I knew it, I’d been in London for 15 years, had a house, a husband, a baby and a full life there. But then I got the call that people living overseas dread: my mum was very sick. I decided to come home to help her through the gruelling chemo treatment. When she passed away, I was totally lost and found solace in spending time up on the family farm in Northland.
I was surrounded by the beautiful native botanicals such as mānuka, kānuka, harakeke and kawakawa, and became inspired by the resilience of these plants that thrive under some of the harshest UV radiation in the world. I started researching deeper into New Zealand’s bioactive-rich land, sea and alpine botanicals. Not only do our natives have unique antioxidant and healing potential, but even plants that have been brought in from overseas show significantly increased antioxidant capabilities, too.
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For example, a sauvignon blanc grape seed from a plant in France has double the level of polyphenols when grown in New Zealand vs France. The more research I did into the antioxidant and healing potential of New Zealand’s flora, the more convinced I was of the unique power of these plants. That’s when the idea came to me of making a beauty brand that combined everything I’d learned abroad with all the richness that we have down here.
What challenges/hurdles have you faced getting to where you are now? Can you tell us about one in particular?
Going from working for huge multinationals to your own start-up was a real change. I went from having so many resources and working with the top experts in their respective fields, to being on my own and having to work it all out on the fly. In the first few months, I was packing orders in my living room and if the courier label printer broke, there was no IT department to call, no assistants to rely on. It certainly brought me back down to earth and made me appreciate every aspect of the engine that makes a company run.
What do you want people to know about your industry?
Less is more. The beauty industry as a whole encourages conspicuous consumption with over-stacked ‘shelfies’ and multi-step skincare regimes. But we believe in a minimal approach. That means less products, less packaging, less waste and less time and effort. At Raaie, the potency of our botanicals and our highly active formulations allows us to combine multiple treatments into each product, so you don’t need to use so many.
What’s the best part about your role?
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I love the R&D and working with our amazing artisanal farmers and suppliers, but the best part is getting reviews and customer feedback. Skin has a huge impact on confidence, and when I hear about the positive results people have experienced using our products, and how genuinely emotional that makes them, I can’t help but well up, too.
What would surprise people about your role?
It’s not that glamorous running a beauty brand. I spend a lot of time in hair nets and lab coats, in high vis at the warehouse, or in gumboots at the farms. About five per cent of the time I’m doing PR and photoshoots but of course, that’s the stuff people see.
What skills have served you well in your industry?
Persistence. The art of not giving up, even when you’ve heard no a million times or you’ve tried and failed at something. Keep figuring out solutions and keep improving.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in a role like yours one day?
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I did some excellent training while being paid by bigger corporates. Work out where you want to get to, and then work out what skills and experience you need to build. If you can leapfrog from one paid/cushy lillipad to another then you’re basically doing a paid MBA to get to your perfect company founder role.
What about a practical tip?
Find the person that is 10 or 20 years ahead of you. Ask them out for a coffee and have specific questions in mind that you want to ask them. You’d be surprised who will give you 20 minutes of their day and share their knowledge with you.
Read the rest of the How I Got Here series here.
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