a harvard woman is blowing up the $55 billion beauty industry with 3d printed makeup
by:Tuowei2019-08-18
Grace Choi is 30-year- The old series of inventors, when women want, give them the power to have what they want, thus taking over the cosmetics industry worth $55 billion. Imagine: you took a photo of a tropical purple flower and you can print lipstick in this color in less than two minutes. You will do it at home with your personal 3D printer Mink. You don\'t need to know how to code, you don\'t need to understand 3D printing, and you don\'t need a lot of money. Grace is a graduate of Harvard Business School and the creator of Mink. We talked for hours and her story is more important than the brain behind the machine-she is an activist who uses 3D printing to empower women. Dennis: you launched mink last month at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York, which is a big blow. You said you invented mink because you wanted to give control back to a woman. How will Mink do this? Grace: Traditionally, the definition of beauty is defined by major cosmetics companies such as L\'Oreal or Estee Lauder. Beauty is defined by the colors that these companies choose to make, which they think will be sold, and which we see on the model that they choose to represent the brand. What if you want a color that you think is beautiful but the industry is not? You can\'t have it because you can\'t control what the industry produces and, most tragically, we don\'t even question it. These companies are so good at our training that we blindly accept the narrow range of choices in front of us. When you want it, Mink gives you the power to have what you want-it\'s no longer up to the company or anyone else-it\'s up to you now. By giving this control to the younger generation of women, I want to instill confidence in them, the confidence of rock stars. If we can do this, we will see some great, great female leaders sprout in the future, which is a great thing. What is your definition of \"young women? Grace: A 13-year-old woman21. Mink is a sport and a product is a vehicle that helps to move. If you want to change the world, you must start with young people. From a business point of view, people of this age group have not yet developed the habit of making up. 13-year-old female 21 people are still trying cosmetics, but the service is not enough. Mink is an interesting product. Girls in college and high school will be very happy. I\'m not going to change the habits of women-of course, more mature women are very welcome to use mink, but that\'s not my motivation. How does Mink work? Grace: First of all, you can make lipstick, lip gloss, eye shadow, blush, nail polish, eyebrow powder-except for foundation and facial strength ( Will arrive later). This 2- The minute video shows you how it works: we will have a make-up box. I don\'t know why it\'s so cool, but it\'s so cool. Mink: does Mink use the same ink as I print the working file? Grace: The ink in your home printer is different. This is very different-the composition of this Ink meets FDA requirements, cosmetic grade, from the same source of trusted brands. Denise: you want women to buy mink next summer. How much does the printer cost? Will the mink lipstick of Maybelline or Chanelprice series be there? Grace: At first, the price of mink was about $300. A lipstick will start with the Maybelline series, but the future may even be less than Maybelline due to economies of scale. You\'re disrupting the beauty industry. How does the industry react to mink? Grace: I think the beauty industry is a bit anxious at the moment because there is uncertainty about any change. Some companies have been contacted and I have told them very clearly how I think they can fit into this whole thing. Maybe it\'s numbers. Maybe they can make their own substrate (base materials) Compatible with mink. Even Cartridges compatible with mink. There are billions of ways to participate in this platform, and they are very welcome to participate as others. I am very open to partnership and cooperation and am very excited to do so. However, due to Mink\'s mission, any negotiations on the acquisition or acquisition of equity by beauty companies will not be discussed publicly. I think the first company to really understand this- It\'s actually cooperation, not trying to destroy- Will do it for yourself. You\'re-woman shop. Do you need to grow? Mink is not a traditional company. It\'s still-person company. I\'m a creative hardcore. I\'m also a hardcore entrepreneur. I eventually need to raise money to develop, but I\'m no longer meeting with traditional venture capital companies because I\'m tired of yelling-and I yell at them for being stupid. I think there is friction because we have conflicting priorities. I am interested in the future, not the company. I can hardly get employed, I think I am the worst employee in the world, because for me, employment is a kind of slavery. I don\'t want to be responsible for managing the company and hiring employees because it\'s slavery for them and for me. What I want to do with mink is to make tools and machines that enable people to be independent and make money on their own so that they can enjoy their freedom. In order to be faithful to my mission and allow as many young women as possible to reach mink, I am creating innovative partnerships for companies that need me and I need them. The companies that make printers are examples, and I believe the beauty industry will come. You are strong. you are only 30 years old. Where does this belief in oneself come from? My parents immigrated from South Korea and I grew up in Brooklyn. My dad has a fruit shop, a simple shop, but I watched and learned how to run the business and how to negotiate. Education is really important because, through education, I am able to go up the ladder of social economy. At Cornell University and Harvard Business School, I was exposed to a very diverse group of smart people, experiences and opportunities. I realize that everyone is the same person; No one is better than others. Money doesn\'t make you a smarter or better person. The knowledge is very, very strong, and the right educational experience can help you acquire it. I think that\'s why I\'m a little annoyed with a group of people in Silicon Valley who encourage young people to drop out of school. Are they crazy? Do you know who else said that? Gangs, gangs tell young people to drop out of school. This is not the first or second time you are competing in a rodeo. You \'ve been inventing things from medical devices to jewelry. How do you know when to reduce losses or move on? Grace: you need to know when things are not going well, reduce your losses and move on. I think the key is to get it out and understand what the requirement is, and if you hit it in the head, you will surely know that you have to run with it. Inventors are the same as anyone who is creative-singers, artists, composers-as creative people, we have to do the best for this idea. Once we are hit, execution is the most important thing. A lot of inventors have failed, and to be honest, I will say very frankly- I\'m not super- Perfect execution. But the purpose of this idea about mink is too important, so I must not let my self hinder its success, as long as I always do what is most beneficial to the idea of penetration, then I will make the right decision and the idea will never go away. Instead, when you have a \"miss\" on your hand, you have a question mark, \"Is this a hit? Dennis: will the future include women producing and selling cosmetics at home? Can mink create new jobs to empower women? Grace: Yes. It not only creates new jobs, but also creates freedom. The whole point of mink is to inspire women\'s creativity and open opportunities, empower them, and let them live freely in the way they want. If that\'s what they want, they can be entrepreneurs, support themselves and not be tied to structured work. That\'s one of the goals I started doing. I think it is wrong to ask women to sacrifice and change themselves to adapt to the corporate work structure that is not suitable for women. If we want to have more female leaders in the workplace, we need to change the work structure to suit women. I want women to think a lot and say to themselves, \"I can be the next beauty tycoon, the next\" it \"founder, and do it the way I want. \"These women are out there, they just need tools. Mink is the tool. I like manufacturing, I like machines, I like making things and creating tools for people. I have a lot of machines and stuff I want to make, so let\'s go ahead!