Ep 99 | April Gargiulo
Tapping into Your Intuition to Scale Your Business
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April Gargiulo is the Founder and CEO of Vintner's Daughter, a cult favorite nutrient-powered skincare brand. Vintner’s Daughter was founded on the principles of unparalleled quality and efficacy, inspired by April’s background in the world of fine winemaking and its uncompromising standards.
Admittedly, she knew very little about the skincare industry when she first founded the brand in 2013, but one thing she knew well was how to extract the finest ingredients from plants. After suffering from cystic acne and hyperpigmentation her whole life, April discovered the products she was using were actually made from cheap synthetics, and it was then that she decided to create her own all-natural, multi-beneficial skincare. She launched the Vitner’s Daughter brand with just one product: the Active Botanical Serum, which famously attracted the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Hailey Bieber, and others who swear by its skin-clearing benefits.
In today’s conversation, April offers some insight into the process of starting her business from her living room with absolutely no knowledge of the beauty industry and she explains how throwing out the rulebook allowed her to stand out in a highly saturated market. We also discuss how she grew into a multimillion-dollar business with only one product and zero investors, the power of meditation and staying true to yourself, and so much more!
Show Notes:
Why April describes herself as risk-averse and how she overcame that tendency. [3:05]
How growing up with two entrepreneurial parents influenced who April is today. [4:38]
Life before the business: from interior design to winemaking. [5:44]
The story of the sabbatical April took, the apothecary she visited, and how it inspired her first product, the Active Botanical Serum. [14:35]
Some of the other business ideas she had before settling on Vintner's Daughter. [17:15]
What the early days of the company were like as she developed her first product. [18:50]
Times when April questioned herself and what motivated her to persevere. [21:50]
Building brand awareness with very few marketing dollars through word of mouth. [25:25]
Scaling, running a business from her living room, working mom hours, and more! [27:13]
Focusing on a single SKU versus participating in a ‘new-and-next’ mentality. [29:05]
How April stays aligned with her vision by focusing on impact. [31:46]
Insight into her fundraising philosophy, building a multimillion-dollar business with zero investors, and her retail strategy. [33:45]
The importance of having a community of advisors when building a business. [0:37:42]
April shares the powerful impact of meditation and staying true to herself. [39:10]
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Follow April:
Website: https://vintnersdaughter.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vintnersdaughter/
