Sarah and her twin sister Emily launched Bellabox in 2011, after six months of business preparation, having no beauty industry experience, industry connections and only their personal savings.
Sarah was working in New York at renowned magazine, watched the rise of Birchbox with interest and thought it was a tangible concept with the huge rise of e-commerce around the world.
Emily, who was living in Singapore, suggested they make a go of it and soon the twins were throwing everything they had into their startup.
The pair juggled their full-time jobs, Emily in marketing and Sarah as Spin’s general manager, with the early development of bellabox.
Sarah left NYC to set up the head office in Melbourne, while Emily continued working in Singapore.
The twins have worked together on many a project, but bellabox is their first business venture. The shared competitive streak and symbiotic motivation keeps the dynamic duo working well even while living in different countries.
Communicating via Skype, they get to talk about personal stuff and yes, they do fight. It hasn’t always been easy.
Fast-forward to today and bellabox commands 70% market share in Australia’s beauty subscription industry, with over 40,000 monthly members in Australia, over 600 brand partnerships and 30 employees. Bellabox now has a men’s and baby subscription service and is looking for bigger international expansion.
Growing up, what kind of career did you want to pursue?
A detective like Nancy Drew, haha, yes it is true
Who inspires you?
Family, friends and at the moment, Jack Ma and Seth Godin
Who (apart from you) is most surprised by your achievements?
No one who will admit it – I feel like I’m surrounded by people who have achieved so much in their own right so I don’t dwell on what I have or haven’t achieved, there is always more to do!
How have women helped shape your success to date?
I have always had women leaders in my life influence me by being strong and open about their own successes while being wiling to help and lend advice.
What qualities do you most admire in a female colleague?
Honesty
Ambition
Enjoyment of life, I like to relate on a personal level with those that I work with so I enjoy talking about life outside work.
What’s the key to successfully balancing work and life?
On the work side the first step is admitting that you have a life outside work then managing your own expectations on what you can achieve and exceeding those in the eyes of your colleagues.
If you had an afternoon to yourself, how would you spend it?
All by myself and no budget? Wandering around shopping followed by a glass of wine and reading the paper.
Who do you regard as your mentor?
Friends and family
What personal attributes have you used to overcome adversity in your life?
Determination, while being somewhat oblivious to road blocks
If you could make one change to women’s lives, what would it be and why?
Ensuring that every woman had the confidence to assert her rights in all personal and business situations.
Why? In general a lack of confidence holds us back from standing up for what we want and defending ourselves in tough personal situations.
What is the hardest part of your job?
I think the hardest part of any job is dealing with negative people, I’m really positive and I like to challenge myself so I’m not great at chatting to people who are one dimensional and don’t like to brainstorm new ideas.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to success in your field?
Our field is quite broad so I would say in general, find something you love doing, work hard and be two steps ahead at all times.