Hey, Business Besties™!

I’m in Australia ahead of Female Founder World’s very first Aussie tour! This has been on my vision board since forever, and we’re kicking off in Melbourne this Thursday.

If you missed us in your inbox and your ears this month, the team took a break after our huge end of year Summit in New York. tbh, it was the best day and I can’t get over it. Business Insider shared some of the top lessons from the stage and all the party photos are here.

Now we’re back on for 2024, and I’ve got a quick and easy $500 grant for you, details on an upcoming Shark Tank casting in NY, the TLDR on Gen Alpha, and a program we built teaching the secret indie stockist strategy brands are using to hit their first million in revenue. It’s the best thing we’ve ever done–I can’t wait for you to see it.

TYSM, Jasmine

• We love a quick and easy grant. Apply to win $500. 🔗 Tell me more

• Shark Tank is casting in New York! Now’s your chance to pitch the Sharks and get the cash you need and PR you deserve. 🔗 Tell me more

• This program helps you find, write, and win grant money. 🔗 Tell me more

• Learn the indie stockist strategy that brands in the Female Founder World group are using to hit their first $1M in revenue. 🔗 Tell me more

• Not sure how to focus your time and energy for 2024? Try this. 🔗 Tell me more 

• Apply for a $10,000 grant that your biz could cash in this month. 🔗 Tell me more

• This newsletter deep dives on the marketing trends behind consumer brands. 🔗 Tell me more

• 🔒The founder of Little Words Project, Adriana Carrig, answered your biz questions live on a Female Founder World Group Business Coaching Call! Paid members can watch this recording and all of our previous call recordings on demand. 🔗 Tell me more

• Sephora’s influencer marketing strategy is making bank. Learn what they’re getting right. 🔗 Tell me more

• Wondering how much equity your first employees should get in your business? Here’s a cheat sheet on best practice for VC-backed businesses. 🔗 Tell me more

^{Learn the system small businesses are using to hit huge revenue goals by scaling through independent retail stockists.}

Eep! Our first course is here, and she’s ready for enrollment. It’s hands down the most valuable program we’ve ever produced here at Female Founder World—no question—and we’ve already sold more than half the available spots.

We asked bootstrapped business owners how they hit their first $1 million in revenue and the answer was REFRESHING.

No, it wasn't a huge contract with Sephora or Target.

No, they didn't spend huge $$$ on digital ads.

No, they didn't just got viral on TikTok. 

Instead, they built a big business by following an independent stockist strategy. 

This is good news, because it's a framework you can copy-paste into your own business now without needing to raise millions from investors to pour into digital ads, wait around for a mass retailer to respond to your email, or strike gold and go viral online.

idk, but I really think this is a no-brainer for your business. Details at the link!

MARKETING: The new Mean Girls’ partnership with e.l.f Cosmetics is getting dragged online. The product placement in the movie really has not landed, with Reddit users saying “By the third e.l.f. placement the theater audience audibly groaned.” TikTok users have been posting their own spoofs of the placements. But if all PR is good PR, maybe they’ve nailed it? WDYT?

CELEBS: Bare-faced queen Pamela Anderson has joined skincare brand, Sonsie Skin, as their new co-founder. We should have seen this one coming.

SOCIAL MEDIA: TikTok has started testing 30-minute video uploads—they’re definitely coming for YouTube. 

Instagram’s added a new alternate “finsta” feed, Flipside. You can switch over to your secret feed and post to a select audience, change your name and bio, and have a totally unique feed.

MONEY: Beatrice Dixon sold the majority of her company The Honey Pot Co for $380M—she started it in her kitchen back in 2012.

BEAUTY: Lip gloss has been that girl this year. Hailey Beiber’s Rhode has reportedly sold over one million peptide lip treatments (at $16 a hit that’s over $16 million on lip gloss!). A record-breaking number of brands also launched their versions—from gloss, to oil, to mask, lip treatments have been everywhere this year. This category is booming.

Boots is kind of like the British version of CVS—and now they’re opening a beauty-only store, Boots Beauty. US-based Bubble skincare is launching 12 SKUs at Boots, so if you haven’t reached out to their buying team, take this as your sign to do it.

Hanahana Beauty is raising a crowdfunding equity round and you can get involved by investing as little as $150.

CONTENT & MARKETING INSPO:

• Clean candle brand, Mala the Brand, has been sending PR gifts with custom candles—Kim Kardashian loved hers so much she re-shared it to her Instagram stories.

• We loved Rhode’s influencer mailers for their new cleanser. Experiential = the key for standing out in 2024.

• Want to get in on the buzz of building your business in public? Alejandra Guerra (founder of Everly Candles—use code FFWORLD for 15% off) has been growing her personal brand on LinkedIn to support the business’s growth. Follow along for a lesson on building brand hype on LinkedIn

• Let this founder school you on building a founder-led brand on TikTok. Her new launch, a photo album, is SO cute (and we got you a discount: Use FFW20 for 20% off site-wide).

Get in besties, we’re going to Australia!

Female Founder World’s going on tour to meet our Aussie Business Besties IRL! Catch us with a line-up of incredible speakers in Melbourne (1 February), Brisbane (6 February) and Sydney (7 February) for our famous—and free!—Popup Networking Parties.

The TLDR on Gen Alpha

Gen Z got about five minutes in the headlines, now Gen Alpha (born from 2010-2024) are up.

News is trending that this generation—yes, of literal children—have been taking over Sephora and wish-listing brands like Drunk Elephant. So, it’s got the brand world talking.

When the oldest Gen Alphas enter adulthood in 2029, their economic footprint will be more than US$5.46 trillion. Naturally, it’s got our group chat talking about whether we should be targeting this new demographic of shoppers. And if we’re morally cool with it, then how do we reach them? Let’s discuss.

The TLDR:

• They’re often referred to as “mini-Millennials” since they’re the kids of Millennials—so folks think they’ll be a lot closer to that generation than Gen Z. The opportunity: Following Millennials obsession with making everyday items “cute” (ie. Our Place Pans, Away luggage), there’s an opportunity to “cute-ify” everyday items for Gen Alpha.

• Since they’ve grown up online, like their Millennial parents, they spend a lot of time researching new buys. The opportunity: Reviews, reviews, reviews. Try gifting to micro influencers (and even everyday consumers) with the intention of getting more TikTok reviews—this is where Gen A is doing a ton of their research.

• Retail Dive shared that Gen Alpha’s early access to the internet has expedited their “brand maturity”. They actually often prefer more adult brands (hi, Drunk Elephant) than “kiddie brands”. The opportunity: If your brand is built for Gen Alpha, think critically and gather feedback about what type of branding will actually connect with them, rather than building what you expect a kid would like.

• They care about ending the stigma around mental health. The opportunity: If it aligns with you and your brand mission, see where you can incorporate mental health advocacy.

We’re curious. Reply to this email and let us know what you think about Gen Alpha entering the marketing chat.

🎧 The Female Founder World podcast is returning for 2024 this week!