ERIKA GERAERTS – FLUFF
A few years ago, Erika did what some might consider crazy or even unthinkable. She left the business she co-founded with her best friends at the height of its success to go out on her own. Erika is the co-founder of Frank Body – the $20 million brand that’s considered one of the best Aussie start-up successes in recent years. It was courageous decision, but one that was driven by Erika’s mission to fight back against the unrealistic portrayal of women by the beauty industry, and her desire to create a positive narrative around what it means to be beautiful. After selling all of her shares in Frank and raising additional seed funding on just her idea, Erika started building her next venture Fluff. It’s a beauty brand for the Gen Z-ers and while it’s novel, it can be polarising and at times confusing for anyone over the age of 20. It’s unlike any beauty brand you’ve seen before, and that’s precisely the point. In this episode of lady-land, we spoke with Erika about what it was like to leave a business at its peak to build another one from the ground up, how to build a brand that lasts, and how she's developed a crowd-sourced content model for Fluff that has struck a chord with the Gen Z audience.
“It was the saddest but happiest I’ve ever been, the poorest but richest I’ve ever felt.”
“The beauty industry takes itself way too seriously where it shouldn’t, and not seriously enough where it should.”
“Never take money from someone who can’t afford to invest in you.”
“I want to be able to articulate a story in ways that other people can’t, and don’t want to”
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