Katia Beauchamp: 10 Things You Did Not Know About the CEO of Birchbox
Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that delivers personalized beauty samples that surprise and delight the receipitents. It introduces patrons to a variety of high-end beauty products. These products are from familiar brands and independent companies. Each box contains four to five selected samples that have been chosen especially for the subscriber based on their profiles. These samples include makeup, skincare items, perfumes, organic based products, and various other cosmetics. It allows subscribers the opportunity to discover their new favorites Each box costs a monthly fee of $10.00. Each Birchbox ships for free.
There is a choice of two subscription plans: monthly and you can cancel at any time or a yearly plan of $99.00 at the present time. Subscribers can purchase a full-size quantity of a new favorite from the Birchbox online store. The first Birchboxes were shipped in September 2010. The company soon realized that men needed a better way to shop. BirchboxMan launched in April 2012 to bring gentlemen tailored samples of grooming and lifestyle products.
The concept of Birchbox is the idea of two Harvard graduate students who are friends, Katia Beauchamp and Hayley Barna. They plan to design an efficient and frustration free way for women to shop for beauty products. By combining their interest in the Internet and their wish for a better way to shop for beauty products without spending a fortune, the ladies begin their e-commerce beauty business. Katia’s roles at Birchbox are: setting the strategy and vision for the business, coordinate the team to hit goals, hiring ambitious and motivated employees, business development, beauty brand relationships and public relations.
Even though, Katia Beauchamp is a popular public figure, there are some interesting tidbits of information about her that you may not know. Following are 10 things about this CEO and reality personality that you may discover to be quite interesting.
1. Highly Ambitious at an Early Age
Almost all children are asked, “What did you want to be when you are grown-up?” Katia’s responses show that she aims high and plans to have more than one career. Like most children she wants to be the President of the United States. After she serves as President, she wants to become some kind of scientist. For her last career choice, she wants to be an economist. As you continue to read, you see that her career path unfolds in an interesting fashion.
2. Loves Hard Work and Fairness
She is a member of a Girl Scout troop for just one year. She gets really frustrated with it because when she attempts to sell her cookies, she goes from door to door. She does her work independently. She does not know that the moms and dads of the other girls are selling Girl Scout cookies at their workplace for their kids. She is extremely frustrated that it is not just about hard work. She quits the Girl Scouts in protest.
3. Early Love for Beauty Products
Girls tend to love beauty products and get inspirations from others. Katia is able to design her own style. When Katia Beauchamp was in high school, she planned her entire prom outfit around the merlot-tinted hue of Chanel’s Vamp nail polish. She worked at Gap and spent a significant amount of her paycheck on beauty products. She considered this to be an accessible luxury. She is proud that she is able to buy something from the Chanel brand of products.
4. Determined and Motivated
As an undergraduate student at Vasser College, Katia Beauchamp decided to major in math and economics. She noticed that there were almost no women in these classes. Katia wanted to prove that a woman could be quite successful in these studies.
5. Learning about Business and Entrepreneurship
After three years of working in structured finance and commercial real estate, Katia enters Harvard Business School to earn her MBA. She sees this as an opportunity to interject her finance fundamentals into a career in entrepreneurship. Her love for all things related to beauty (bolstered by a college internship at Estee Lauder) and her natural talent for sales and negotiation make her the perfect industry leader for a company like Birchbox.
6. Launching the Company
The idea for Birchbox develops while she is still in Harvard Business School. Katia and her roommate, Hayley Barna, start their business out of their apartment in 2010. The first employees that they hire are 3 other friends. During 6 years, the company grows into a billion dollar business.
7. Fun Loving
It is quite evident that this CEO has a unique love for enjoyment and bringing fun to others. Katia has a special talent for starting impromptu dance parties. She firmly believes that work should be fun. She cuts interviews with prospective employees short if they state that the reason they left a previous job is because it is not fun or interesting. Also, she is an expert hair designer. She can whip up a formal updo in a just a matter of minutes by using her favorite teasing brush. During the work day, Katia often gives impromptu braiding lessons to her co-workers.
8. Married a Friend from Elementary School
Katia meets her future husband when she is 10 years old at school on the tetherball court. They remain friends through the years. They start dating several years later when her childhood friend moves to New York City after college. After a year and a half of dating, he proposed on the same tetherball court as where Katia and he met.
9. Items for Katia’s Birchbox
Katia has access to thousands of beauty products from hundreds of companies. It makes you wonder what would she want in her personalized Birchbox. When asked this question, she states that she wants: bright nail polish, creamy blush, serum, and dry shampoo. Katia always states how important dry shampoo is for her lifestyle.
10. Katia Beauchamp Net Worth
Katia Beauchamp has a net worth of $1 billion. Her net worth is listed as one of the top ten female CEOs on several lists. 2016 has seen a decline in profits and a scaling back in plans for future developments, especially brick and mortar stores. The development of many online beauty subscription services has cut into profits, but the company’s investors extend a $15 million lifeline for Birchbox. Since 2010, millions of boxes and products have been shipped worldwide. Birchbox is headquartered in New York City. Since the company has been so successful, it has operations in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Belgium.
Photo via Ben Baker