Sherrie: How long did the
development take and were
there a lot of road blocks?
Jane: Our biggest challenge has
been dealing with growth when we
were massively under-capitalized.
I used to think that growing was
easy. When you sold more product,
you made more money and,
therefore, could buy more raw
materials. How naïve was that?!
I had no backers, no mentors, but
I did have a boyfriend, now my
husband, who was a banker. We used
to strategize every waking moment
on how to get more capital into a
business that was a lowly start-up.
We’d grit our teeth and go to
friends and family and pull together
enough money to get us through the
next phase and on it went. We kept
hearing the same refrain, “It’s hard
when you’re a start-up.” After ten
years and exporting to 25 countries,
I asked my accountant, “When do we
stop being a start-up?” Finally, we
got big enough to obtain a Small
Business Loan and then finally a
bank took us seriously.
Maralyn: What were the first
group of products to kick off your
line and why?
Jane: We incorporated in March,
1994 and started with five shades
of loose minerals, which were mixed
at my kitchen table. I began with
mineral