Mother of four small children with a fifth baby on the way, Mia Saini Duchnowski is your classic definition of an A-type personality; she is a MIT and Harvard Business School graduate, worked on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs and was a Hong Kong and New York based TV reporter and anchor for Bloomberg Television. She along with her co-founder created a company focussed towards men with active, on the go lifestyles. They wanted to give their husbands and others like them, a quality skincare option that fit into their routines and budgets.
The idea behind Oars + Alps took place when Mia noticed that her husband had been trying to take better care of himself from cancer-causing UV rays by using her expensive products. His grandfather had passed away and had skin cancer and at the time his father was also suffering from skin cancer. Mia and her co-founder realised that both their husbands had skincare needs that were unmet by any specific brand or product. They recognised a gap in the beauty industry and gave up their high-profile jobs at Bloomberg and Facebook respectively to start their own enterprise.
“Mia... is a MIT and Harvard Business School graduate, worked on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs and was a Hong Kong and New York based TV reporter and anchor for Bloomberg Television.”
After extensive research funded by their own money, their company raised $1.3 million in seed funding and grew consistently over three years until they were reportedly acquired by SC Johnson in 2019. Both women cultivated Oars + Alps into becoming a brand at the forefront of the men’s natural skincare revolution.
Mia was kind enough to have a coffee over a zoom call with me to discuss how she achieved this incredible success.
You have had such a varied and interesting career, what have the highlights been for you and how did that help you to become a founder?
I used to be a TV Reporter and Anchor, most recently at Bloomberg TV. I was on camera every day and had access to amazing skincare products. My husband, who is very much a guy’s guy, he’s not a metrosexual, he’s not your average joe, he’s somewhere in the middle, was always borrowing my products.
“I quit my job at Bloomberg TV to create better products for guys who have these on-the-go lifestyles who are looking for more naturally-derived options in their skincare.”
When I dug a little deeper, I learned that his interest in skincare stemmed from health reasons (i.e. how not to get skin cancer), not from vanity. He didn’t know how to take care of himself, but he knew that on my side of the bathroom I had a bunch of products. I knew there had to be a better way for him to take care of his skin, and I knew that I was a gatekeeper. I buy the shampoo, the toilet paper, and I also buy the skincare products.
At the same time, her co-founder’s husband has eczema, and she was appalled at the things he was putting on his face and his body. She quit her job at Facebook, and I quit my job at Bloomberg TV to create better products for guys who have these on-the-go lifestyles who are looking for more naturally-derived options in their skincare.
Could you discuss a little more about your launch?
Our beta testing was in October of 2015, we funded it with our own money. We then won the Harvard Business School New Venture Challenge in the Midwest region. We raised friends and family funds in February of 2016. Both of us were pregnant. We then launched to the public in November of 2016. We had three to four months of sales, showing progress every month, selling direct-to-consumer. That’s how we were able to raise our first round of funding totaling about $1.3 million in May of 2017.
We were able to accelerate our website so that it looked more like a real brand. We were able to expand our product line and have more inventory.
How have your year-over-year sales growth been like?
We don’t specify sales growth numbers or any business details, but we’ve seen tremendous growth since launch. The men’s space has its challenges, but that also means there are lots of opportunities. Even though we’ve had this amazing growth, we’ve had to constantly pivot to keep growing.
“...we’ve seen tremendous growth since launch. The men’s space has its challenges, but that also means there are lots of opportunities. Even though we’ve had this amazing growth, we’ve had to constantly pivot to keep growing.”
Who is Oars + Alps’ target customer?
We just celebrated our 4 year old birthday. Our customer profile has changed and evolved over the years. We are very data-centric from the product development piece to the marketing piece. We’re looking at where are our guys are living and breathing. How do we reach them? Then, with messaging, we’re constantly testing. We look at Google keywords, Amazon keywords, industry reports. So at any given moment, we have a good understanding of our target person.
“My children motivate me to work hard to show them a strong example of a working mom.”
We do really well with the guys who have just started on this “arc of adulting”. He may have just gotten a graduate school degree, or engaged or married, or is expecting his first child. These moments force him to reconsider his choices—are they more reflective of who he is a maturing adult? Are they consistent with what his wife/significant others wants him to use for himself? Are they more clean and naturally-derived? These guys are looking for naturally-derived, travel-friendly, eco-friendly skincare products.
Also, we’ve found that more women are using our products each year. For instance, I’m a huge fan of our products; I’m obsessed with the Solid Face Wash, Wake Up Eye Stick and Vitamin C Serum and for deodorant I use Eucalyptus and Spearmint. I find other women also gravitate to these products as well. About 40% of our customers are now women who prefer our more athleisure aesthetic.
“I don’t think working needs to be defined as being a CEO like me or even having a 9-5 job but it does mean showing my kids that I enjoy doing things outside from taking care of them.”
Are there any major changes that you have had to make?
As a start-up we are always testing. When you have a small team, you can constantly iterate and fine tune messaging, products, focus groups, processes, etc.
One example has been during COVID-19. We never thought we would launch hand sanitizers but now we offer several clean products (anti-bacterial face and surface wipes, hand sanitizer sprays and gels). We recognized the need during the first week of March, really before everything started shutting down here in the U.S. We never had it in our 2020 budget plans to do this, but when you are small, you can quickly pivot to this. We have really strong relationships with our manufacturers and we were able to provide an item at cost to our customers that was in dire shortage.
What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?
When you end a meeting with someone you are meeting for the first time, whether it’s a vendor or adviser or investor, I think it’s important to say, “Who else in your network should I meet? Is there someone you think I’d enjoy having coffee with.” That helps you to be constantly meeting people. Then, that person will give you someone else. The most important asset any person has is the depth of their networks. And, at the end of the day, how willing is your network to flex their muscles to help you? You’d be surprised how many people are willing to help. They just don’t get asked those questions. My network, specifically my Harvard Business School and the Chicago business community has been incredibly valuable to me.
“The most important asset any person has is the depth of their networks. And, at the end of the day, how willing is your network to flex their muscles to help you?”
Would you advise other founders to plan for exits before they launch their brands?
Yes, because I really think that will determine your growth and source of money. On the latter point, it will dictate whether you will take VC money, angel money or if you will bootstrap. People who raise a lot of VC money are forced to spend, spend, spend all in the name of topline growth and they ignore the fundamentals of the business. You need to have a profit machine, ultimately.
You are such a driven person, what motivates you to continue to challenge yourself and what is next for Oars + Alps?
Well that is very nice of you! I’ve always enjoyed a challenge. As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to surround myself with really interesting people and I’m very impressed with all the outstanding things my network is doing. It really pushes me to keep going. My network also consists of my four children and as you know, I’m pregnant with baby number five. My children motivate me to work hard to show them a strong example of a working mom. I enjoy working and I’m motivated to give my children a more peaceful and healthy world. I don’t think working needs to be defined as being a CEO like me or even having a 9-5 job but it does mean showing my kids that I enjoy doing things outside from taking care of them. They see me active not just in Oars + Alps, but in investing and advising other start-ups, sitting on the Auxiliary Board of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, our family’s church, our community, my alma mater, etc.
You can find out more about Mia at https://www.chicagobusiness.com/40-under-40/sneak-peek-crains-40-under-40-2020/
You can find out more about Oars + Alps at https://www.oarsandalps.com/
Photography courtesy of Mia Saini Duchnowski and Oars + Alps
