There’s an inherent juggle that comes with motherhood and marriage. It’s a precarious balancing act magnified drastically when running your own business. If that business happens to be a pivotal player in the multi-billion dollar ingestible beauty market – well, there’s lots of coffee involved.
Vida Glow founder Anna Lahey has spent the last decade mastering that juggle. While raising her 4 children, she’s built Vida Glow from the ground up and established the brand as formidable, solution-based beauty. Amidst the two, the beauty tycoon launched a haircare brand TYPEBEA with long-time friend Rita Ora.
Anna’s journey with ingestibles began at the tender age of 25 when she experienced significant hair loss. “I tried every over-the-counter solution I could get my hands on and marine collagen, that I had discovered when I was in Japan, was the only thing that gave tangible results. The clinical research substantiated the visible changes I saw so I spent months and months researching and meeting with suppliers to find the highest quality, sustainable product available”. Vida Glow was born. The launch date, rather serendipitously, fell on the day of her wedding to co-founder Kieran Lahey.
As Vida Glow celebrates their 10 year anniversary, Lahey reflects on the last decade.
Marie Claire: Congratulations on Vida Glow’s 10-year anniversary. If you had to summarise the last decade in 5 words, what would they be?
AL: It’s almost impossible to summarise! Does that count? I think I would choose passion, determination, teamwork, education and excitement. Lots of ups and downs but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
MC: What has surprised you the most?
AL: The past decade has been full of surprises and steep learning curves. When you’re creating first to market products like we do, there is no blueprint. We’re not following trends or doing competitive benchmarking in the way that entrepreneurs get told is the recipe for success.
But we’ve been able to forge our own path by focusing on the beauty concerns that matter most to our community and investing heavily in clinical research and innovation to create effective solutions. I’ve been surprised by how quickly people will adopt something they’ve never heard of before because of the trust we’ve built and the education we share.
“From the outside Vida Glow looks like it was an overnight success, but there have been so many failures, we just don’t post about it on Instagram”
Anna Lahey
MC: What do you love most about being a beauty entrepreneur?
AL: Beauty is such a defining aspect of people lives, especially women. It really connects us to our sense of self and plays a pivotal role in how we express ourselves, but also how we feel. Getting to be a small part of that experience for our customers and connecting with women from across the globe that share the amazing results they’ve experienced with Vida Glow is something I’ll never get tired of.
The customer feedback from our most recent launch, Pro Collagen+ stands out and fills me with pride. It’s a testament to how hard we continue to push to create the most effective solutions, even if that means we’re now competing with our own best-selling products.
MC: You co-founded Vida Glow with your husband Kieran, what does that working relationship look like?
AL: Honestly, there are no lines between work and personal. The business is such a shared passion of ours – there’s not a minute of the day or night that goes by that we’re not talking about it. We each have our own roles in the business, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and I’m grateful to have had his support over the past 10 years.
MC: Do you have any tips to maintaining a healthy relationship for partners who work together?
AL: Maybe this sounds cliche, but you have to be open, communicative and learn to not sweat the small stuff. At the beginning we were both so hands on in the business doing everything together because we didn’t have a team, and that caused fights.
Now, we have clearly defined roles and trust each other to do what we do best. I’m really fortunate to have a partner that has no ego. He cheers me on in my role as founder that’s customer and media facing while he runs the business. At the end of the day, we know we’re in it together.
MC: And motherhood, what has that journey been like?
AL: Everything about me changed when I became a mother. I softened, my priorities shifted, and I’ve learnt how important it is so be a good role model to my children, my team and other mothers. You become so bonded to other women, both giving and taking support – it’s really transformative.
MC: How have you managed to balanced both roles; mother and founder?
AL: Motherhood is an ever-evolving journey. It doesn’t get easier or harder, it just changes constantly. I had three children within three years at a time that the business was growing quickly. Things were changing that I wasn’t a part of, and I was still learning how to be a mum of three. I felt like I was doing a shit job of both.
With time, I’ve settled into my role as a mother and the growth of our team has meant I can let go of the day-to-day decision making and focus on the bigger picture. I cherish the responsibility of raising my children – I’m constantly learning so much from them!
MC: The beauty landscape has changed quite drastically in the last decade.
AL: It has! Inclusivity has been an important topic over the past few years and the industry has already made great strides. I hope to see that continue, particularly when it comes to women who have reached middle age and beyond. Your beauty doesn’t diminish with age – but your needs change, and every woman should feel catered to.
MC: Is there a piece of advice you would give to yourself 10 years ago, at the start of Vida Glow?
AL: There’s so much I wish I knew but something I think is important for everyone, whether you’re a business owner or not, is that you will make mistakes. From the outside Vida Glow looks like it was an overnight success, but there have been so many failures, we just don’t post about it on Instagram. I’ve come to learn that if you’re not failing, you’re not pushing hard enough. Our willingness to try something new or do things differently and be willing to fail has become our biggest strength.
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