This founder went from homeless to running an inclusive beauty brand
“As a teenager I was homeless, on the streets, and a high-school dropout, and now I’m running my own company in New York City.”
In a sentence, that’s the story of Spktrm’s founder, Jasmine Glass.
Spktrm, a new New York City-based beauty startup, focuses on building products that promote inclusivity and welcome individuals outside the fold of “traditional” beauty.
The company is launching an array of organic, cruelty-free make-up products in January 2019, which will have a focus on non-retouched images.
‘Inclusivity is just the right way to do things’
Before she officially launched Spktrm this year, Glass noticed the beauty industry wasn’t as inclusive as it could be.
“I saw many of companies missing the mark,” Glass told Yahoo Finance. “For me, inclusivity is just the right way to do things. It’s not a trend to jump on a decade after your brand launches.”
Glass got her start as an entrepreneur though Glassbook, an online digital publication focusing on fashion and body positivity for women. She worked on Glassbook throughout her 20s, eventually growing it into a global brand.
When asked about her biggest challenge growing a beauty brand in a heavily saturated market, Glass noted that the lack of funding can be a big obstacle for startups. Women, in particular, tend to raise less venture funding than men. In 2017, all-women teams of founders got just 2% of total venture capital dollars, according to a Fortune analysis of data from the VC database, Pitchbook.
“There is no limits to [Spktrm’s] vision of inclusivity,” Glass said. “We are in talks right now with We Speak (a model agency) to cast Paralympian Chelsea Warner, who has Down Syndrome, for a campaign.” Warner’s agent tells Yahoo that Skptrm would be the first beauty brand to cast a model with Down Syndrome in a campaign.
“When you think about it, here are a lot of people living with Down Syndrome and they’re shopping, purchasing cosmetics, clothes. Why are they never being represented?” Glass noted.
Glass makes a good point. But only time will tell whether the larger consumer market will be as receptive to Glass’s radical approach as her investors have been.
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