It takes two: A beauty empire built from laughter and friendship
It takes two: A beauty empire built from laughter and friendship.
Estefania Tchung | Elizabeth Le | Monash Life | 3 minute read
Starting a business can be a lonely journey. Fortunately for Monash alumni Estefania Tchung and Elizabeth Le, a passion for science, a shared workplace and a memorable sleepover party inspired a splendr.ous partnership.
Before co-founding Splendr. a Melbourne-based online beauty retailer, Este and Libby studied Pharmaceutical Science at Monash. While they belonged to different student cohorts and didn’t cross paths at university, their science background and fascination with skincare led them to roles in the same global brand, Aesop, after graduation.
A company event in the city in 2017 resulted in a spontaneous co-worker sleepover party, and the start of a budding friendship. “We can't quite pinpoint when we became friends necessarily, because I think we just merged into one person at one point,” says Este.
In 2020, Este and Libby realised they wanted to take their careers to the next level.
You get to a point where if you don’t see growth or you’re getting too comfortable, it’s just not much of a challenge anymore,” Este recalls.
Armed with an abundance of knowledge of the skincare industry, the two friends decided to start a beauty business of their own.
“Este gave me the extra push - she put all these ideas in my head,” says Libby, laughing. “She said, ‘You know, we can do this, you should do it with me’ I quit literally a few weeks later.”
For Este and Libby, the biggest challenge of starting a business was deciding when to bite the bullet and begin. Their advice to new entrepreneurs is to start their business journey sooner than later, even if it means moving slowly.
For someone that is struggling to start, don't take it as a failure, take it as a learning curve. Every business has had to go through it, and you're not in it alone,” Este said. “A lot of businesses have to fail in order to know what works. Just keep moving forward.”
While others circumvent the idea of starting a business with a friend, Este and Libby prove just how strong this kind of partnership can be. For them, the main components driving their business journey is the energy they derive from each other. “Libby and I are quite different in the sense that she’s a massive risk taker and I’m a little bit more reserved. I could have all the ideas in my head, but not necessarily initiate anything unless I have someone to push me,” says Este.
It was this motivating connection that brought life to Splendr.’s mission to ‘create bonds through beauty’. The brand posits that beauty should be more than making individuals feel good - it should also be a bridge that brings people closer together. Through Splendr., Este and Libby provide a platform for suppliers to connect with customers, and for customers to connect with each other.
Este and Libby are grateful that Monash set them on a path to their growing beauty empire.
Monash really kicked off our careers because it enabled us to enter the beauty industry through great roles at Aesop, which we’re very thankful for. We worked in the supply chain, we knew different aspects of the company. I feel like that built most of our experience,” shares Libby.
