Q&A features in this Side Hustle Spotlight article Danielle Cohen-Shohet, CEO and Founder ShineGeniusa comprehensive booking, payment and point of sale solution that helps beauty and wellness professionals increase bookings and grow their business.
Image Source: Courtesy of GlossGenius. Danielle Cohen-Shohet.
When did you begin your journey into the self-care industry and what inspired it?
My interest began when I used to be doing makeup as a freelance artist in my dorm room at Princeton University. I have all the time been passionate about design and art and have been an entrepreneur for so long as I can remember. I tend to want to develop into an expert at something I do, so when I took an interest in makeup, I took it further than most and began working extra hours in college. During this time, my twin sister and I also began our adventure with digital payments using receipts. Both were enriching experiences; nonetheless, I had no idea at the time that I might later take a step forward and mix these interests to start a software payments company now price over $510 million.
What were the first steps you took to get rid of this side hustle?
I studied voraciously, strived to be the best, and just rolled up my sleeves to get began. When I used to be in college, makeup tutorials were just starting to develop into democratized on YouTube, so I dove into them and just got my hands dirty practicing. I auditioned my college classmates and friends for feedback and from there I got higher and higher. It sounds easy, but these first steps helped me achieve success faster.
Were there any challenges leading the sideline? If so, how did you navigate them?
Anything you may grow from will have its challenges. Being a makeup artist, I have experienced first-hand the pain points that many of our GlossGenius business clients face today: time management, coordinating schedules, and growing a client base without the right infrastructure, to name a few. I immediately dove into solving these problems using manual spreadsheets and tools I had hacked myself, which sparked the idea for what would later develop into GlossGenius. I wanted to provide other business owners with best-in-class technology and infrastructure that might make running a business easier.
How long did it take for you to start seeing consistent monthly revenue? How much revenue did it bring on average?
For me, it was originally more about satisfying my creative interests than about income. It took several months before I began earning a real income, and it was significant enough to cover many of my living expenses during my studies.
When did you choose to go into startup mode and found GlossGenius and what motivated that move?
After understanding the problems self-care corporations face, I made a decision to start a software company that might solve many of those problems through technology. I graduated from college and began my profession in finance at Goldman Sachs, but I used to be continuously pondering about how to help self-care entrepreneurs run higher businesses. Managing a customer-centric company was really difficult when there have been so many distributed and disconnected systems.
I learned to code so I felt like I could do anything. After a few years of experience at Goldman, I took the plunge and left to start GlossGenius. Given my industry experience, my technical background, and the digital payments company I founded with my twin sister – who is my partner and business director at GlossGenius – it seemed obvious to me to put all of it into a software payments company , focusing on the self-care industry.
Image Source: Courtesy of GlossGenius. Danielle Cohen-Shohet and Leah Cohen-Shohet.
How did you approach scaling the company?
Before we even thought about scaling the company, we first focused on solving a real problem that is a key a part of our customers’ lives. There are many opportunities to empower entrepreneurs to run, manage and scale their very own local businesses. Our platform impacts customers’ lives and our solutions are an necessary a part of their on a regular basis lives. Focusing on this was the foundation before scaling.
With this in mind, one of the things I did early on was to learn every thing there was to know about the business: creating products, bringing products to market, recruiting, marketing, closing partnerships, handling customer support tickets, and much more. Having a deep understanding of all parts of the business was necessary in scaling the company because it helped me understand what excellence looks like in all parts of the business. With this understanding, I could surround myself with implausible people and leaders who would take the teams even further.
Because there are so many problems for businesses to solve, we also had to maintain the discipline of solving the most significant customer problems first. Therefore, as we scaled our operations, we continued to increase our discipline and only pursue initiatives that create value for our customers. We often say “no” and wonder about the order in which we’ll achieve our goals. We obsess over our customers’ needs and absorb their feedback like a sponge because it plays a key role in driving the development of GlossGenius and recent products. Keeping in touch with our customers as we grow our business is something I’m really pleased with.
As you look to the way forward for GlossGenius, what are you most excited about?
We create a gateway for entrepreneurship by providing self-service business owners with the infrastructure to scale their business and strengthen their entrepreneurship. While we have already built a platform that is critical to our customers’ missions, there is still much work to be done to achieve our mission. Responsible for serving over 65,000 businesses and driving billions of dollars in transactions, we work to make our software more intuitive and magical for customers.
An excellent example is the recent launch of our GeniusAI, a generative tool powered by artificial intelligence. This tool helps beauty and wellness professionals develop ready-made, personalized email marketing campaigns, allowing users to simply enter a few notes and receive messages tailored to their goals and brand. In an industry that has traditionally lagged behind in technology adoption, it’s exciting that we will be the company that puts this in the hands of shoppers. Another recent GlossGenius product launch is Genius Loans, fast and flexible financing that helps customers grow their businesses. Products like this highlight our support for customers when and where they need it – well beyond what is typically expected from SaaS platforms.
What are the most significant lessons you have learned on your entrepreneurial journey?
I learned that true success means helping others succeed. I’m fortunate to lead a company that is so closely tied to the success of our clients. Through the opportunity to build and run GlossGenius, I took a masterclass in learning specific decision-making frameworks that build long-term value for customers.
Do you have any advice for people interested in starting a side hustle or their very own business?
Be fearless. Don’t take “no” as an answer. And most significantly, surround yourself with like-minded people. You can find it through a community like the one we have built for entrepreneurs on GlossGenius, or you may search for those closest to you. I have had many close supporters along the way, but my strongest collaborator is my twin sister Leah. She was a thought-provoking partner from the very starting and played an invaluable role in developing the company to where it is today. So surround yourself with individuals who get you.