Clean Beauty Movement: Gregg Renfrew on Reinventing Beauty with Counter

In this episode of The Retail Pilot, Ken Pilot sits down with visionary entrepreneur Gregg Renfrew, founder of BeautyCounter and now Counter, to explore what it truly means to disrupt an industry—twice.

After building a billion-dollar brand and selling it to The Carlyle Group, Gregg faced the highs and lows of leadership, loss, and redemption. When BeautyCounter collapsed, she made the bold move to buy it back—relaunching as Counter with a renewed focus on transparency, high performance, and sustainability.

Gregg shares her personal journey of reinvention: from navigating private equity to reclaiming her mission, empowering women entrepreneurs, and redefining what clean beauty means today. She also reveals how Counter is using modern tech, authentic storytelling, and a new direct-to-consumer model to reconnect with customers who care about purpose and performance.

If you’re an entrepreneur, founder, or creative leader determined to rise again after setbacks, this episode offers a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and leading with vision.

Show Notes:

• The environmental wake-up call that sparked Gregg’s clean beauty mission

• How BeautyCounter grew into a billion-dollar global movement

• Lessons from losing control and the courage it took to buy it back

• The strategy and heart behind launching Counter

• Why she dropped “Beauty” from the brand name and what it symbolizes

• The evolution of community-driven commerce and micro-influencer partnerships

• Using AI, tech, and storytelling to deepen customer relationships

• How Counter is reshaping clean beauty standards with integrity

• Gregg’s advice for women raising capital and owning their power in male-dominated rooms

• The importance of humility, courage, and knowing when to reinvent
  

Listen if you love: stories of comeback, entrepreneurship, clean beauty innovation, and women redefining leadership on their own terms.

Subscribe to The Retail Pilot wherever you get your podcasts and visit counter.com to explore the new collection. Use code PILOT20 for 20% off your first order—exclusive for our listeners. Follow @theretailpilot for more founder stories shaping the future of retail.

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