How Marissa Shipman Built Resilient Beauty Businesses with theBalm and Pretty Smart

“I'm a glass half full kind of person. I really like to think of things like, “Okay, why did this happen?” And, you know, it's like, if life gives you lemons, add vodka.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Marissa Shipman, the founder and CEO of theBalm Cosmetics and Pretty Smart Cosmetics. Under her leadership, theBalm has expanded globally, staying true to its mission of inspiring confidence and creativity through beauty. Recently, she collaborated with Walmart to launch her latest brand, Pretty Smart, in 2,800 stores. Marissa is committed to offering high-quality beauty products at affordable prices, continuing her mission of making luxury beauty accessible to everyone. Tune in to hear Marissa share how she got her first big break with Sephora, her decision to invest in building her own factory, and the importance of learning from her biggest mistakes. We talked about: How theBalm started in a kitchen in San Francisco (02:30) The benefits of having your own factory (06:37) Bringing a luxury cosmetics line to Walmart (10:41) Learning to course correct when things don’t go as planned (18:24) The value of customer feedback (28:24) Connect with Marissa: @TheMarissaShipman on IG theBalm on IG theBalm Pretty Smart on IG Pretty Smart at Walmart Are you ready to make meaningful business connections that lead to real business results? Join our Entreprenista League community of women founders at entreprenista.com/join! You’ll have access to a private community of like-minded Entreprenistas who are making an impact in business every day, special discounts on business products and solutions, exclusive content, private events, the opportunity to have your story featured on our website and social channels, and access to Office Hours with top founders who have been on our show! We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Entreprenista Podcast - the most fun business meeting for women founders and leaders. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Radio | GooglePlay Be sure to share your favorite episodes across social media to help us reach more amazing female founders, like you.