In 2014, Christine Chang and Sarah Lee turned their shared love for skincare, with their brainchild, Glow Recipe. The fruit-forward brand the world by storm with clinically effective skincare and beauty products that harness the power of natural ingredients in favour of synthetic scents. From their early days of working together at L’Oréal, the Korean-American duo found common ground in not only their heritage but the skincare rituals they both hold so dear. More than 10 years later, they continue to push the boundaries of innovation and blur the lines between beauty and skincare.

In a candid conversation, the founders share the growing pains of building a business, and the women who inspired them.

SG: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting Glow Recipe, and how did you overcome them?

Christine Chang: “In the beginning, there were definitely a lot of growing pains. We had been marketers and product developers our entire lives but had to figure out how to put together a site, design emails, deal with warehousing, legal issues, trademarking from scratch — we were constantly Googling to figure things out. We liked to joke that we had Google on speed dial. We learned about running a business in a very hands-on way, but wouldn’t change this experience for anything.”

Sarah Lee: “There is a lot of value in asking for help. Even if you’re being scrappy and bootstrapped, it’s smart to outsource an accountant or a lawyer to help you grow your business. Each entrepreneur has to figure out what they’re best at and where to dedicate their time and effort, and for us that was product development.”

Who are some of the women in your life that inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

Christine Chang: “We were both inspired by our mothers and grandmothers, and the Korean beauty philosophies they taught us. Sarah and I both grew up with skincare entwined in our daily lives. We would watch our mothers and grandmothers carve out time to do their skincare routines — we saw how much they enjoyed and cherished caring for their skin. We learned over time that this experience was not universal — if anything skincare was considered overwhelming or a chore by many. It was especially meaningful to us that we were able to take this personal experience to start Glow Recipe and create products and education that made skincare as enjoyable and sensorial as possible for our global community”

What advice would you give to other women aspiring to start their own businesses?

Christine Chang: “Don’t shrink yourself. You have to take up space. You have to raise your hand. You have to sometimes ask for things that might be difficult to bring up. Without taking up space, you’re not giving yourself the opportunity to shine.”

“Don’t shrink yourself. You have to take up space.”

Sarah Lee: “Dream big and don’t look back. You might make a lot of mistakes and shed a lot of tears along the way, but trust me, these critical moments in your life will make you stronger. Follow your passion and always keep learning along the way.”

“Dream big and don’t look back.”

What is the importance of fostering a culture of innovation and inclusivity within your company, what makes these values so important to you?

Sarah Lee: “We’ve always strived to take an inclusive approach to skincare. For starters, we don’t retouch the images you see in our ads and on social media, we aim for minimal makeup (if any), and we’re always committed to showing real skin, with bumps, texture, and all — because that’s what’s realistic for our customers. We also avoid language such as flawless, poreless, perfection — words we don’t feel support real skin acceptance. I started the business when my daughter was really young, and have been cognizant of how conversations around beauty and even social media can affect her. Our overall mission is to make skincare more fun, approachable and accessible, all while championing real skin acceptance.”

Looking ahead, what’s your vision for the future of Glow Recipe, and what goals do you have to continue leading with purpose and impact in the beauty space?

Christine Chang: “There’s so much more that we want to do and fulfill with our innovations. There are so many product ideas and innovation plans that we have in the pipeline that we’re excited to bring to market. We will stay true to our core values of community, real skin acceptance and inclusivity while empowering our community to bring out their glow.”