$13M Worth of Game With Glowbar's Rachel Liverman
On Glowbar's first product launch, how fundraising's like dating, and raising money from a guy she fucked
Earlier this month, Glowbar reached out to me about the launch of their first ever at home product: a clinical-grade cleanser, developed after years of in-studio data.
If you’re unfamiliar, Glowbar is the largest and fastest growing facial studio chain in the U.S., known for their no-fluff, clinically backed treatments done in a half an hour’s time.
They graciously set me and my mom up for facials at their Bryn Mawr studio, ahead of a chat I had scheduled with Founder & CEO Rachel Liverman (which happened to fall on Glowbar’s 6-year anniversary. Alignment!).
I’m not gonna lie — the in studio experience was ALL OF THAT at every touchpoint.
The service itself was packed with high potency products, a nose extraction that sent me to hell in tears (but was so worth it), a microcurrent moment, with my treatment rounding off with LED.
It’s been over a week and my face is still feeling fantastic. I’m also happy to report an A+ on hospitality. Unreal that this service is only $65 ($80 for non-members).
Even still, I admit I was a little trepidatious ahead of my call with Rachel, as I was afraid she might give me some bland, PR founder spiel.
Wrong.
Rachel is very electric, and like me, she’s opinionated in all the right ways.
I talked to her about shaping Glowbar, getting her first 1000 customers, how she knew it was time to finally launch a product, and securing an investment from a guy she fucked.
Below is her conversation with Slutty Founder, lightly edited for clarity and style.
Rachel Liverman, Founder & CEO of Glowbar
SF: When you were first shaping the concept, what were you not seeing in the facial studio market that you knew you could do differently?
Rachel: I wasn’t getting a service that respected my time, respected my wallet, and was made for the modern consumer. And the modern consumer, as you know, is smarter than anyone else. So even six years ago when we opened, we knew we had to make the most effective facial on the market. Because the consumer wasn't going to let you fool with them anymore.
I’d go in for a $150 facial, lay down after putting on a robe and slippers, and they’d wash my face. The water would drip down my neck and down my ears. And we're, like, twenty minutes into it, and they’re still doing things I know how to do! And the most frustrating part was that they would upsell me while I was laying on that treatment bed. And you're in a vulnerable place. So I was really frustrated that $150 facials actually ended up being $300 facials. And then on top of it, they sell you a $600 skin care routine at the end. And I just thought the whole system and process was mis-incentivized and just needed to be reinvented. And so that's what we did at Glowbar.
SF: How did you get your first 1000 customers?
Rachel: Organic, organic, organic, organic. I didn't spend a penny on Glowbar's marketing until year four.
And you're a great testament to that — you said you and your mom came in and had an amazing experience. When you go out to brunch or get a manicure, someone’s going to say, “Your skin looks awesome,” and you’re going to say, “Oh my God, I just went to Glowbar.” That's why my business is a people business and a hospitality business before it's a skincare business.
I didn’t even know what digital marketing was back then, are you kidding me? That’s fucking why I can’t stand the founder world, because we’re expected to know every department and every part of the business. And I’m like, no, remember I'm the founder.
SF: You’ve said your first $1M came from a friends and family round —you’d turn a dinner party into a pitch meeting, and you had no shame pitching to anybody with a set of ears.
Rachel: I'm texting now one of my best friends that I used to fuck who gave me a $50,000 check.
SF: FALLS OUT LAUGHING
Rachel: We dated, I was raising money, he knew that and he gave me $50,000. And he is now one of my best friends in the world. I’ve gotten married, and he’s dated other people and all these different things, but like — no, no. When I tell you I asked anyone for money? I did.
And I still tell everyone that. That’s how you raise money.
SF: A lot of female founders say fundraising can feel like an education campaign, especially when you’re pitching male investors who don’t intuitively get beauty. Was that your experience?
Rachel: Yeah — most men would be like, “I don’t even know what a facial is. What do you do during one?”
It was a lot of education. But everything in life is a mindset, right? It isn’t supposed to be easy. So when people get frustrated, I’m like — who told you this was going to be easy?
There’s no glamour in this. That’s where the resilience comes in [with fundraising].
And honestly, I liked pitching to men because they didn’t know enough about my product to poke holes in it. I hated pitching to women. They’d say things like, “I love my esthetician,” or “I’d never go to Glowbar, I like hour-long facials.” And I’m like, okay — then you’re not our customer. But this business is going to be big, and you’re missing out.
SF: What’s a piece of fundraising advice you actually found useful — versus something you think is total bullshit?
Rachel: Ask for introductions. An investor that isn’t interested is still super important to your fundraising process. And what I mean by that is it’s okay that they say no.
I got well over a hundred no’s in my first round of fundraising. And yet I still said, “No problem. If it’s not for you today, that’s okay. But can you introduce me to a few other people that you think might want to take a look at this?” And a lot of times it did actually come to fruition.
Fundraising is a numbers game. It’s just like dating. You have to find your right person that you connect with, that gets you, that is excited about it. Like, it’s really so analogous to dating.
“This pressure to grow fast is actually what kills a lot of great brands.”
– Rachel Liverman, on why Glowbar waited five years before expanding to other locations outside of NYC
SF: What made you feel ready to launch an actual product? And what were you not going to launch under any circumstance?
Rachel: We had enough data that I felt really confident in knowing what the consumer wanted from us, and I had enough esthetician input into how to make it amazing.
I would never launch something that didn’t do what I said it was going to do.
I think it goes back to the trust with a really educated consumer in today’s age. Like, you can’t say something hydrates if it’s not going to hydrate. I just think there’s a lot of authenticity that goes into product marketing right now.
SF: Are there any other products that you're dreaming up?
Rachel: Yeah — we have a handful of other SKUs that will be launching and we’re really excited about it. Anything that we make is going to be clinical grade, professional grade, and really do what it says it’s going to do.
At the end of the day, our mission is to help people feel confident in their skin. And every product we make should support that.
SF: What past version of you do you think shows up in the way you run Glowbar?
Rachel: In many ways, the positive little Rachel shows up that is fearless and risk-taking and, thinks she can figure it all out.
But in times of stress and high pressure, there’s also the really scared little Rachel who is fear-driven and afraid of failure. I think it’s positively driven me many, many times, but now as I step into more of being a true CEO and leader of the company — that fear-based thinking and fear-based reactions don’t serve the company.
SF: What did it feel like to hit your first $1M in revenue? Did it feel as big as you thought it would, or did it just push the goalpost further?
Rachel: Unfortunately, I don’t remember it. And it’s something that I really think about a lot.
From the outside in, I look highly successful, and I’ve done it….I have 20 studios, and we now have a product line. And I’ve raised $13M in capital, and all these things that, you know, people dream of.
I don’t take them for granted, and yet, I don’t feel like I’ve done it yet.
So founders, I think, have to start thinking a lot about what does success mean to them?
Because if the first million doesn’t mean success — where you get all giddy and excited — and then the fifth million doesn’t... and then, you know, all these milestones — if they don’t feel like a lot, then, what will? Will anything?
That’s something I’m going through in year six. I’m kind of like — is it when I sell for hundreds of millions of dollars? Probably. Because then I will know that I have created something so much larger than myself.
SF: I love that you answered that so honestly, and that's something I feel like I experienced in my former business, too.
Rachel: It's a mindfuck.
SF: It's such a mindfuck.
Any exit plans or are you just letting the business show you where it wants to go?
Rachel: I really trust that the universe has a plan far greater than mine. And there's no exit plan. I'm like, this is my identity—whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, Glowbar is me. And it's what fulfills me, what gives me passion and energy and excitement and stress, of course. Right now we're still in a hyper growth stage. And so, my head is down and we're keeping on. But one day, I won't be the right person to run this organization. And the second that becomes apparent, I will create a succession plan for the organization. But it's not anytime soon.
You can find Glowbar’s Expert Cleanser in studio or online at Glowbar.com for just $28. You can find Rachel on social here.
xx,
SF
Love the authenticity of the article and absolutely LOVED the facial. I’ll be back!