073 - Francesco Clark of Clark Botanicals - Skincare Superman

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:08 — 56.3MB) | Embed

Turning tragedy into a successful indie natural beauty brand…

Francesco Clark, Founder and CEO of Clark’s Botanicals (natural skin care including anti-aging treatments, cleansers & scrubs, lip treatments, acne treatment, moisturizing creams, anti-aging serum) joins Abby Wallach and guest host Kelly Kovack in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

A horrible accident leaves Francesco paralyzed
The moment when he no longer felt alone or hopeless
Why not believing a surgeon actually created a path for progress
When his skin stopped reacting to temperature or behaving correctly, and he looked much older
Falling into a deep depression
The impact of the death of Christopher Reeve on Francesco
Facing his biggest fear and interacting with strangers post-accident
Experimental stem cell surgery in China helped him regain much function
Looking at tonics was a distraction, in the kitchen working on skin remedies trying to feel good again
Never had an intention of starting a business
His father’s chemotherapy patients and giving it to them for free
A special home-cooked snack
How the indie beauty industry has changed since launching his company
Owning up to who you are with messaging
Looking at partners who can help you have sustained economic growth
Why Francesco actually answers the phone himself and why he has a 98% retention rate
Winning an award
Succeeding despite no financial backing for the brand, his brother and him working out of the basement
What it means to get someone to convert from their moisturizer to his
Revenue has doubled year over year
How a sense of family has extended to the people works with now
The “tight bubble”
The joy of bad karaoke
Why going to the office makes Francesco feel better
The secret ingredient to a successful indie business