In this episode, we sit down with Jeff Lee, CEO and co-founder of DIBS Beauty, one of the fastest-growing color cosmetics brands in the country, now carried in over 1,300 Ulta Beauty doors with a product waitlist culture that generated 17K+ sign-ups before their mascara even launched. Jeff's path to beauty CEO is anything but conventional: Yale Law, Wall Street, Stanford MBA, Alex Rodriguez, and a co-founding partnership built entirely over Zoom. He breaks down what DIBS got right in the first six to twelve months, why your product doesn't have to be the most innovative — just the most useful, and how being the "first beauty founder to visit an Ulta in all 50 states" taught him more about selling than anything else. He also gets real about career pivots, the myth of the founder story, burnout as a natural cycle, and why the in-store conversation still produces 10x the order value of anything you can do online. Key Takeaways: // Don't design for yourself. One of the most common founder mistakes is assuming you are the customer. Jeff isn't the end user of most of DIBS's products — and leaning into his co-founder Courtney's existing audience was the honest advantage they doubled down on from day one. // Your advantage tells you your customer, not the other way around. Start with where you have a real edge, then build toward it. Sublimate the ego. The brand that's built for a broader audience will always outperform the brand built for the founder's taste. // In-store still wins at 10x. For all the magic of influencers, social commerce, and a full digital stack — DIBS's highest order values come the moment a real conversation happens in-store. The customer arrives pre-sold from online; the store is where she converts at scale. // Your brand needs to be in the conversation before she walks in. A beautiful end cap alone won't do it. Customers now come in with a predisposition — either for or against you. Your digital presence, influencer strategy, and brand awareness work determines what happens before the store visit even begins. // Burnout is a cycle, not a finish line. Jeff reframes the burnout conversation entirely — it's not something to avoid, it's something to move through. The question isn't how to never burn out; it's whether you reignite on the other side. // Going backwards to go forwards is a real strategy. Jeff took a 90% pay cut to pivot into beauty. But he's equally clear-eyed: that choice was made possible by financial stability built first. Solve for what actually matters in your life before romanticizing the leap. Learn More About DIBS: Instagram ____ Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collective Say hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. Join the MHH Collective: Join now Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: Join our email list! Follow MHH on Social: Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | Facebook
