78 - Sean Harrington, Elemis

In Ep. 78 of Earned, Conor sits down with Sean Harrington, co-founder and CEO of luxury skincare brand Elemis. We start the episode by hearing how Sean’s relationship with his co-founders has evolved over the last three decades, and the unique skill set that each of them brings to the table. We then ask Sean about his core business learnings and tenets, and he explains why a positive mindset, talented people, and a willingness to take risks are all key factors in building a successful brand. Sean also emphasizes how the fear of failure “does not breed success,” and why he empowers his team to test and learn. Next, we talk about Elemis’ strategies to cut through the noise in today’s saturated beauty market. Sean shares why the brand invested heavily in influencer marketing early on, and how loosening up on the brand codes and giving influencers creative freedom helped Elemis establish an authentic community. To close the show, we discuss how being acquired by the L’Occitane Group has helped Elemis break into the APAC market, and hear the brand’s vision for worldwide domination (the good kind).

In this episode, you will learn:

1. Why Sean empowers his team at Elemis to take risks and test and learn
2. How Elemis cut through the noise and found relevance in a saturated market
3. Why Elemis leaned into influencer marketing to evolve as a business

Key Takeaways:

• 3:35: How Sean's relationships with his co-founders Noella and Oriele have evolved over the last 30 years
• 8:26: Sean's core business learnings and philosophies
• 14:12 Why fear of failure does not breed success, and the importance of a test-and-learn culture
• 15:53: How Elemis cut through the noise and found relevance in a saturated market
• 26:09: Why Elemis leaned heavily into influencer marketing early on

Resources:

• Elemis Website

Connect with the Guest(s):

• Sean Harrington’s LinkedIn

Connect with Conor Begley & CreatorIQ:

• Conor’s LinkedIn - @conormbegley
• CreatorIQ LinkedIn - @creatoriq

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• CreatorIQ YouTube - @TribeDynamics
• CreatorIQ Instagram - @creatoriq
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• CreatorIQ Twitter - @CreatorIQ