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The Dark Angel, Good Luck Chuck, and Fantastic Four actress Jessica Alba has gone beyond Hollywood to explore other areas and made great money out of it. She is the proud founder of the Honest Company and an inspiration to women globally.
Jessica was born in California in 1981 to a family of mixed origin. She had to move a lot with her family due to her father’s job in the Airforce. Consequently, She grew up in different parts of America, including Texas, Mississippi, and California. Alba was interested in acting at the tender age of 5 and was encouraged by her mother, who made her attend several training schools. She also got signed by an agent with the chance to make a debut in Hollywood in 1994. It was a small role in the movie ‘Camp Nowhere’.
Jessica got further training in acting as a teenager at the Atlantic Theatre Company and soon got selected by James Cameron to perform in the sci-fi series called Dark Angel. Alba is also the founder of the Honest Company, which is worth over $1 billion. Here is how she built it.
The Birth of the Honest Company
When the actress was pregnant in 2008, she decided to launch her own company, specializing in eco-friendly goods for babies, mothers, and general household products. She conceived her daughter Honor and the idea of this company almost at the same time.
This is why The Honest Company is her child in every way. She cares about her customers and their infants as much as she would for her kid. The baby products are specially made to cater to the safety, hygiene, and wellness of new mothers and their little ones.
Braving A Set of Hurdles
The idea and sincerity behind The Honest Company seemed promising. However, a set of unseen hurdles were on its way. To begin with, the company did not take off immediately. Alba had to struggle to find the right kind of investors for her precious company and wellness brand.
She approached Brian Lee, the entrepreneur of Legalzoom.com and ShoeDazzle.com, but Lee did not seem interested in the idea at first. According to TFL, two other investors also turned her down. Finally, after a year, when Jessica had almost given up, Lee came around and agreed to fund it. The market was facing a slack with wellness goods, and Lee saw it as the right opportunity to get Alba’s brand launched.
Forming the Perfect Core Team
After Lee joined Alba, the duo became a strong team, competent enough to achieve the brand's goal of making safer homes for everyone. To make the team stronger, Lee recruited two other core members who would also manage this company.
Lee and Alba decided that four founding members would run the company. Sean Kane, the founder of the price comparison site PriceGrabber.com and Christopher Gavigan, the CEO and executive director of the NGO called Healthy Child Healthy World, became part of this team. Lee chose his companions smartly. For example, Christopher Gavigan was already in charge of a nonprofit organization that educated and empowered parents to shield their children from hazardous chemicals. The Honest Company would have the same goal- to create a safe space for children and adults.
Expansion of The Honest Company
As stated by Vanity Fair, The Honest Company successfully took off in 2012 after Jessica’s second child, Haven, was born. It made big sales of about $10 million. The company was selling only 17 types of products at this point, and now it has over 120 products. By 2015, the company's value was as high as 1.7 billion.
The founders also expanded it in geographical terms. With the initial success and popularity, Alba could expand the scale of this brand to make it international. They targeted the markets of South Korea, Canada, and China. South Korea gave an amazing response, and this was due to their tie-up with the biggest Online Retailer there.
Lawsuits
The initial success still did not ensure a smooth road for the wellness brand, and soon it was faced with lawsuits from certain customers who were disappointed with its products. In addition, a Wall Street Journal investigation stated that its detergent ingredients were false and not organic as they would claim it to be.
There were also lawsuits against the Honest baby formula product for not containing organic ingredients. The company was particularly affected by the class action lawsuit of the Wall Street Journal because it also became a widely read topic. As a result, the firm had to pay about $1.5 million to settle this dispute.
Positive Re-Branding
It can be said that Jessica Alba is the face of the company. Besides being a pretty face, Alba also represents mothers who want to choose the best for their kids. This has always acted in favor of the company.
According to Forbes, Alba owns about 20 percent of the company, and her net worth has skyrocketed to $200 million. But she is also a source of faith and confidence for young mothers and working women looking to make it big in business.
One very important factor that has helped The Honest Company overcome all hurdles and emerge stronger is customers' belief in its products. Its loyal fan base has always motivated the Honest Company core team to do better. As stated by Celebrity Net Worth, The firm also went public this year in May, and Alba owned about 6.2 percent of the company - equivalent to 5.65 million shares.
Source: Forbes, Vanity Fair, TFL, Celebrity Net Worth
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