Founder Story: MASAMI by Lynn Power

We've brought an interesting startup to your attention today - MASAMI, a clean premium haircare brand that promises weightless hydration for all hair types and textures.

They're redefining hydration in haircare by using unique, salon-quality formulas that don't weigh your hair down.

Instead, they use a special Japanese ocean botanical, Mekabu, which ensures your hair stays shiny, healthy, and manageable.

MASAMI has set itself apart by tackling the most common hair concern: hydration, but in a way that leaves hair feeling light and voluminous.

Their approach brings the best out of your hair, making it not just a routine, but a rejuvenating experience.

We've had the opportunity to speak with the founder of MASAMI, so explore their story and learn more about this revolutionary brand.

I'm Lynn Power, a long time ad exec turned entrepreneur. I launched MASAMI at NYFW in February 2020 (yes, a month before Covid locked down NYC).

I then was diagnosed with a rare aggressive form of breast cancer in 2021. In 2022, I launched the Conscious Beauty Collective, a group of 30+ indie beauty & wellness brands helping each other grow.

MASAMI, founded by Lynn Power, is transforming haircare with its innovative hydration products, launched at New York Fashion Week in February 2020.

Using the unique Japanese ocean botanical Mekabu, MASAMI's products offer hydration without weighing down hair.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the startup shifted focus from salons to direct consumer engagement and content creation, successfully building its market presence through strategic partnerships and the formation of the Conscious Beauty Collective.

This collective supports over 30 indie brands with co-marketing and retail opportunities. Despite the challenges of a crowded market, MASAMI has made significant strides by engaging in active social media outreach, podcasts, and PR efforts.

They are also committed to sustainability, evidenced by their initiative to fund refillable bottles. Looking ahead, MASAMI plans to expand its product line and further develop its Conscious Beauty Collective, alongside launching a digital magazine.

Founder Lynn Power emphasizes resilience and adaptability, aiming to secure the right investors to facilitate further growth.

We solve the #1 hair issue -- hydration. But, we do it different. Unlike other hydrating/moisturizing products on the market, MASAMI won't weigh your hair down.

Our rich formulas give you shiny, healthy, manageable hair thanks to our Japanese ocean botanical, Mekabu.

We launched during Covid so instead of focusing on salons (which were closed), we focused on content, our customers and brand partnerships.

Our brand partnerships worked so well to grow our business organically that we launched the Conscious Beauty Collective a way to "scale" the partnerships by creating co-marketing and retail opportunities for 30+ brands (vs. just one or two at a time).

Our industry is insanely crowded, so getting noticed and acquiring new customers is really hard. We are very scrappy and do a lot.

We experiment with live streaming, we're super active on social media, we have done over 150 podcasts, we look to get earned PR.

And of course, we continue doing partnerships to help build our email list (now over 50,000 organically because of these partnerships), we do blogs, trade shows and more.

Lots of investors are interested in funding us once we reach $5M, but it's very difficult finding investors who understand beauty who want to fund a startup.

The irony is that once we reach $5M, we won't need the money the way it would help us today.

We didn't have much luck with investors (beauty is super crowded and lots of brands don't make it).

We did a round of crowdfunding with IFundWomen to help fund our sustainable refillable bottles but otherwise, we've been totally bootstrapped.

When we launched, we talked to several investors. It was a frustrating and difficult experience as I hadn't realized how much ageism there is.

One investor said that I was too old to run the company and it would never work. Ouch! BTW, this investor is at least 10 years older than me.

After that, we just retrenched and focused on growing the business slow and steady. We are self-funded but at some point, I'd like to revisit finding the right investors to spark more traction.

We are working on developing a few new products which is exciting. We are also expanding the Conscious Beauty Collective to now offer brands certifications. We've also just launched a digital magazine.

AI is everywhere which is both good and bad. For a small business like ours, AI has been invaluable at helping us generate content quickly.

Don't sweat the little stuff. There are so many ups and downs as an entrepreneur that it can get really hard.