Kate Morris on building an online
beauty democracy
From a 21-year-old, self-confessed beauty junkie to owner of Australia’s largest online beauty retailer, turning over $100M this year. Kate shares her personal failures, successes and learnings spanning her 19-year career.
Sitting in her inner-Melbourne office, Kate is incredibly open as she delves in to her business’ financial operations, growth strategies, people management and her views on work-life balance.
“If you try to never upset anybody, then sometimes you don’t make the changes that need to be made.”
In early 2000, Kate Morris was a law student with a part-time job on the make-up counter of a large department store. Realising that many women found the experience intimidating, Kate borrowed $12,000 from her boyfriend’s parents to build a disruptive new online shopping experience that transferred the power back to her fellow cosmetic lovers.
Twenty years on, Adore Beauty employs 140 staff, stocks over 14,000 SKUs, and has two-million monthly website visits.
Kate has been awarded Telstra Young Businesswoman of the Year for Victoria, along with the Business Innovation Award for Victoria at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards. She was also inducted into the Australian Businesswomen’s Network Hall of Fame in 2015.
Kate’s key takeaways
In this episode, Kate shares her insights on:
- Overcoming sceptics on the long road to success
- Retaining a start-up mindset after 19 years
- Creating a data-driven customer experience
- Managing supplier relations
- Building a culture of empowerment
Kate’s key takeaways
In this episode, Kate shares her insights on:
- Overcoming sceptics on the long road to success
- Retaining a start-up mindset after 19 years
- Creating a data-driven customer experience
- Managing supplier relations
- Building a culture of empowerment
More about Kate
In early 2000, Kate Morris was a law student with a part-time job on the make-up counter of a large department store. Realising that many women found the experience intimidating, Kate borrowed $12,000 from her boyfriend’s parents to build a disruptive new online shopping experience that transferred the power back to her fellow cosmetic lovers.
Twenty years on, Adore Beauty employs 140 staff, stocks over 14,000 SKUs, and has two-million monthly website visits.
Kate has been awarded Telstra Young Businesswoman of the Year for Victoria, along with the Business Innovation Award for Victoria at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards. She was also inducted into the Australian Businesswomen’s Network Hall of Fame in 2015.
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