Ju Rhyu Had A $630MM Exit. Is She Happy Now?

It's one of the biggest, most remarkable exits I'm aware of in ecommerce: in 2022, Hero Cosmetics sold for $630M. So in this episode, I brought Hero's co-founder and former CEO, Ju Rhyu, on to the show to talk about how in the world they accomplished such a big outcome, what she's up to now, and whether or not all that money actually made her happy. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:03] Acne care brand and product. [00:03:18] Launching on Amazon. [00:08:30] What made Hero successful? [00:09:38] Focusing on profitable channels. [00:13:40] Prioritizing retail over DTC. [00:16:29] Acquisition and role transition. [00:19:44] Selling the business and the best day of her life. [00:23:08] Investment opportunities and exclusivity. [00:26:23] Scaling an e-commerce business. [00:30:56] Happiness after a successful exit. [00:34:46] Work and fulfillment in life. [00:35:27] Transitioning after a successful exit. [00:39:02] The value of mistakes. [00:42:04] Amazon-first distribution strategy. EPISODE SPONSOR Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months. OTHERE AFP EPISODES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE "Patrick Coddou Sold Supply" (Spotify, Apple) "Patrick Coddou, One Year After The Exit" (Spotify, Apple) "Bryan Porter Didn't Get To $100M On Amazon With Just Tips & Tricks" (Spotify, Apple) FOLLOW UP WITH JU Follow Ju on X: https://twitter.com/jurhyu Follow Ju on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurhyu FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means