Thread by @Principles00

**How Two Australian Teenagers Turned $20,000 into a 9 Figure Beauty Brand**

Here's the story behind how two high school kids used their savings to grow their business to over $100mm in sales in 5 years.

(plus some lessons you can apply to your own business)

Nik Mirkovic and Alex Tomic were still teenagers when they came up with an idea to revolutionize the beauty industry in 2014.

By 2018, they had a combined net worth of $34 million.

How did they do it?

Rapid execution and the ability to spot trends

Let's take a closer look:

The story begins at the kitchen table when the childhood friends were discussing over dinner the best industries to break into and profit.

They noticed that oral care was bland and clinical and that it did not have much branding or focus.

That's when the idea hit them.

The two friends decided to create a one-size-fits-all LED teeth-whitening kit.

It checked all the boxes:

1) Proven beauty product
2) Great lifestyle content for social media
3) Gets results

Now it was time to execute.

The two friends took their life savings of $20,000 to buy inventory and gift them to influencers across social media.

By focusing on local micro-influencers, they were able to reach many customers and grow their business rapidly.

But the key factor was the product.

The reason why HiSmile succeeded with influencer marketing was because influencers loved the product.

By focusing on the product first, marketing became much easier.

HiSmile had influencers lining up to try the product and share with their followers.

Things took off from there

In less than 2 years, Hi Smile had hit $10mm in sales and 100,000 customers.

By 2018, they had done $40mm in sales.

But they were just getting started...

HiSmile reach a stratospheric level when they began partnering with well known celebrities, including Kylie Jenner and Conor McGregor.

And this is where HiSmile went from an 8 figure brand to a 9 figure brand...

HiSmile has now done over $150mm in sales.

What has contributed to Hi Smile's rapid success?

I believe the following three key strategies have been the main drivers:

1) Focus on product market fit
2) Jump on trends quickly
3) Test aggressively

Let's discuss each in more detail.

1) Product market fit

HiSmile had a shotgun, unfocused approach in the first 6 months.

They promoted the brand to everyone aged 15 to 45 before discovering their niche.

By analyzing the data from the content produced, HiSmile determined its target market was 15-24 yr old women

HiSmile doubled down on this by creating content and partnering with influencers specifically targeted at this audience.

Lesson? Promoting your product with any influencer or celebrity is not enough.

They have to match the brand voice and tone and be a great fit for the brand.

More importantly, HiSmile disrupted the market at the time by bringing branding and influencer marketing to an industry that didn't have much of it.

So if you find yourself looking at a boring space that lacks proper marketing, you may have an opportunity to disrupt yourself...

2) Trends

In 2014, influencer marketing on Instagram was just beginning.

HiSmile took advantage of the strong organic reach and social proof of influencers and were able to capitalize on this trend.

The rest is history.

3) Aggressive testing

HiSmile creates 10+ unique ads per day and posts at least 3 times on Instagram.

The company also spends 8 figures on Facebook ads.

Because of the volume of content and rapid testing, HiSmile is able to optimize content for maximum engagement and sales.

So those are some tactics and strategies from HiSmile that should help your business.

If you're rapidly testing new ideas and observing current trends, you will find something that works.

Once you do, double down on it like the founders of HiSmile did.

Fastest way to success.