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Kosha Gada

@KoshaGada

Mar 20 • 17 tweets • 7 min read • Read on X

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One of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century:

Estée Lauder.

With immigrant parents and zero education - she built an empire now worth more than Uber and Ferrari COMBINED.

Here's her unbelievable story: 🧵

Born Josephine Mentzer in Queens to immigrant parents.

No formal education. No connections. No capital.

But she had something more valuable - an uncle who taught her to create luxury skin creams in their family kitchen.

She had a formula. Now, she needed buyers...

While still in high school, she sold creams to classmates.

She renamed the formula to 'Super-Rich All-Purpose Crème' - her first marketing insight.

In 1946, she and husband launched the brand with just four, handmade products.

And the beauty industry never saw her coming:

Industry in the 1940s was naturally led by men.

But cosmetics was ripe for disruption by a female "consumer-entrepreneur"

Someone who was both a user and creator.

Someone who understood demand, differentiation and opportunity.

But breaking through was anything but easy...

Department store buyers dismissed her as "a housewife with creams."

When a major seller rejected her, Estée did something revolutionary.

She ambushed them with an impromptu facial demonstration.

And the results were immediate:

They placed an $800 order—worth about $10,000 today.

When delivering products, Estée did something unprecedented:
free samples with every purchase.

The inventory sold out in two days.

This approach would become her signature...

But her most brilliant product strategy was still to come:

In 1953, she launched Youth-Dew—bath oil that doubled as perfume.

The strategic insight?

Women rarely bought fragrance - it was seen as a gift from men.

By positioning it as bath oil, Estée made luxury accessible directly to women.

And the market responded dramatically:

Youth-Dew sold 50,000 bottles in its first year.

By 1984, sales reached 150 million units.

A single product transformed her kitchen operation into a beauty powerhouse.

Yet her most effective marketing strategy cost nothing at all.

In fact, it was brilliantly simple:

Word-of-mouth.

Every satisfied customer told ten friends. So she gave demonstrations everywhere.

When a store refused her products? She "accidentally" spilled Youth-Dew on their floor so the women smelled the scent.

She broke every rule, and even introduced new ones:

Estée transformed what male executives had missed into strategic weapons:

• Personal touch
• Sensory experience
• Emotional connection

"I touched every face that used my products."

Through abandoning convention, Estée literally built an empire unlike any before:

By the 1980s, Estée Lauder dominated the industry.

Her company expanded globally with groundbreaking brands:

• Aramis – men's grooming
• Prescriptives – custom-blend makeup
• Clinique – first dermatologist-created skincare

But her most surprising marketing strategy was yet to come:

She pioneered the "Gift with Purchase" concept.

When competitors called it wasteful, she proved them wrong:

85% of customers who tried free samples became repeat buyers.

This revolutionary approach changed retail forever.

But her real genius went even deeper:

She translated "feminine intuition" into business strategy.

In an industry of men selling to women, she understood what her competitors couldn't:

Women wanted more than products—they wanted transformation.

This insight built an $89 billion empire that transcends cosmetics.

While others focused on selling beauty, she sold confidence.

When rivals pushed products, she built relationships.

Her success wasn't just about cosmetics—it was about understanding human psychology.

And that's what makes her story relevant even today:

Today, her company outvalues Uber and Ferrari combined.

But her most powerful legacy lives in on in every entrepreneur who dares to dream bigger than the norms allow.

Her courage still inspires millions to dream bigger.

Join thousands honoring her impact: app.memories.net/memorials/este…

Video credits:

• YT link youtube.com/watch?v=hSxuTy…

• YT link youtube.com/watch?v=fqMCHa…

• YT link youtu.be/R2ID2-ojiig?si…

• YT link youtube.com/watch?v=Nt36Nm…

• YT link youtube.com/watch?v=L6qswh…

https://twitter.com/564887544/status/1902776094832595039

Follow me @KoshaGada for more.

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