Big dreams and big drive: resources for early-stage indie brands

“Beauty Independent is my go-to for new indie brands or early-stage brands looking for concrete resources,” says Anthony Kozik, Sr. Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service Rep. If you find yourself asking questions like ‘How do I differentiate my product?’ ‘How should I forecast first-year sales?’ and ‘What qualities do investors look for in new brands?’ you should definitely check out.”

Their column No Stupid Questions offers digestible, synthesized opinions from multiple indie brand founders. Its crowdsourcing approach makes it a quick way to see what other brand founders are doing when it comes to a specific — and yet universal — decision. The column addresses everything from product launch strategies to how to spend marketing dollars. If you prefer to listen, their lunch-hour webinar series (called In Conversation) is worth a registration.

These quick reads are some of our favorite recent articles:

• What’s The Right Number Of Products For Beauty Brands To Start With?
• How Long It Really Takes Indie Beauty Brands To Become Profitable
• Indie Beauty Entrepreneurs Weigh In On Whether Certifications Really Matter

Spate is a marketing team favorite for its unique ability to make customers’ inner thoughts accessible. Beyond social listening, Spate uses google search data, which is a treasure trove of information that tends to be more intimate than what people share on social media. The platform uses their founders’ trend backgrounds to dig deep and bring key insights relative to the product formats, claims, and ingredients consumers are searching for.