Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Moss.
Allison, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started my career managing marketing activities for big beauty brands like MAC Cosmetics, Lancôme, and L’Oreal Paris. More recently, I aligned my professional endeavors with my personal passion for clean, safe products as I helped build successful indie beauty businesses for Jurlique skincare and Beautycounter.
On my own personal journey into using safer products, I naturally made clean-beauty swaps in my daily routine. When I decided to switch to a natural deodorant, I tried dozens of them, but each and everyone was a disappointment. I knew a truly better deodorant with stellar performance and safe ingredients was absolutely possible; it just needed to be created. So I engaged a freelance chemist, took a leap of faith, and never looked back.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One motto of the early branding effort was “challenge accepted”. It applies to the approach of the product, the brand and perhaps my personal approach to business and life. Of course, there have been struggles along the way, but I really see each challenge as a growing pain and always come out the other side with more knowledge, more passion, and more motivation to keep going. One of our biggest challenges early on was in manufacturing. I leaned on advisors in my network for guidance on planning production and inventory management. So I figured I was in pretty good shape when we launched. But as the business took off, it turns out we still weren’t quite well enough prepared. Three months after we launched, we ran out of product and were out of stock for a painful three weeks. The lessons learned during that stock-out helped us prepare and stay in stock for the remainder of the year.
My biggest advice to other women is not to be afraid to seek advice. You don’t have to do it all alone. I am regularly talking to other business founders and trading the what-worked/what-didn’t advice. I don’t always take the feedback but I always listen with an open mind and incorporate what feels right for me and my business. And I’m continually surprised by insights that I didn’t expect and really hit the mark!
Tell us about your business. What do you do, what do you specialize in?
We’re known for having a clean deodorant that’s not a tradeoff or sacrifice from what you may currently be using. That could be in the application, performance (how long it lasts), how it feels on your skin, or in the ingredient/safety profile.
The brand name actually represents the product – a hard-working, overachieving deodorant that aims to exceed your expectations. We figured even if you don’t see yourself as “Type A”, wouldn’t you want your deodorant to work that hard for you?
As a brand, I’m proud of having a product that people passionately love using. So many of our customers have been looking for years (or decades!) for an aluminum-free deodorant that just simply did it’s stated job – was long-lasting and easy to use. In finding type:A deodorant, they’re so thrilled that the reactions can be very enthusiastic, which is amazing.
I’m also exceptionally proud of our customer service. We treat people the way we would want to be treated and have a generous return policy. If the product isn’t a fit for you, we offer free returns with no questions, no hassles. What’s incredible is that in doing what we think is simply the right thing to do, it has actually set a tone for the brand reputation. We see comments on social media, our site, everywhere with customers saying “give it a try, their customer service is awesome”. Seeing that is so rewarding.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources that help you do your best in life (at work or otherwise)?
I love to listen to stories of how other brands have gotten their start. While the founder’s stories may be different, what can be very insightful are the challenges they faced as they grew and how they overcame them.
I also follow so many (perhaps too many) trade email newsletters. DigiDay, Gartner L2 are two I’d recommend for anyone, even if their business isn’t strictly eCommerce.
Pricing:
- type:A deodorant – $10 for a single tube
- type:A deodorant – $19 for a two-pack subscription (plus free shipping)
- type:A deodorant – $27 for our signature scent three-pack if you want to try all three scents.
Contact Info:
- Website: typeadeodorant.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @typeadeodorant
- Facebook: @typeadeodorant
- Twitter: @typeadeodorant
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