Mathebe Molise (Beauty on TApp): How to Build a Beauty Brand in South Africa | Mashstartup Podcast

Episode Overview

• Matabele Modise recounts the evolution of her company, Beauty on Tap, from its initial concept as a service-based "beauty Uber" to its current form as a successful e-commerce platform.
• The summary explores the early challenges of building a two-sided marketplace, including monetization difficulties and the classic "catch-22" of attracting both users and service providers simultaneously.
• It details the strategic pivot to creating an in-house product line, Pastry Skincare, which was a direct response to listening to community feedback and identifying a gap in the market for body care with active ingredients.
• The conversation offers a candid look at the realities of entrepreneurship, from the steep learning curve for a non-technical founder to the personal discovery of managing anxiety under pressure.

Key Concepts

• Business Evolution & Pivoting: The journey from a service marketplace to an e-commerce retailer ("e-tailer") and finally to a product brand owner, driven by market realities and customer feedback.
• The Two-Sided Marketplace Problem: The initial "beauty Uber" model struggled with the need to build supply (service providers) and demand (customers) at the same time, leading to monetization challenges.
• The Non-Technical Founder's Journey: The practical challenges and steep learning curve of building a user-friendly e-commerce website without a background in technology.
• Recipe for a Successful Beauty Brand: A successful brand requires three pillars: a high-value product, visually appealing packaging, and a strong, engaged community.
• Community-Led Product Development: The creation of the Pastry Skincare line was a direct result of listening to customer requests for body care products with active ingredients.
• South African E-commerce Realities: The market, while growing, remains relatively small and presents unique challenges in logistics and building consumer trust, with the pandemic having set potentially unrealistic growth expectations.
• Marketplace vs. Product Brand: A comparison of the operational differences between running an e-commerce marketplace and the more complex, humbling challenges of creating and scaling a physical product line.

Quotes

• At 1:05 - "[The goal was to give] small beauty businesses a shop front... I always use my braider Shumi as an example. We wanted to give her the opportunity to have a shop front on a very easy-to-use application." - She explains the original mission was to empower small, informal beauty entrepreneurs by giving them a digital presence.
• At 2:41 - "What sounds good in your mind as a great idea might not necessarily translate to that to people on day one. You really need to sell your product to people." - She highlights the crucial lesson that a good idea isn't enough; it must be effectively communicated and sold to the target market.
• At 18:02 - "as business owners, you need to step back and say, what do I want as a consumer on a website?" - On the importance of user-centric design when building an online platform.
• At 23:06 - "This is why I say listening to your consumer is so important." - Reinforcing that the idea for her own product line, Pastry, came directly from customer feedback and requests.
• At 28:45 - "Pastry has really, really humbled me. Like I used to always shout at brands like 'Ah, how can you not have stock when we ask?'" - On gaining a new perspective and empathy for other brand owners after experiencing the challenges of stock management firsthand.
• At 34:55 - "The one thing I've learned about myself... was that I actually have anxiety. I didn't know I have anxiety... and it's something that I've had to learn to manage." - A vulnerable reflection on the personal mental health challenges she discovered through her entrepreneurial journey.

Takeaways

• Validate your business model's monetization strategy early, as a good idea does not automatically translate into a profitable venture, especially in two-sided marketplaces.
• When building a digital platform, consistently adopt the perspective of your customer to ensure the user experience is intuitive, trustworthy, and seamless.
• Leverage your customer community as your primary source for innovation; their feedback can directly reveal unmet needs and guide your next successful product launch.
• Recognize that creating and scaling a physical product brand introduces significant complexities—including forecasting, funding, and supply chain management—that differ greatly from running a marketplace.