From a young age, Priscilla aspired to become a successful leader. She always took matters into her own hands. After suffering from sensitive skin and feeling lost in her career, she decided to take action and launch her own skincare brand. At the age of 25, she moved from New York City to San Francisco to start a brand by herself. After overcoming initial obstacles, she was able to grow Cocokind into a clean and sustainable skincare company whose aim is to empower women. Cocokind’s products can be found at Whole Foods, Ulta, Target, and on their website! As part of her company’s mission, Cocokind also offers grants and mentorship to female-identifying entrepreneurs in need of financial assistance to launch their businesses.
When was a time you failed, and what did you learn from that experience?
As a founder, you pretty much fail every day. In this role, if you are not failing, you are not doing enough. My biggest failure was either not hiring the right people or not having the right resources to do so. I should have asked for help. It caused me to be burnt out at various points of the business. Another thing is that when you are a founder and your company is growing, you have to grow faster than your company - to keep up. There were times where I failed to do so, where I was too stuck in execution and I did not realize my team needed me to step up or I needed to hire people to allow the team to step. I really think it's important to look at your failures as learning opportunities. I constantly remind my team that failure isn't something that you should be thinking about. It is expected and it is normal. If you're not failing, you are not pushing yourself enough! Failure is hard to come to terms with, but when you accept it, you can learn from it!
When you were growing up, what was an assumption you had about the world that ended up being incorrect?
I assumed that you have to be perfect and have everything figured out. But, I learned that being vulnerable is actually stronger than being perfect. Growing up, I never realized that; I think most people - whether they are young or old - don't realize that. It has been one of my greatest lessons I learned through starting Cocokind. Showing your flaws and sharing what makes you insecure with others helps make you more secure. It ends up helping you connect with more people.
Who do you look up to?
My mom is my greatest role model. She created a business that sold health industrial tools to other distributors. Growing up, I would always go to my mom's office; I didn't know anything about the industry that she was in, but I liked the fact that she was in charge. People relied on her for several things, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to witness that while I was growing up. It was an incredibly powerful experience for me!
What was a time you wanted to give up, and what made you persevere through the situations?
Before I decided to start my business, I was working in finance in New York. My personal life was very stagnant. In terms of my career, I felt that I was doing something I wasn't meant to be doing, even though I was doing well. I felt very lost, I was 24 years old. It was a difficult period for me to figure out what I wanted to do and I was far away from what I had envisioned myself doing. It almost felt like it was too far away from what I wanted to do and I couldn't get there. However, I decided to do something about it.
What is the greatest risk you have ever taken?
Starting my business. I was really putting myself out there. When I was 25, I had just moved to San Francisco and everything was new. I needed a change, and I decided that it was time. I was single and I was starting a company by myself. I was still pretty young, and I had nothing figured out. I used to work for JP Morgan and I went from having a lot of friends at work to working by myself. I felt like I was completely on my own, and I had to create an entire business alone. Because in the beginning, you are the one who has to reach out to people. Eventually, it totally changes, and you get to a point where you actually can't even keep up with the business and it starts driving you. These days, I have dinner with my fiance and have an amazing personal life with my friends and family.
What inspired you to create Cocokind?
I had dealt with skin issues for a really long time because I was on antibiotics and had developed skin sensitivity. I would apply Cetaphil because my face would sting so bad and my eyes would water. I felt extremely self-conscious about my skin. I was always wearing tons of makeup to hide it and it was a pretty brutal process. I finally decided to stop using all my internal medications, and I started to eat healthier food and use whole products, like oil. Instead of using all kinds of oil-free lotions, I started to see if I could use single ingredient oil. My acne was not completely removed, but my skin was not stinging. It was starting to feel hydrating and nourished. I felt very confident as I was feeding my skin with good things. I was too scared to start my own skincare company because I still had scars and occasional hormonal acne. I had more acne than all the skin-care founders that I would see pictures of. I was very intimidated by that, and I didn't feel like the beauty industry had space for me. Finally, I realized that skincare was my passion and that there was nothing that I cared more about. I had always wanted to start my own company. After seeing my mom do it, I decided to just go for it. I ended up quitting my job and moving to San Francisco to launch my journey!
What advice would you give others who aspire to be entrepreneurs like you?
Action is everything. You can get people on your side by doing things and showing them your drive. As an entrepreneur, the difference between one that makes it and one that doesn't, in my view, is the ability to actually get things done. It doesn't have to be a big step, but a small step that you can take every day that leads you to that.
