Oars and Alps sees growth in skin care line for active guys
Mia Duchnowski had no plans to become an entrepreneur until she noticed her husband — “who is very much your guy’s guy,” she said — had a habit of stealing from her stash of skin products. Duchnowski and her friend Laura Cox saw an opportunity to create skin products designed for active men interested in natural products. They left their jobs at Bloomberg Television and Facebook, respectively, to launch Chicago-based Oars and Alps. The company began selling its first three products — natural deodorant, moisturizer and solid face wash — online in 2016. Duchnowski, Oars and Alps’ CEO, said the company is working on getting its products in more bricks-and-mortar stores and continuing to add new products.
Q: You went to Harvard Business School and took business classes at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Did you think you might want to start a company someday?
A: I never wanted to start my own company. I always enjoyed working in big corporations; I loved being part of a newsroom and being on the trading floor. I got to the point where I saw this need. It was also a time when I was interviewing a lot of my friends who at least on paper had these billion-dollar businesses, and I remember thinking, “They’re not any smarter than I am; how are they getting to where they are?”
Q: Who is Oars and Alps’ target customer?
A: We do really well with this guy who is on the arc of adulting. He is getting rid of his Ikea furniture. He’s upgrading his life, and so he’s also upgrading his skin.
Q: Oars and Alps has two women running a skin care brand aimed at men. Do you think that matters?
A: I hope that matters. I truly believe that another advantage Laura and I bring to the table is that we are not men. We take the time to meet with our customers, to do extensive focus groups, so we’re creating products guys actually want to use.
Q: Do people you work with always see it that way?
A: We did have investors say, “What are two women doing starting a men’s skin care company?” We were so defensive at first, and we realized that is not the right approach. When people say that, we’ll say something like, “Do you know who started Victoria’s Secret? It wasn’t Victoria.”
Q: You recently announced Ulta Beauty will be carrying Oars and Alps in 300 stores. What’s the strategy there?
A: Our Ulta strategy is really focused on women — the woman buying the product for herself, or for a gift or as an introductory solution for a son or husband or male colleague. Seventy percent of our customers are men. Of the 30 percent who are women, 20 percent are buying for themselves. We’ll hear things like, “I don’t want a product that’s pink or purple or called Blossom or Fresh Sunshine.” It’s just not reflective of who they are.
Q: Do you ever see yourselves making an Oars and Alps for women?
A: For the time being, we’re really going to focus on the men’s space. That’s where the biggest opportunity is; it’s a less saturated market. One of our biggest assets as an early company is being laser focused on who we are but also knowing who we aren’t.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.