"There is nothing that will replace the value of word of mouth" with Danielle Cohen-Shohet

Danielle Cohen-Shohet is the CEO and Co-Founder of GlossGenius (glossgenius.com), a leading business management and payment solution provider for tens of thousands of small businesses across the beauty and wellness industries. 

Over the last few years, Danielle and her team have emerged as one of the industry’s leading solutions, getting named the “Best Industry Software” by popular trade publications as GlossGenius empowers small business owners to be more successful. Danielle is a self-taught mobile and web engineer, hobbyist makeup artist, former Goldman Sachs analyst, and Princeton alum.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of GlossGenius, a platform that serves the business management needs of tens of thousands of professionals across the beauty and wellness space. I’m a self-taught mobile and web engineer previously worked at Goldman Sachs and got into my industry through the makeup artistry that I did. Before all this, I graduated from Princeton. 

What inspired you to start your business?

When I was doing makeup artistry as a hobby, I knew firsthand that business management solutions in our industry weren’t tailored for professionals in the industry. It became apparent very quickly that other professions in the industry suffered the same problems with the outdated, complex programs available. Everyone hated the program that they spent a lot of time in during the day. I knew there was an opportunity there.

Where is your business based?

We’re headquartered in New York, New York but also have remote teams.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

There were about three weeks where I did nothing but eat, sleep, and code. My co-founder and I were both technical so we built an initial MVP during that time. It was very simple but was the best way for us to dive in and truly understand how we’d want to work and use our software, before diving in deeper. We got user feedback very early, and very often. We were obsessive about our users. With that, we knew what we needed to build to take it to the next level. And so we did.

 What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Customers. Customers. Customers. There is nothing that will replace the value of word of mouth. So I guess that translates to the most effective way to raise awareness is to do stuff that helps your customers.  

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

I’m kind of impatient when it comes to my perceived progress and sometimes it gets in the way. I’ve overcome this by realizing it’s okay if things are done really quickly. 

How do you stay focused?

I write everything down on a to-do list, separated out by morning/afternoon/evening. It helps me time-box and make sure I’m prioritizing the most important things during that part of the day.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

From a young age, my dad always told me that when you’re the best, it’s easy to differentiate from the competition. We’ve put a lot of time and thought into developing the absolute best product experience, design standards and offering in our industry.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Our own community. When you have a strong product, there is no amount of marketing we could do that could ever compete with the organic voices of our own community. Finding a space and way for our community to do that has been the most effective strategy for our business. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

As a general rule, don’t take no for an answer. That single rule is likely the reason why my company GlossGenius is the company it is today. 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app is Spotify. It combines music and podcasts. My favorite blog is Ben Thompson’s Stratechery. His writing is really insightful, and I appreciate that. My favorite book is The Odyssey. I translated it when I studied Latin in high school, but it’s my favorite book because of the influence it’s had over European and Western literature and culture. It’s a celebration of human wits and creativity.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

My absolute favorite business tool is Keynote (Apple). I’m obsessive about design and there’s an intangible, elevated style that materials made on Keynote have. Every deck, graph, or document coming from my company GlossGenius has likely started on Keynote. 

Who is your business role model? Why?

Cliche but my dad. He was smart, hard-working but also very wise. Those are all very important in business. 

What is your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite products?

I get excited by new innovative products so that means my beauty routine changes every six months. Currently, I’m trying an oil cleanser and Algenist moisturizing products. Algenist has an interesting story – their products were developed when biotechnologists discovered certain properties of algae that would be beneficial for your skin.

How do you balance work and life?

I’m okay with a constantly moving target of “balance” that’s changing temporally based on demands at work and life. Sometimes demands at work are such that there is no balance—but that’s very temporary. At other times, life events consume more time. Knowing when to adjust is the most valuable way I “balance” having balance.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Anything that involves the right side of the brain. Painting, drawing… lots of colors.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Given the rapidly changing news and environment around us with the COVID-19 pandemic, the only thing I’m planning is to be as agile as possible.

How can our readers connect with you?

Readers can connect with me via my company glossgenius.com or Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCohenShohet