In this episode of There Is No Alternative, Tina Bou-Saba, founder of CXT Investments, sits down with Dr. Aegean Chan, Founder and CEO of More Than Nine, to talk about turning years of clinical practice and her own path through motherhood into evidence-backed skincare for pregnancy, postpartum, and everything after.
Aegean is a double board-certified dermatologist who started answering reader questions on a Tumblr blog more than a decade ago, then grew an Instagram community past 30,000 followers before ever paying to boost a post. After a second trimester pregnancy loss, she stood at her bathroom counter unsure whether the products in front of her were the right ones, and realized that if she was uncertain, other women were too. Seven years later, with her husband backing the company as a family investment instead of buying a house, More Than Nine is live. This is a conversation about building a consumer brand on the idea that most people need less, not more, and about what it takes to keep going when stopping would be easier.
In This Episode:
• How a pregnancy loss and a moment at the bathroom counter became the idea for More Than Nine
• Why her husband would not let her stop, and why the family chose to invest in the brand instead of buying a house
• Growing an Instagram community past 30,000 followers from the couch, with no editing team and no paid boosting
• The mantra from her friend Kara: start climbing the ladder and the next rung will appear
• How one panel during the pandemic led to Carol Carson, formerly of Boots and Walgreens, and then to brand strategist Sarah Clark Martin
• Why the line launched with one cleanser, one moisturizer, a powder exfoliant, and the Everything Is Fine Balm packaged like a lip balm
• Setting cost of goods before a single formula existed, and choosing off-the-shelf packaging over custom molds
• The Chinese New Year lesson, and going into production with the wrong text color rather than waiting four more months
• Compressing clinic days to keep her practice while selling on the website, Amazon, and TikTok Shop
Chapters:
[00:00] Instead of Buying a House, We Bet on the Brand
[01:25] From Clinic to Bootstrapped Skincare Founder
[03:38] A Heart Valve for Show and Tell
[06:47] Accutane, the Closest Thing to a Cure
[08:23] A Tumblr Blog Built on Patient Questions
[10:48] 30,000 Followers With No Boost and No Polish
[12:10] Climb the Ladder and the Next Rung Appears
[14:53] Pregnancy Loss and the Bathroom Shelf Moment
[17:43] One Pandemic Panel Unlocks Everything
[20:36] One Cleanser, One Moisturizer, Zero Overwhelm
[23:58] Why the Nipple Balm Became a Lip Balm
[25:46] Building a Team Through Trusted Word of Mouth
[27:32] Cost of Goods and Off-the-Shelf Packaging
[29:19] Chinese New Year and Other Launch Lessons
[31:39] Compressed Clinic Days and Empires Built on Email
[34:19] Find What Works Before Chasing Target
[38:07] No One Can Build It for You
[42:24] The Wrong Text Color and No Turning Back
[44:49] The Next Rung Has Never Not Appeared
[46:08] Picking Favorites Like Picking Among Three Kids
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