Monique Meneses: Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Iota
Episode 447
Monique Meneses, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the incredible beauty skincare brand called Iota wanted to help consumers glow from within with a skincare line designed to nourish the skin microbiome. Iota's ultimate mission is to be a champion for the skin health awareness movement, educating consumers on the importance of a healthy, balanced skin microbiome, and they have created premium products that get to the root of skin issues before they occur. We hear all about why Monique decided to embark on her journey as well as more about the brand Iota. Her experience developing Iota is fascinating and insightful and I know that you will be glad you listened. Now on #TheKaraGoldinShow.
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Transcript
Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be I want to be, you just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked down knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control control control. Hi, everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi, everyone, it’s Kara Goldin. From the Kara Goldin show, we have Monique Meneses, co founder and CO CEO of Iota. And if you’re not familiar with Iota, you have to listen, and definitely pick up a few of her products is such such a great, great product. So you have to definitely try it. As I mentioned, Monique is the co founder and CO CEO, it’s an incredible beauty skincare brand, giving you all kinds of hints along the way the brand is based on helping consumers glow from within, not really glow. But I mean, it really glow from a natural standpoint, I should say, with a skincare line designed to nourish the skin microbiome. So I was fascinated, obviously, because of everything that I’m so interested in around health, the things that she’s really talking about her curiosity as she was developing this line with her co founder husband, just absolutely incredible. So I can’t wait to speak with her more about Iotas’ ultimate mission. And overall how they decided to develop this product and really focus on healthy balanced skin microbiome and creating premium products that get to the root of skin issues. So so important plus that like I said, they’re just amazing products used in this morning and my shower and absolutely loved them. So very excited to have Monique here. So welcome, Monique,
Monique Meneses 2:23
thank you so much, Kara, so honored to be part of your show, excited to chat with you
Kara Goldin 2:29
very, very excited. So Monique, if you can share a little bit more about what you were doing before you’re used to interviewing people and your previous life. So I’d love love for you to share a little bit more about what you were doing.
Monique Meneses 2:44
Sure. So I was a beauty editor for over a decade. And as a beauty editor, I was flooded daily with products to test out and review. And the one thing I kept on thinking was even for me, who is supposed to be an expert, was that it was confusing. I myself was overwhelmed. And you know, how was the consumer? And how is the reader supposed to tell the difference between everything that they were inundated with, with, especially from a skincare level? And the questions I was trying to answer was what really matters in the long term. And then also, is there a way to just simplify the conversation for the average consumer rate, so that you’re just getting the key benefits that people are looking for from a multi treatment products. This was sort of the genesis of my idea for Iota. And then, after my beauty editor days, they went on to consult for brands within the skincare space like Peach and Lily cover effects. And he’s
Kara Goldin 3:54
very, very interesting. So when you were a beauty editor, how would you differentiate so many of these products? And maybe that just really goes into the trends that you were starting to see as you were having a look at many of these products that potentially you would include and a write up?
Monique Meneses 4:13
I think when I was a beauty editor that was just the beginning of the clean movement, right? So a lot of the products and stories are centered around clean beauty, and what that meant for our health and for our bodies and for our skin. But there was no next level to clean, right? It was all about what was toxin free. What was the late free what was on the no list what was on the dirty list. And we spent so many years as an industry talking about clean and the various definitions of clean and honestly to this day. I think if you ask a retailer or a brand you’ll find that many have different definitions of what clean means. I sent the conversation that that I saw was going to be the next evolution for clean as the beauty editor was the skin microbiome. And it was through interviews with cosmetic chemists dermatologists during my time there that I started seeing this trend. But really, it was through my own personal experience of several health scares. Prior during and after my pregnancy, that really sort of sealed the deal in terms of this is something that needs to be talked about. I need to create a brand around this to really bring the message of skin health and skin and the skin microbiome to light.
Kara Goldin 5:46
So how would you describe Iota to anyone who is seeing your beautiful packaging on the shelf and is interested in looking at purchasing it? I mean, how do you describe it to people?
Monique Meneses 6:00
Sure. So we are the first multinutrient all in one body care with everything your skin needs to be healthy, which includes the core foundation, which is skin microbiome support, not my words, but words from our consumers, we’ve heard a lot of it’s like the athletic greens for skin thrown around. So I’m just gonna throw it out there. It’s just like an easy concept to grasp. We’re the first body here that really fuses the worlds of personal care and wellness. And, you know, the trend in, I would say, the food, the beverage industry and what they’ve really brought to focus. And what I think is amazing, is that they’ve taken the concept of the gut microbiome, which when you first think about is like, oh, there’s so much science behind there. No one wants a science lesson. But how do we make this conversational and fun, and approachable. And there are so many great brands out there, you know, I can name all a PA poppy seed that have taken this concept. And it’s now sort of part of general consumer awareness, and knowledge and understanding that this is part of a larger health ecosystem. We want to do the same for skin health and the skin microbiome. So
Kara Goldin 7:15
interesting. So how does it actually work then? So you’re putting it on your skin? You’re washing with it? And can you explain to people how does it work and how is it unique?
Monique Meneses 7:27
Sure. So we at the core of every single one of our formulations, have a proprietary blend of prebiotics and post biotics and I think it’s really important to differentiate post biotics from probiotics, a lot of skincare brands use the term probiotics. However, the World Health Organization defines probiotics as live micro organisms, right? So a lot of these a lot of brands out there that are claiming to have probiotics, unless these formulations are being refrigerated, so that the live bacteria can just thrive in that optimal cold environment, or actually using post biotics. So step number one for us was to say let’s get the terminology around this correct. And start using the right terminology because already there’s so much consumer confusion around what’s a prebiotic probiotic, a post biotic. So prebiotics. So let’s backtrack and talk about our skin microbiome. Right? We have over 1 trillion microorganisms that live on us. They are our first line of defense against that bacteria that can be triggers for breakouts, contact dermatitis, but also helps protect us against UV rays, pollution, all things that can lead to what we see manifests on our skin that we may not like, which include you know, sunspots breakouts, it could lead to accelerated aging. So we really need to take care of what’s on our skin, you know, our first line of defense. And so what in our formulation does that for you is our blend of prebiotics, which are think of them as like, your body is the garden and the prebiotics is fertilizers food that helps those good microbes microbes thrive, and then the post biotics while they are not live bacteria, they mimic the effects of the live bacteria. And so think of them as reinforcements for troops. Right? There’s an army, you bring in the reinforcements to help the soldiers like increase and multiply. And together the pre and post biotics do their job to help balance and actively balance your microbiome so that it is in a state to then receive all of the plant based multivitamins and multi minerals and actives that we also include in our formulations. If you think of your skin as a canvas, right, just a blank canvas, you’re not going to take an already muddied up canvas and To say, This is my artwork, you want to start with a clean canvas, that’s kind of what our pre and post biotic blend does, is that you start with a clean slate, a state of balance for your skin, so that all of the color, right, the beautiful painting that and that can be vitamin C, niacin, amide, hyaluronic acid, is able to just do its job better. All of the amazing actives, and vitamins and minerals you’re putting on your skin, if you don’t have a balanced microbiome, they’re just not going to be able to do anything. So it’s a two fold approach and method that our body care formulations take. And when I tell you, it took us 72 iterations and a half years to get our body wash formulation down. That is no joke. I think about it now. And I’m like, that’s a little it’s a body wash. You think about it. But that’s the painstaking care and attention to detail and in science that we put behind this. And you know, my husband and I are not scientists, we don’t claim to be scientists. So it was very important for us to partner with our development team, which includes dermatologist, our lab team, of course, a cosmetic chemist who specializes in formulating for the skin microbiome, to bring this all to life.
Kara Goldin 11:19
So interesting. So what was the aha moment when you really thought I’ve got to do this where you testing things that in your own life? I mean, obviously, you were products, you wash with body cleansers and and were you thinking, Gosh, somebody should really do this was there one moment in particular, when you thought I need to do this,
Monique Meneses 11:41
there were a series of moments and I’ll go back to the health scares that I was telling you about and go into a little bit more detail. It took my husband I a really long time to get pregnant and we I was diagnosed with infertility, but for reasons unknown had taken multiple tests, so didn’t No one could figure out the cause behind it. Did a combination of you know acupuncture, you name it, whatever it was that I did it. And finally was blessed with with my daughter who’s now she’s now six. And so that was phase one. Phase two was a tumor that doctors found towards the tail end of my second trimester. second trimester, it was the size of a tennis ball, and it was growing on the tip it had been growing on the tip of my pancreas for I think, since I was in my teens. At that moment, when they figured out it was a tumor. They told me they were 85% certain it was benign, there was a 15% chance that it wasn’t they just couldn’t tell, nor could they run any tests on me because I was so far along into my pregnancy. It was really a game time decision. And it was up to me what I wanted to do. Wow. Like, I’ll take the odds. Yeah, I waited this blog for my daughter, Elsie, how it goes. And again, you know, I there, there was testing done later. And there’s no rhyme or reason as to why this tumor had been growing in me. Luckily, everything turned out okay. With the tumor with my pregnancy, I have preeclampsia. And, you know, I had no history of high blood pressure or any health issues at all, quite frankly, I had to be induced early one month early, it was the surprise day that I delivered. You know, I had my C section. And then since then I’ve had ongoing issues with high blood pressure, I have to take medication for it. So these three health scares in a row really led me down a rabbit hole of research. And, you know, I was thinking, all these things are happening. And I didn’t know why. You know, what were other daily habits in my life where I can be healthier, right? I thought that for the most part I tried to eat right, I tried to sleep as much as I could, free being a parent tried to get as much movement as I could during the day. But where were their small moments and acts in my life that I could be just a little bit healthier and personal care. You know, I’m a big self care person. Beauty has been part of my life. I think since I was five, like growing up with my grandmother and seeing her do her whole like hour long, ritualistic routine. It was something that I looked at and and in my research, I was finding that there were recent studies that actually linked that your skin microbiome to the health of your skin microbiome to larger and broader health issues like increased allergy rates, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, and I had been in the beauty industry st for years, and it was new news to me. So this was really the impetus for Iota. And at the same time, it’s all about timing right? Did we feel, you know, I have my husband I’ve been talking about for years, but wasn’t didn’t feel like now was the time was the consumer ready to, to embrace this idea of the skin microbiome and skin health? And and now we really think now, now’s the time, right? When I say that the gut microbiome is now part of everyday conversation and general consumer awareness, consumer awareness with brands like athletic greens, ollie pop ritual in the mix. We feel like consumers, and we’re getting feedback already. And that, you know, 1010 months since launch, that they’re ready to talk about the skin microbiome and its connection to overall health. And we’re trying to do that, again, like I said, in a very accessible, approachable, fun way.
Kara Goldin 16:04
I love it. So where did the name come from?
Monique Meneses 16:08
That is such a good question. And we get that question all the time. So our name I Yoda, is derived from the word microbIota, defined as living microorganisms present in the environment, which is in this case on your skin. But Iota was also it’s it’s, it also means an infinitesimal amount. And so that ladders up to one of our core philosophies, our core brand philosophies, which is that little things done consistently, over time, lead to big results. And so that’s sort of the philosophy I’ve taken especially especially since, you know, going through these health scares, and in life in general, whether that applies to wellness, whether it applies to parenting, it’s just like dedication, little steps lead to big things.
Kara Goldin 17:03
I love it. So what has been kind of some of the most surprising and challenging pieces of starting a company, you’ve obviously met with a ton of entrepreneurs and had been able to try so many different beauty products. But now, you’re in the seat, right? You’re, you’re starting your own company, what was probably the most surprising piece that you just maybe didn’t realize that until you were actually driving?
Monique Meneses 17:33
I’ve listened to a few of your podcasts here. Like even before we knew that, you know, we were going to be speaking together. Yeah. And there’s one thing that really stuck out to me that you said that just hit home and that it was like solving a puzzle every day. In this case, it’s my husband and my like, it’s our unique puzzle to solve. I don’t think I fully anticipated how much of a roller coaster ride this was going to be. There are some days especially I mean, I can’t think we’re just 10 months, then, you know, maybe we have a conversation a few years. And looking back, it’ll be different. But every day, I think especially now in these early stages, we’ll have days where I’m on a high because of some great thing that happened. And then in a matter of 12 hours, 24 hours, I’m on the lowest low because there’s a massive problem that’s happening, but we need to solve it quickly. And just like move forward, because we can’t get stuck, ruminating. But it’s I don’t think that you fully realize the extent of this rollercoaster ride of emotions, and how quickly you need to problem solve on the spot to just keep the engine moving forward. Until you’re a founder.
Kara Goldin 18:54
No, and there’s like, it’s like a club, once you become a founder. It doesn’t matter what industry because I always think about, you know, people just don’t really realize it. And there are the highs and the lows. And I think that the best thing you can do is to have options, right? And know that the puzzle is never finished. I talk a lot about you know, there’s this concept of You’re never done, right? You just keep adding on to it and keep growing it maybe you’re adding different categories, maybe you’re adding new ingredients and reformulating things, whatever it is, but everything is constantly growing. And you have to just you can’t stay complacent. You have to just keep moving. And this really applies to whether you’re launching a water company or you’re launching a beverage or a sunscreen or a tech startup. I mean, it’s the exact same message.
Monique Meneses 19:50
The other and I think one of our advantages to being I don’t know if I mentioned that we’re bootstrapped. I did say that we are a team of two. One advantage that we have I’ve which I wouldn’t have anticipated not having done this, my husband is that because of the nature of being Bootstrap, we’re able to quickly we have the flexibility to quickly iterate, and we’re not and not being held to a financial forecast, I think, in this time and place for us, is is a benefit. And, you know, that means if we need to delay launch, we need to change a formulation. You know, when my husband, when we first started this, we would spend countless nights, even before we launched, talking about how there was no point in doing this. Unless we were going to be different, and we were going to be better. And we had something to add to the conversation. And I think being bootstrapped, really allows you to do that, and change and really understand your customer. Right? Because in my mind, at the beginning, I have an idea who the target customer is he has an idea who the customer is. But until you launch, you don’t know when they could, it could be completely different. Or it could be the same or it could be a hybrid of both. But you’re just getting that minimum viable product out there. And then pivoting, I think is is it’s been such a game changer. I think for us, especially in these early days.
Kara Goldin 21:28
How difficult was it for you to find manufacturing, just given the fact that you’re not just launching a new product, but also launching an entirely new category, which, for those of you who have not thought about this? I certainly did when I saw this product, because that was the situation for hint. We were doing things differently. So the traditional manufacturing was not that we wanted to do a product that didn’t have preservatives in it, no one was doing that with real fruit on the still water line. So it was totally different. And we heard a lot of nose, we found a couple of people who were willing to try some things. But when you’re different when you’re the only one that is walking in the door that wants to put anything different or any way of doing things a little bit differently. You know, it’s so much easier to say no than it is to say yes. And so I’m so curious if you felt like that was kind of in your way as well.
Monique Meneses 22:32
I think that it was tough. You know, I what you’re what you’re telling me about your story. Going up and finding so many manufacturers having conversations with them. Getting a lot of noes is exactly what we experienced. Again, husband and wife team, I really we had a running list of manufacturers, you know, some were small batch that were mid size that were the bigger guys. And when I tell you we contacted like hundreds and would go through and it was very projecting to get a lot of nose. And at some point, you’re like, is this idea even worth pursuing? Can this even come to existence? Like, how are we going to do this? But thinking back on that now and that feeling? I’m like, alright, well, that’s just a microcosm of what I was going to be experienced today over the next 10 months. So that’s my thing. And, you know, it’s just not real belief in the idea. And I think finding a partner that is able to see your vision, while they currently may not have anything like your line, I treat it as a job interview. It’s my husband, I said, right, we are interviewing for a job with these manufacturers just in the same way that they are with us. And this is a partnership that one of the key family members in the Iota family right this is someone you have like such a strong belief you’re going to be talking day to day with it’s going to bring this product to life. So my advice, I would say is a find a partner that can see are efficient, right? Even if they don’t currently have the kick that not they have the capabilities but they don’t have a brand like yours. Yeah, vendor portfolio. And then to you gotta feel really good with them when what I mean about what I mean when I say that is you just have that gut feeling. I think that so much of this is personal connection, and they kind of have to fit but we’ll be able to wear both hats where it’s, you connect with them on a personal level, you’re going to go through some hard times together, but you know that you have a partner in helping you problem solve throughout the way and they see the vision and they’re along for the ride.
Kara Goldin 24:55
I’m so curious when when we launched and I think people are A little more accepting of it now. But when we launched, I launched hint with my husband. And I remember people initially saying, like, oh, husband and wife teams never work. And one time we had an investor that we were talking to early on. And he claimed that he would invest only if we weren’t married. And, you know, I don’t know what the option was, at that point, we had four kids under the age of five. So it wasn’t like, I mean, it was crazy. And I remember my husband saying to him, so totally understand you’re not going to invest. But can you just name an example of a husband and wife team that haven’t worked? And he’s, and he said, I can’t really think of one right now. But I’m sure there’s a bunch out there. Wait, why? And so I always tell there’s like multiple lessons in that story. But first of all, the the main lesson that I took away is people will make stuff up, they’ll grab on to something, and they’ll make stuff up. That’s probably the reason not the reason why he wasn’t investing in the brand. Right? It was just the easiest thing that he could come up with. He had never invested in another beverage company. That was probably the reason it probably had nothing to do with us being married to each other. But he was just sharing that with us, which I remember thinking, you know, this, I never thought, Oh, I’m gonna go get divorce, therefore, you know, I can go get this funding. But I mean, it’s just bizarre, the stuff that people will come up with, have you ever had people comment about that, like, as a co founder, like, oh, you know, really, you’re doing this with your husband, it doesn’t work for everybody. But it definitely works for some.
Monique Meneses 26:58
I love that you bring this up. Karen is something that I was I always talked about with my husband. And like, I wish we hear more stories about husband and wife teams and like tips and like how they make it work and where the challenges are. Because it’s something that a lot of people do. And we need to learn from each other. But yes, to your, to your point, exactly. We hear it all the time. I think our core fundraiser group thought we were crazy, we’re together, not because we have a bad relationship, but just because a, it was in the midst of COVID when we decided to do this, when already so many couples were spending time together that they may not have spent together before. And no one I think in our very close circle of friends or extended family for that matter, had been a husband and wife team starting a business together. Um, and I think there’s, there’s two parts to it, it’s hard, you know, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s, it’s hard i We both come from different backgrounds. And I think a lot of the first few months was really learning how best to communicate with each other, we have two totally different styles of working. And so we have to come together and be like, you know, this is going to, we’re going to make this work. We were on a timeline. Just like, you know, get get bogged down and stuff. You got to figure this out in a way to move forward on things. So while it’s challenging at the same time, you know, we’re both parenting I the first, the first few months of our launch, Cara we were averaging three hours of sleep at night. And so, you know, sometimes he was pulling all nighters which will which that at that point, we’re like, were disagreeing the Benjamin Button days of our career. We shouldn’t have done this decades ago. Why are we doing this? Now? We have like a kindergartener, you know, and and I’m waking up at six in the morning, prepare the lunch and then pack her backpack and like going to school drop off like she’s very, very tired. The previous night, but we made it work and things like still always get better as they do. But where I think people often don’t, their minds don’t go to when they think about husband, wife, couples, is that when it works, it really works. I mean, you already have that bond as partners and life’s. And this just you have, you have the other person’s back in more ways than one and that stability and solidity. It’s just an incomparable, you know,
Kara Goldin 29:47
you know, what I would say is, is probably the hardest. I was just talking to my husband about this the other day, as you start to build your company and build teams. They think they’re They meaning many employees or people that are in contact with you, they might share something with me. And then they assume that I’m just going to that they’re talking to him, too. And he has no idea. And so, yeah, I mean, I’m like, we have a lot going on. And so when I go home, it’s not that I don’t actually talk about work, or, but I might not talk about this, right. And so And same with him, like he’ll have full on conversations that are, many of them are very important, but they just don’t make the top 17 list, right. And so I always tell people, like, if you want to communicate with me, to communicate with me, if you want to communicate with do you have to communicate with it, Theo. Right, and sometimes it crosses, but sometimes it doesn’t it, right. And, and I think like, that’s a really important thing, just because you’re married and you work together, it doesn’t mean like, you know, it’s it’s one stop, like, that’s not, I mean, don’t rely on me, or don’t rely on you to communicate something to your husband, when you’re new in this, right, you’re 10 months into it, but it will happen, right along the way, where you’re just like, you know, wait, what happened? What, what did you want me to know, I have no idea. Right? And, and I think like, that’s a key thing, that I always tell people along the way that, you know, we’re, we might be married, we might sleep in the same bed live in the same house. But we actually don’t talk about all that it doesn’t mean that we don’t talk, it’s just that that just isn’t one of the things that we’re talking about. And I think that’s a really key thing for people to understand. It’s almost harder for other people to realize that. Right. And, and I think it’s different, like, if you have a co founder that is, is a friend, right? And for some reason, they don’t assume that you’re sharing that with them. But just because you’re married to somebody, it just, it’s so interesting. So yeah, preconceptions. Yeah, it’s this preconceptions of it. And, but I do think, you know, you’re, for whatever it’s worth, you’re new into this, and your, and your child is still young. I mean, mine are my last one is just going into college. And I mean, they’ve grown up in this business. And I would say that, you know, they’re now realizing that when they’ve sat in business classes, when they’ve sat in master’s programs, and you know, they’re the first ones to raise their hands, and they’re saying, you’re all wrong, like, that’s not really how it works. It’s like, here’s how it really works, we’ve grown up in this house, you have to walk in the back room at Target and pull this, you know, cases off the shelf and multiple SKUs and you have to really understand categories and have your, you know, all the information ready and anyway, it’s it’s fun watching how much they pick up on over the years to and I think that, you know, and again, recognizing that their parents are both doing something together, I think is also pretty awesome. So
Monique Meneses 33:24
amazing. I mean, Genevieve, our daughter it, she loves being part and like inserting herself into any part of the process she can when we were formulating with the clean sense we use for our body wash, she was part of the smell test Committee. She was like I like this I look at it excites her and I I love that we can show her this side of us that she hasn’t seen before is entrepreneurs and creating something and inspiring her to basically, you know, kind of go after what her passions and what she wants to do in life.
Kara Goldin 33:59
Yeah, definitely. Well, it’ll be fun to see what she picks up on and all of the having both parents really dedicating you know, a chunk of their time to making something work. And I will also say to that having a spouse be able to, there are days when you unexpected things will come up with her that you’ve got to, you know, focus on her. And I think having somebody who really understands everything that you have going on, is it really does allow some balance in your life, even though I hate that word. Because when you’re an entrepreneur and you’re really trying to make a lot work, you know, having somebody who really understands your family dynamics and sort of what’s going on and what’s really important is really, really nice, and we found even for traveling, you know, one of us would always be around you know, and it wasn’t Oh, I travel more than she does, or he does, which I know goes on a lot when you have two co founders who are, you know, two people from business school that decide that they they’re gonna go run a business and one person to start a family, the other person hasn’t started a family and it just ends up having their own dynamics there. So anyway, my my two cents on on that too sorry, getting, getting off track a little bit, but always important on on the podcast to really have some of these different conversations that I think are really, really important for people to hear more and more about. So. So last question, best advice that you’ve ever received, whether it’s, you know, from before you were even getting started in your career, or as you started to build a company with physical products, which is totally crazy in and of itself. But what is kind of the the best advice that you received along the way
Monique Meneses 36:06
they think it’s to listen to your customers, right? It’s to delight them in everything that you do should, of course centered around your mission, but also delight, and really cater to their needs. And this is something that we’ve taken to heart, I spend time during the day answering phone calls, speaking to our customers, not only the over the phone, but also over email, on DM, wherever they are, I’m there to answer their questions and have actual conversations about what they’re loving about our product. You know, if there’s any constructive feedback that we can use to then either innovate or sort of look at our current product portfolio and see if there are ways that we can improve. There’s this one conversation that I had about a month ago with one of our customers still gives me chills. To this day, she was diagnosed with pretty severe accident when she was three years old, and has had this lifelong condition. And she was telling me that the one thing she looked forward to the least in her day that actually terrified her were shot was showering. Which to you and me, I mean, I don’t want to speak for you. This is something we just it’s like rinse and repeat. It’s something we do without thinking. But to have someone approached their day terrified of taking a shower or looking for that to the least, it just was kind of a shock to me. And she said thank you for creating your product. I’ve been using it for about a month now. And while of course I have to use over the counter medication because I have very serious eczema. Everything I was using was even stripping my skin that much further, right? You’re putting all this stuff and it wasn’t doing anything to restore balance and to nourish. And she’s like, I understand your messaging. I’m seeing the results. And it’s really sort of transformed my life in a way that I can’t even tell you and just things like that. You know, when days are hard and days are tough. And I find myself questioning whether I should even go on. This is what keeps us going. I love these stories.
Kara Goldin 38:28
No, I love it. I think just servicing the consumer and really having a desire to do the right thing and help people all of those things that clearly see an Iota. So, so lovely to meet you, Monique. So, so great. So the company, again is Iota we’ll have all the info in the show notes and buy it online now, but they will be in stores very, very soon. That some of the bigger ones I’m sure. But definitely go online to Iota and we’ll have all of the information in the show notes. And thank you again, Monique for coming on and sharing your wisdom. Really, really lovely to meet you.
Monique Meneses 39:13
Thank you so much, Kara. I appreciate it.
Kara Goldin 39:16
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my book undaunted, which I share my journey, including founding and building hint. We are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And thanks everyone for listening. Have a great rest of the week. And 2023 And goodbye For now, before we sign off, I want to talk to you about fear. People like to talk about fearless leaders. But achieving big goals isn’t about fearlessness. Successful leaders recognize their fears and decide to deal with them head on in order to move forward. This is where my new book undaunted comes in. This book is designed for anyone who wants to succeed in the face of fear, overcome doubts and live a little undaunted. Order your copy today at undaunted, the book.com and learn how to look your doubts and doubters in the eye and achieve your dreams. For a limited time. You’ll also receive a free case of hint water. Do you have a question for me or want to nominate an innovator to spotlight send me a tweet at Kara Goldin and let me know. And if you liked what you heard, please leave me a review on Apple podcasts. You can also follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at Kara Goldin. Thanks for listening
