Kourtney Leigh: Redefining the Culture of the Beauty Industry

Key takeaways

• Comfort will never get you to the place you want to be, or the woman you want to become — Kourtney's daily mantra for measuring growth by how much she's being challenged.
• A curious nature is a gift worth following. Kourtney's simple observation — that the body category had only three shades of tan while face products had 40-plus — became the seed of an entire business.
• You don't have to feel fully equipped to start. A mentor told her the only way to learn to build a business is by doing it, and that unlocked her self-belief.
• Nos are not the end of the road. So many rejections led her to the right yeses and the right investors — the ones who believe in you, not just your idea.
• When raising money, you're choosing your investors too. Look for people who love you more than they love their money and who'll roll up their sleeves at 11 p.m. when things get hard.
• Protect your time and flexibility early on. Kourtney worked oddball jobs instead of taking a corporate role so she could keep building Tinge — avoiding the 'golden handcuffs.'
• Words shape how we see ourselves. Tinge intentionally avoids 'perfection,' 'imperfection,' and 'flawless' — treating body beauty as both a mental and physical matter.
• Surround yourself with like-minded, ambitious people. Community and connection are what keep you in the game through the high highs and low lows.