1- What were the guiding principles behind La Bonne Brosse?
Pauline:
1- Commitment to sustainable beauty.
We were committed to producing durable objects that teach us to care for our hair differently and significantly reduce our daily consumption of cosmetics with questionable compositions and single-use plastic pollutants... Regular hair brushing is the epitome of "slow beauty" as it can halve the use of hair care products!
2- Artisanal quality.
Our partners, designers, and living heritage companies (EPV) guarantee us products for a lifetime that have a soul and a reduced environmental footprint without compromise.
3- Sincerity and friendship.
At La Bonne Brosse, the quality of relationships with our various partners and stakeholders is paramount. This ensures extreme transparency throughout the value chain.
2- Which female entrepreneurs boost and inspire you?
Pauline : After the journey of the past year, we have immense respect for anyone, man or woman, who decides to embark on an entrepreneurial project! Stepping out of one's comfort zone, solving problems day after day, continuing to believe in one's dream, it's super exhilarating but also a real test of endurance and humility. It's a bit like jumping out of a plane mid-flight and trying to figure out how not to crash on the descent!
Flore : Additionally, we are particularly drawn to female entrepreneurs in creative, educational, or tech fields and to all the collectives that support them, from investment funds that sign the SISTA charter, to banks that lend them the means to start their activities.
3- Have any of them given you advice?
Pauline : During this year, we discovered a real solidarity among female entrepreneurs. It's thanks to this spirit that we solved a lot of problems and found top-notch service providers. In general, we felt a great deal of kindness around our project. We also received a lot of generosity and sound advice. "Done is better than perfect" is one that we've prominently displayed in our office. It's normal, both of us come from structures where it can take 24 months for a project reaches its consumer. We wanted to move fast and quickly confront the reality of the market.
4- We imagine you've done some serious product and spa treatment benchmarking, what can you tell us about it?
Flore : Even before this adventure, we were both big fans of beauty products. I spend my life in perfumeries and department stores, I stop at every duty-free shop in the world (gotta love professional deformation). Pauline is more into pharmacies, clean, organic actives, and concept stores. Between the two of us, we've tested every possible hair care protocol... What we discovered? That a good diagnosis is crucial and must be associated with sacred and repeated rituals over time.
Pauline : I would add that beyond developing the best products, we've experienced the richest human adventure. Between us two, of course, but also with all the partners, friends, and entrepreneurs we've met in the last 12 months. Perhaps that's the real discovery; we felt surrounded by an incredible energy that carried us through both ups and downs. That's why, starting in January, we decided to open a portion of our capital to this collective of people around us, so they can participate in the adventure with us, without any other reward than to make the project shine with their human resources!
