014. The Wharton Grad Who Rage Quit Wall Street to Build the Beauty Brand the Festival Generation Actually Needs

Send me a text 💌Jenny Qian spent three years on Wall Street, rage quit, landed at two of indie beauty's most talked-about startups, and then built a viral TikTok brand out of a personal problem — she just never learned how to do makeup. In this episode, Susannah Dellinger sits down with Jenny, founder of Astrobabe, to talk about skill-level inclusivity, joy as resistance, and why the beauty industry's next frontier isn't skin tone — it's accessibility.In this episode:Why Jenny rage quit Wall Street — and what three years in finance actually gave her as a founderWhat it was like to be one of the first employees at Versed and Merit — and what building from the ground up at both taught her before business schoolThe gap nobody in beauty was talking about: inclusivity of skill level, not just skin toneHow Astrobabe was born out of a personal problem — and why millions of other people had the same oneWhy joy is an act of resistance — and how that shapes every product, every campaign, and every handwritten note Jenny sends with ordersThe TikTok formula Astrobabe cracked: posting twice daily, finding the hook, and why the peel-off moment changes everythingHow a festival collaboration led to a Buffalo Bills partnership — and why live events and female fandom are Astrobabe's next frontierWhat Simone de Beauvoir has to do with clean beauty marketing — and why being the subject of your own life is the most feminist thing you can doWhy female-founded companies outperform — and why they're still only getting 1.3% of venture funding00:29 Meet Jenny Qian — Wharton Grad, Wall Street Refugee, Beauty Founder01:55 Why Beauty Was Never the Plan — Until It Was03:04 What She Learned Being One of the First at Versed and Merit04:36 The Rage Quit Heard Round Wall Street06:21 The Inclusivity Gap Nobody in Beauty Was Talking About08:53 Astrobabe as a Love Letter to Her Inner Child12:17 From Festival Stages to Buffalo Bills Tailgates16:21 What It Means to Be an API Founder in the Beauty Industry18:12 Why Astrobabe Isn't in Major Retail Yet — and the Strategy Behind That19:53 The TikTok Formula That Cracked Virality22:06 Why She Wrote a Handwritten Note With Every Single Order24:07 Can Beauty Be a Tool for Feminism? Jenny and Susannah Go There.28:32 Where to Find Astrobabe — and How to SupportConnect with Jenny Qian: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennyyy_bean__ Astrobabe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey_astrobabe Website: https://heyastrobabe.comOff the Shelf is a podcast about the people, brands, and behind-the-scenes forces shaping the beauty industry — money, relationships, risk, and what it really takes to scale.CONNECT WITH SUSANNAHInstagram: @brightbeautyconnectLinkedIn: linkedin.com/susannah-dellinger