Susan Yara's Blueprint for Building Beauty Empires

An episode of the Female Founder World podcast titled "Susan Yara's Blueprint for Building Beauty Empires" was published on March 9, 2026 and runs 45 minutes.

March 9, 2026 ·45m · Female Founder World

Summary

Susan Yara, founder of Naturium and Playa, joins Jasmine on the show this week to talk about building a skincare empire, navigating controversy, and selling her brand for $355 million to e.l.f Cosmetics. Susan’s brand, Naturium, is a clinically effective, biocompatible skincare line that’s accessibly priced and designed to deliver real results. In this episode, Susan shares her journey from beauty influencer and content creator with over 2 million followers to co-founding one of Target’s fastest-growing skincare brands and ultimately leading it to a major acquisition. Susan dives into the scrappy early days of building Naturium, including how a chance LinkedIn message during the pandemic led to her partnership with Ben Bennett, the founder of The Center, and exactly what she looks for when partnering with influencers (it isn't a big follower count!). She also opens up about the challenges of being a female founder in the public eye, the lessons she learned from navigating a viral controversy, and how she stayed focused on building a profitable, acquisition-ready brand. Plus, Susan shares actionable advice for entrepreneurs, from leveraging community and content to identifying the right retail partners and building a team that thrives. She also gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to sell a brand, the importance of financial literacy, and how she’s using her success to create a life of freedom and wellness. LINKS:Become a Business Bestie subscriber: ⁠https://bestie.femalefounderworld.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Description