Jun 02, 2014 8 Questions With: Tyler Turner
Tyler Turner is a fellow graduate from the global incubator program, The Founder Institute. Currently serving as a business development consultant for Ergo Research, a leading manufacturer of premium styling tools for the beauty industry, and over six years of experience in the beauty industry in areas such as product distribution and salon marketing, he decided it was time to pursue his own ambitions.
In 2011 he co-founded and launched BeautyFox with an initial focus on providing salons and stylists with new clients through community based marketing. After a year of operation however they quickly realized their clients’ glaring need for legitimate marketing assets, and thus pivoted into a new model developing and deploying web technologies for the beauty industry. As of 2013, a new custom development platform was created, which included a roadmap to facilitate online stores for salon clients. With over 38 clients and a new product partner in Cabella, they are now seeking to further grow their business by partnering with larger networks of manufacturer controlled online stores.
Coming from the same incubator program and also attempting to navigate the startup waters myself, I can fully appreciate the level of effort that Tyler has put forth towards Beauty Fox, and am ecstatic to see how far he has come. Thanks for participating in our series and best of luck!
1. What are you currently working on?
Along with my incredibly talented co-founder Dan Fearing we are working on evolving the way salon exclusive hair products are distributed online by facilitating the direct to consumer sales by the manufacturer, which is supported by the professional industry. Our business model supports the manufacturers important relationship with the salon by still commissioning the salon for the sale. We have had tremendously positive feedback and are currently aligning ourselves with industry partners to bring the product to the market.
2. Where do you find inspiration?
Although it’s a far cry from the beauty industry, a lot of my inspiration is found in a lot of the work that is being done in the space industry, human sciences, and the general advancement of technology. I never miss a Space X launch or Singularity University press release.
3. What are you reading at the moment?
I am a big fan of reading, but have not had enough time to actually consume books with my eyeballs as of late. I am constantly listening to tech interviews, and books on tapes. Some of my recent interests have been the biographies of world leaders and thought leaders from the past, the science behind mental flow states, human psychology related to decision making, and anything space science related. I load up my youtube playlist and while I am driving or relaxing will play through and soak up as much knowledge as I can.
4. As a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?
I was lucky to have been raised in the Midwest, and for the majority of my childhood I was deeply convinced that I would grow up to be a professional baseball player! In hindsight, I am grateful that was not the path my life took, but I have a lot of really fond memories. In my teenage years I caught the entrepreneur bug and have never looked back.
5. How would you describe your job?
The job of a CEO of a non-funded startup is pretty clear… survive. Im only half serious, but in reality it’s a hell of a challenge. The well-known analogy of chewing glass while staring into the abyss always comes to mind when someone asks what I do. To be serious, I manage our limited resources towards the most likely sources of revenue, be that investment, new clients, partnerships, or a new product.
6. Whats your favorite post work destination?
Definitely the gym or a running trail, I love the trails that leads up to Griffith Observatory. Depending on my workload or mental state I will sometimes even do 2 workouts in a day.
7. What does your work day look like?
My days on average are about 10-12 hours…. And I don’t think many days have been that similar. It usually involves a good amount of time conversing with partners, potential partners, clients, potential clients, and my team. Primarily through email, sometimes by phone, and not nearly enough face to face.
8. Advice to teenage self?
Barring the obvious investment advice from the future, I would tell him to stop chasing girls and learn to code.
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