Iris Smit, 24-yr old beauty lover, solved a personal dilemma and created a 10-million-dollar business launching into brick-and-mortar retail with Priceline.
esprit asked our Priceline go-to contact, Gabby Tully, for some stats that show exactly how well this product is tracking – “13,633 units of The Quick Flick sold since launch (26 weeks)” – that’ll do nicely!
Here, Iris shares journey: her highs, lows, struggles and triumphs and how to hold your nerve in business building.
How did you go from uni student to running your own business?
I created the first Quick Flick prototype in my final year studying Interior Architecture and soon realised I had more passion around running my own business than becoming an architect. I started small, from my dining table selling a few Quick Flicks a day. Via word of mouth, influencer endorsing and several PR pieces The Quick Flick steadily gained momentum and exposure. After an unsponsored review by beauty boss, Huda Kuttan (@hudabeauty, 37.5M followers) and appearing on Channel 10’s Shark Tank, business boomed. The rest, they would say, is history.
What was it like seeing the quick flick in Priceline stores for the first time?
It was a real pinch-me moment. My team and I agreed to all go in together to see it for the first time, so it was great to be able to celebrate the win together. I also used my photo on all our tray inserts in Priceline so it was pretty exciting to see my face in stores. As a brand we intentionally never used paid models in our content as we like to challenge beauty norms, suggesting that everyday people can be representations of beauty.
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What have been some of your proudest moments with the quick flick?
- Having The Quick Flick ranged in Priceline stores. We signed the official contract with Priceline on The Quick Flick’s 1st birthday, so it was a great birthday gift!
- The first time The Quick Flick was featured in print. It was in a Fitness First magazine under their Beauty Bag section.
- Launching our ‘A Wing for Every Eye Campaign’. We invited customers to be a part of our photoshoot instead of using casted models. Customers of all ages, ethnicities and eye types got involved. It was a really empowering day that was filled with self-acceptance for a lot of the women that got involved.
Can you describe some of your struggles and biggest learning curves?
After Shark Tank I went on to turn down Andrew Banks’ deal. I felt quite pressured to go ahead with the deal, especially after all the media attention and hype. I learnt a
lot about my capabilities and the direction I wanted to take my business once I’d decided to go ahead alone. I think I aged about five years dealing with all the stress of it at the time. It was definitely a hard decision turning down a $300,000 offer.
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What are your top 3 tips in business?
- Stay true to yourself, your vision and goal. Early on I found myself becoming too heavily influenced by others and what my competitors where doing. What will make your brand flourish and stand out from the crowd happen when you do things differently or challenge what others are saying within your market space.
- Persistency is key. You will only ever get out what you put in. I’ve sacrificed a lot for the success of my business – social life, relationships and above all sleep. You have to be dedicated to growing your business and be willing to put it before everything else. It will reward you in the long run.
- Your only limit is your mind. We often believe things aren’t possible or tasks are too hard because our mind constructs them that way. The first thing I do every morning is write a journal entry about what I want to achieve in my day and every 90 days I write out my business goals for that period. I find subconsciously I act on these tasks and get them done as I believe they are possible and have written them out as if they have already occurred. Try it yourself, I swear my journal has magical powers!