Disrupt or Die with Mrs Rodial
How Maria Hatzistefanis Turned a Bold Idea into a Multi-Million Beauty Empire
July 9th, 2024 • 2 min read
At the Innovation Show NYC 2024, Maria Hatzistefanis, a renowned entrepreneur, bestselling author, and founder of The Rodial Group, shared her invaluable insights on disruptive innovation:
"For me, disruption in innovation is three things:
The first thing is creating a product that your customer actually wants.
Number two is doing it in a way that is better than the other brands.
And number three, it's creating a product that sparks those conversations at the water cooler point that make a product go viral.
I'm going to give you an example. So it was year five, we were just about trying to launch our first anti-aging serum. I received a box from the lab with a little bottle, and I tried it. The anti-aging serum felt amazing. We wanted to create a product that was an alternative to Botox, so it felt great.
I look on the packaging, and the designers put a white bottle with the words "anti-aging serum," and I look at it and say to my team, "How are we going to launch an anti-aging serum in a world of companies with big advertising budgets? We're not going to go anywhere."
So, I take a look at the ingredients, and one of the ingredients related to Viper Venom. So, I say to my team, "Why don't we call it Snake Serum?" and they thought, "Oh my God, you're going to take us out of business, this is crazy."
But we went with it. We had nothing to lose, and so we created a black bottle. We took it to a photoshoot, we took snakes and created a press release.
We sent all over the world, and suddenly, this one product, our Snake Serum by Rodial, it became viral. We started going from a few dozens of orders to going to thousands.
And for me, taking that risk at a point that we had zero advertising budget, for me, that was the disruption because we solved the problem.
The customer wanted an alternative to Botox in a bottle. We did it better than others, and we created a name that sparked those water cooler conversations...
We were so small, we were privately owned, no external funding, so unless I took that risk, I don't think that the business would have grown the way it has."
By identifying a unique selling proposition and daring to stand out, she turned a potential failure into a viral success, significantly boosting Rodial’s growth.
This approach is a powerful reminder that to be a successful entrepreneur often requires bold action. Don't be afraid to try something unconventional to make your brand stand out.
As Maria continues to expand her portfolio and invest in startups, her journey and principles serve as an inspiration for all aspiring entrepreneurs. Her emphasis on bold, customer-focused innovation is a key takeaway for those looking to make their mark in any industry.