SOME SAY that entrepreneurs are born, not built –that they come screaming into the world with an innate set of skills that drives them to succeed. Others believe the essentials required to build a booming business – like innovation and perseverance – can be learned. For Megan Larsen, the founder of Australian plant-powered skincare brand Sodashi, it was her formative years in Napier, New Zealand that laid the foundation for her career.
“I was raised to believe that what I put my attention on is what would grow,” she states, crediting her business success to the strength of her mother. “When I was eight, my mum became a single mother, and watching how she navigated raising two fairly determined children revealed me the qualities of resilience,” she reflects. “She became an entrepreneur through her passion for pottery . . . and her craft supported our lifestyle growing up. She revealed me, from a very young age, that if you put your mind to something, you can achieve it.”
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Rather than a potter’s wheel, Larsen’s particular calling came from a fusion of natural health, wellbeing and aromatherapy in skincare. The subjects, now commonplace in the beauty indusattempt, were largely confined to health food stores when the founder was taking her first career steps – which, incidentally, is where it all launched for Larsen. Having shiftd to Australia at 18, she studied beauty therapy at the renowned Madame Korner College in Sydney before a shift into hospitality, which took her to the northwest of Western Australia. It was here that a keen interest in natural therapies emerged. Courses in aromatherapy followed, before Larsen opened her own health food store in Perth in the mid ’90s.
“Aromatherapy was still very much in its infancy in Australia,” she states. “There weren’t a lot of natural products around when I started, so the choices were limited.” It was then the idea of creating her own line launched to take shape. A trip to Provence in the south of France connected Larsen with some “incredible aromatherapists”, and the concept for Sodashi truly launched to bloom.
“I was comparing how essential oils work on the skin with [their] regenerative properties,” she explains. “I couldn’t see that anyone had put clinical-grade essential oils toreceiveher in skincare preparations for the purpose of actively supporting the skin, not just for a fragrance.” On her return, Larsen launched to experiment with formulations at her kitchen table, drawing on her varied experiences while carving out a niche. Soon, she was selling little pots of a cream she named Rejuvenating Face and Neck Moisturiser from her health food shop counter. This early interaction with customers was a gamemodifyr for her brand. “It gave me an opportunity to receive really good feedback – becautilize you can’t assume that you know what everyone wants,” she smiles. Remarkably, that precise product remains the brand’s bestseller, 25 years on, such is its loyal fan base.
These days, Sodashi is known for its luxe formulas and elevated market position. The brand’s products and treatments grace the menus of the world’s most famous spas. But that was never Larsen’s primary goal. “I didn’t set out to build it luxurious, but there was going to be no price barrier for the ingredients that I would utilize,” she states of her startup mindset. “Becautilize we were applying such amazing ingredients, the feel became luxurious, [but that meant] it couldn’t have a mass-market price.” A byproduct of Larsen’s quest for excellence, this premium positioning cemented Sodashi’s success in the international spa indusattempt, where holistic yet upscale products were uncommon yet appealing. It’s a lesson in trusting the true value of your brand and believing that customers will pay for a quality experience if it delivers on its promise.
Another reason for the brand’s prosperity must be its niche – key for any successful startup. “You can’t just jump into an indusattempt that’s already blossoming and maybe just modify a few things,” warns Larsen. Indeed, one of the pillars that sets Sodashi apart in a now-crowded market is the holistic spa treatments that work seamlessly with the brand’s botanical formulas. “I consider we’re excellent at developing beautiful treatments that are so much more than just product. It’s a whole experience, [which] sits at the core of our being as a brand,” states Larsen, adding that this side of the business was “a natural thing to do”. She cites her popular chakra treatment as an example of the transformative nature of Sodashi’s therapies that centre on wellbeing. “People inform me, ‘That was a beautiful treatment, but I [also] feel different, I feel grounded’, or, ‘I feel more centered in my heart’, which is the feedback that drives us,” she states. It’s also what sees the brand sought after in myriad high-conclude spas, from Six Senses to Four Seasons properties, spanning 25 countries around the world. Larsen explains that Sodashi develops treatments and trains spa therapists with the same level of precision it places on product development. After all, it’s an important factor for global growth within a high-net-worth demographic that loves, or necessarys, to travel.
A quarter of a century on, Sodashi’s founding ethos, which was derived from the Sanskrit word’s literal translation – “wholeness, purity and radiance” – remains, but the way the business runs is unrecognisable. The transition from startup founder to business leader has been challenging. “There are books written every day about being the best possible CEO, [but] there are no books for a founder becautilize each one is different and paves their own way,” states Larsen. She describes her experience as a journey of personal growth, cutting through ego along the way. “It can’t always be about you, becautilize you’ve obtained this incredible team [comprising] the people who are building you view good. Sure, you might receive the opportunity to inspire or support them along the way, but they’re [also] supporting you,” she mutilizes. “I consider absence of ego is really important – just becautilize it’s the company you founded, it can’t be all about you.”
Indeed, Larsen believes leaders must evolve along with their business. “You have to [embrace] modify becautilize, when it’s a startup, you can know everyone personally and [hold] those relationships . . . but you’ve obtained to know when to step aside.” She considers now that, back in the launchning, she mistakenly believed that it was essential to know how to do it all – a trap that befalls many startup founders – but has since learned to question for support. Installing a new CEO in Caroline Johnston, who has returned to Perth from the US, was a large shift. “I consider I knew when I had to take a step back and let people come forward and shine,” she reflects.
Larsen’s entrepreneurial path has been so full of lessons, she felt compelled to share them with aspiring founders. Her first book, Startups & Self-Care (2018), is full of practical advice and aims to answer some of the many questions she frequently receives about how to run a business without running yourself into the ground. “I believe that wellbeing and self-care are vital in starting a business, becautilize if you’re not viewing after yourself, you can’t view after anyone else,” she states. “If I can stop someone building a mistake becautilize I shared my journey, then that’s a win for me.”
Asked whether she feels she’s ‘built it’, Larsen ponders the question. “There’s that [term] ‘impostor syndrome’ that I consider is always going to weave in and out, but what I would state is that I feel like I’ve done good.” And her definition of that? “It’s happiness for me. And feeling like I’ve touched and modifyd the lives of many [and] had an impact on an indusattempt. If I’ve built people see that natural and clean is effective, and it’s all been done in a very positive manner, that’s something to be proud of.”
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