Tom Branna, Editorial Director05.13.16
You’ve got New York City on the East Coast and Los Angeles on the West Coast, but cosmetics are a lot more than NY v. LA. There is a great big world of beauty out there and the founders of the Bay Area Beauty Association (BABA) are determined to connect innovators in their area so that they may share ideas, inspire one another, support the community and encourage deeper business relationships.
BABA is the brainchild of Sinead Norenius, a longtime beauty executive who’s built a career by building startups that range from finished products to online marketing firms. She’s served as VP-business development, Women’s Marketing, Inc.; co-founded the iFabbo blogger network and created Beautisol, a luxury sunless tanning brand. All of them are West Coast-based, where innovation is everywhere but communication can be infrequent. Too often, maintains Norenius, the area is ignored by national associations who dominate the beauty space.
“I don’t want to fly to New York City or Los Angeles for networking events,” she explained. “We have great brands in this area that are supported by contract manufacturers and tech companies. We need to service this community, bring them together and allow them to network and support one another.”
To find the support she needed to get the Association going, Norenius teamed up with friends and fellow beauty industry executives including Jill Dunk, a founding partner at Mama Mio; Ronie Schmelz, an attorney at Tucker Ellis; and Jeannie Jarnot, founder and CEO, Beauty-Heroes.com and Spa Heroes.
Together, the BABA board members are determined to create a robust membership community in the Bay Area through educational workshops, networking events and more.
BABA’s first event, held in February 2016, attracted 50 attendees ranging from the CEOs of multimillion-dollar brands and investment bank partners to marketing managers and sales reps. It’s a wide range of talent to be sure, but Norenius says the goal is to support all levels of the industry and encourage everyone to join and expand their network in the Bay Area. An event slated for later this month is expected to draw 75-100 attendees.
At the initial event, attendees came from companies such as Bare Escentuals, Perricone MD, Rodan + Fields, P&G, Juice Beauty, Yes to and many more.
BABA expects to initially offer four events a year.
Getting the association up and growing is the current obsession of Norenius, a serial entrepreneur.
“This project is about giving back to the beauty community that has been so good to me,” asserted Norenius. “I am passionate about education and connections. That’s what I want, a sense of community for the Bay Area.”
BABA is the brainchild of Sinead Norenius, a longtime beauty executive who’s built a career by building startups that range from finished products to online marketing firms. She’s served as VP-business development, Women’s Marketing, Inc.; co-founded the iFabbo blogger network and created Beautisol, a luxury sunless tanning brand. All of them are West Coast-based, where innovation is everywhere but communication can be infrequent. Too often, maintains Norenius, the area is ignored by national associations who dominate the beauty space.
“I don’t want to fly to New York City or Los Angeles for networking events,” she explained. “We have great brands in this area that are supported by contract manufacturers and tech companies. We need to service this community, bring them together and allow them to network and support one another.”
To find the support she needed to get the Association going, Norenius teamed up with friends and fellow beauty industry executives including Jill Dunk, a founding partner at Mama Mio; Ronie Schmelz, an attorney at Tucker Ellis; and Jeannie Jarnot, founder and CEO, Beauty-Heroes.com and Spa Heroes.
Together, the BABA board members are determined to create a robust membership community in the Bay Area through educational workshops, networking events and more.
BABA’s first event, held in February 2016, attracted 50 attendees ranging from the CEOs of multimillion-dollar brands and investment bank partners to marketing managers and sales reps. It’s a wide range of talent to be sure, but Norenius says the goal is to support all levels of the industry and encourage everyone to join and expand their network in the Bay Area. An event slated for later this month is expected to draw 75-100 attendees.
At the initial event, attendees came from companies such as Bare Escentuals, Perricone MD, Rodan + Fields, P&G, Juice Beauty, Yes to and many more.
BABA expects to initially offer four events a year.
Getting the association up and growing is the current obsession of Norenius, a serial entrepreneur.
“This project is about giving back to the beauty community that has been so good to me,” asserted Norenius. “I am passionate about education and connections. That’s what I want, a sense of community for the Bay Area.”