She Lost Her Company & Fought Back: A Reinvention Masterclass

This conversation with Gregg Renfrew dives deep into her journey as a pioneering female entrepreneur in the clean beauty industry. Gregg recounts building Beauty Counter, selling it at a billion-dollar valuation, and the tumultuous aftermath that led to losing control of her company. She shares candid insights on leadership, navigating corporate buyouts, rebuilding trust, business models centered on community, and legislative advocacy for safer cosmetics. Gregg also reflects on the challenges of being a woman in business, lessons learned from failure, and how she is reinventing her mission with her new brand, Counter.

Founding Beauty Counter and the Clean Beauty Movement

Gregg started Beauty Counter to challenge industry norms that prioritized toxic chemicals and deceived consumers under vague "beauty secrets." She positioned herself as a pioneer of chemical-free cosmetics and clean beauty, aiming to set a new standard for what "clean" truly means. The company grew through a purpose-driven model built on community, predominantly women who served as brand representatives and educators. This community-based commerce fueled their success in an unregulated market where "clean" was often meaningless or misused by competitors.

Selling the Company and the Fallout

Around 2019, Gregg was approached by large conglomerates to buy Beauty Counter but initially declined because she wasn't ready to give up control. However, investor interest increased, and in 2021, Gregg sold a controlling stake to a private equity firm, Carlie, at a strong valuation exceeding $1 billion. The plan was for her to stay on as CEO and continue growing the brand toward eventually going public. But after the pandemic, consumer behavior shifted drastically with spending moving away from skincare toward fashion and travel, causing sales to slump.

Soon, a new CEO was brought in from traditional beauty industries. Gregg describes this change as a critical misstep; the new leadership did not respect or collaborate with her and disconnected from the core community of women who had built the business. Strategic decisions like a rushed commission restructure and a large rollout at Ulta undermined the value proposition for the brand partners who represented Beauty Counter's grassroots engine. This accelerated loss of trust and breakdown in the business ultimately led to its decline.

The Human Cost of Corporate Overhaul

Gregg highlights the arrogance and lack of institutional knowledge from Wall Street investors and new leadership who tried to apply old-school corporate playbooks to a disruptive, community-driven brand. They undervalued the social and emotional relationships between the company and its women representatives, leading to tensions, dissatisfaction, and mass attrition. The broken commission model disproportionately rewarded inactive leaders and demotivated many active sellers. At the same time, business partners and vendors were left in difficult financial positions during the company's decline, creating a ripple effect throughout the ecosystem.

Reclaiming the Company from Foreclosure

Facing breach of debt covenants and looming foreclosure, Gregg was unexpectedly offered the opportunity by Bank of America and other creditors to buy back the company for a modest sum. Despite having made a large amount of money from the sale, she chose to repurchase it out of loyalty to the mission, the community, and her family's legacy. This decision came with huge personal and financial risk, forcing Gregg to lay off most employees due to lack of capital, which generated public backlash and emotional pain.

However, Gregg viewed shutting down the company as essential for allowing it to "die" and potentially be reborn healthier. Drawing from personal experiences and advice, she embraced transparency and vulnerability throughout the process, sharing openly about the difficulties and anxieties she faced. She slowed down, sought reflection, prioritized wellness, and cultivated support from friends, family, and trusted partners during this tumultuous transition.

Reimagining Beauty Counter as Counter

Gregg explains that the original name Beauty Counter was limiting and never fully resonated with her vision. For the relaunch, the company was renamed Counter to signal a clean-slate approach and a stronger commitment to authentic clean beauty standards. This new venture focuses on setting a credible, science-backed standard for "clean" as the industry has become flooded with inconsistent and self-serving retailer definitions that confuse consumers.

She envisions a business model that prioritizes community and personalized experiences, allowing women to engage as individual brand partners without building teams or traditional MLM hierarchy. This shift democratizes income and better aligns with the modern consumer and seller's motivations, which are largely mission-driven rather than solely financial. Gregg acknowledges that Counter is a startup again and concedes that gaining back trust and proving impact will require time and sustained authenticity.

The Legislative and Regulatory Landscape

The conversation underscores Gregg's ongoing commitment to advocacy in the cosmetics and personal care industry. She helped pass the first major update to federal cosmetics law in decades (the Modernization of Cosmetics Act), which enabled the FDA to recall harmful products. However, major regulatory gaps remain, particularly with the "fragrance loophole" that allows companies to hide toxic chemicals under proprietary fragrance labels exempt from disclosure.

Although bipartisan support for stronger cosmetic reform persists, political gridlock and waning cooperation in Washington hamper progress. Gregg is therefore pursuing a dual strategy of legislative advocacy and industry coalition-building to create enforceable, transparent clean beauty standards supported by brands and trusted by consumers beyond government action alone.

Educating and Empowering the Consumer

Gregg stresses the critical role of consumer education in an industry rife with misleading marketing and complex ingredient chemistry. She challenges the misleading "beauty secrets" trope that promises miraculous anti-aging results, stressing that wrinkles are natural and no product erases them. Transparency about harmful chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, oxybenzone, and EDTA is paramount.

She advises consumers to "shop fragrance-free" as an easy way to avoid many toxic ingredients hidden by trade secrets. Gregg also encourages relying on reputable databases like the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep resource to research products. She highlights the flawed assumption many consumers have that products are rigorously tested and FDA-approved, when in reality federal oversight is limited and safety testing incomplete.

Lessons from Leadership and Female Entrepreneurship

Reflecting on leadership, Gregg admits that her initial emotional reactions following loss of control hindered her effectiveness. Over time, she has learned to lead with increased emotional detachment, transparency, and gratitude, recognizing the value of listening while standing firm on her convictions. She rejects superficial "founder archetypes," claiming her hard-won CEO credentials and focusing on executing with humility and rationality.

For female entrepreneurs, Gregg acknowledges the unique challenges of being underestimated, dismissed, or patronized within male-dominated spaces. She advises women to lean into this bias as an unexpected advantage, maintaining confidence in their instincts and resisting external pressures to conform. She stresses the importance of gut-led decision making and cautions against allowing others—especially powerful investors—to override founder vision without careful scrutiny.

Navigating Investor Relations and Exit Strategies

Gregg offers sobering insights on fundraising and selling companies. Many founders assume they will remain in control after a majority sale or investment, but in reality, new investors often seek operational control to protect their interests. She urges entrepreneurs to conduct thorough due diligence on investors, understand all terms and power dynamics, and carefully evaluate tradeoffs between valuation and autonomy.

Profitability and long-term sustainability should be prioritized over rapid growth or lofty valuations tied to risky expectations. Gregg criticizes the "growth at all costs" culture pervasive in venture-backed businesses, emphasizing that smaller, profitable companies possess greater optionality and resilience. She reminds entrepreneurs that closing a deal doesn't change who they are and that success requires ongoing operational rigor long after exit events.

Balancing Personal Life and Wellbeing

Throughout this complex journey, Gregg shares her evolving approach to balance, health, and self-care. She now treats regular exercise, sleep, nutrition, and mental wellness as non-negotiables, having experienced the toll of neglecting them in earlier phases. While admitting to ongoing intensity and challenges, she prioritizes carving out time for family, travel, and friendships.

She acknowledges that entrepreneurship, especially rebuilding after setbacks, is relentless and consumes vast time and energy. Recognizing the importance of support systems, Gregg credits her spouse, children, and close friends for grounding her. She advocates being transparent about struggles rather than pretending to have all the answers, allowing space for reflection and continual growth.

Innovations in Business Model and Use of Technology

Counter's business model diverges from traditional MLM structures by eliminating team recruitment and focusing on individual sales within a supportive, informed community. Gregg sees opportunity in affiliate marketing frameworks paired with genuine social connection, enabling more authentic, mission-driven engagement.

She also recognizes the challenges and opportunities posed by new technologies including AI and e-commerce dynamics but admits she is still learning how to integrate them while maintaining sustainability and ethical standards. This adaptive mindset is part of the startup mentality she embraces as she rebuilds.

Facing Public Scrutiny and Rebuilding Trust

Gregg confronts the realities of public fallout from Beauty Counter's collapse and her return. She has received harsh criticism and personal attacks online, particularly from former brand representatives impacted by the company's shutdown. Through candid communication and acts of accountability, she aims to rebuild trust gradually.

She emphasizes that regaining credibility is a slow process requiring consistent delivery on promises and transparent storytelling. Gregg accepts that some people will never reconcile or forgive but sees value in owning the whole truth about the journey and continuing to engage authentically.

Inspiration and Leadership Role Models

Gregg cites influential leaders who have shaped her outlook, including Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard for mission-driven business resilience, Bob Iger for operational expertise and strategic clarity, and cultural marketers like the Kardashians for mastering modern brand-building via social media. She admires Spanx founder Sara Blakely's humility and community focus and credits her children for providing fresh perspectives on culture, technology, and social values.

She recognizes that leadership is dynamic and requires combining lessons from diverse sources while cultivating personal authenticity and emotional intelligence.

The Future of Counter and Clean Beauty Advocacy

Looking forward, Gregg is intent on building a business that lasts decades rather than chasing immediate exits or hype. She is committed to leading an authentic, profitable brand that truly advances health, sustainability, and women's empowerment. Regulatory reform remains a focus alongside industry collaboration to raise standards for ingredient safety and supply chain transparency.

Gregg openly admits that success is not guaranteed but conveys optimism fueled by passion, humility, and a renewed sense of purpose. Her vision centers on community, transparency, and uncompromising integrity as the foundations for counter's next chapter.