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Creating a New Concept
N
icci Levy knew that women
are willing to pay to look their
best. She was a Botox sales rep
in Beverly Hills, after all—and
business was booming. But then
she spotted a bigger opportunity.
“People were spending thousands
of dollars on these injections, but the
experience was like going to the doctor to
get a flu shot,” she says. Levy envisioned
a business that would do for Botox what
Drybar did for blowouts, creating an
experience that customers crave as much
as the service they’re paying for. But...
how could she build it? It would take her
years—but in 2016, she finally opened the
doors to what she calls her “aesthetics bar,”
named Alchemy 43, in Beverly Hills. With
investor backing, she’s since opened three
more Los Angeles locations and one in
New York. Here’s how.Nicci Levy had a great idea: Create a luxury day spa focused on medical micro treatments like Botox.
But how do you actually build something like that? by STEPHANIE SCHOMERMy First Moves
1 / Get the right experience.
Levy wanted to create a luxe, skin-
care-focused medical spa, but
she wasn’t confident in her level
of expertise. “I didn’t have enough
tenure in the medical industry,” she
says. So to understand the market-
place she was entering, she took
gigs with two separate startups in
the medical space, learning about
regulatory challenges, customer
relationships, and common pitfalls.2 / Find a like-minded investor.
She was attempting to break into a
capital-intensive industry but didn’t
have the money...or any contacts
with investors. Then she attended
an event for female entrepreneurs inSanta Monica and was inspired by a
speech given by Toni Ko, the founder
of Nyx Cosmetics, which had sold
to L’Oréal for $500 million. “After the
event, I sent her a note with a local
news article about what I was trying
to build, and just asked her to meet,”
says Levy. The pair met for breakfast,
which eventually led to Levy securing
a six-figure investment.3 / Target your location.
Levy knew where her target customer
was—in a particular part of Beverly
Hills where women go for workout
classes and manicures. But there
were no available storefronts. So she
started walking into businesses and
asking the owners if they wantedto move out. “The owner of a hair
salon was getting ready to close
up shop, so I took over his lease,”
she says. The sublet was doubly
valuable—instead of locking into a
10-year commitment, she just took
over the lease’s remaining two and
a half years.4 / Prove the concept.
“We had just opened our doors and
were all of a sudden running low oncapital.” With little advertising bud-
get, she had to rely on grassroots
marketing to build her business for
nearly a year, until she had proof
that people wanted her service and
could raise more funds. “It was a
tumultuous time, but the predic-
tions we made came true,” she
says. Then she showed the results
to more investors and raised a
$2.5 million investment round led
by Forerunner Ventures.FOR MORE HOW-TO STORIES OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS,
VISIT ENTREPRENEUR.COM/WOMENSeptember 2019 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / 19