Briana Williams has shuttered her beauty products startup LipLoveLine nearly five years after launching the business. (Courtesy LipLoveLine)
A local beauty products brand has ceased operations, with its founder citing a challenging economic landscape and financial struggles among factors that led to the decision.
LipLoveLine closed down this month, ending a nearly five year run for the startup. CEO Briana Williams said she was proud of its accomplishments, particularly given it launched early in the pandemic.
“LipLoveLine was a dream realized,” she said in an email to BizSense this week. “As business leaders, there comes a time when we must make tough decisions based on both professional and personal factors. I’m at peace knowing I made the best decision for myself and the business at this time.”
The company, which sold products such as lip gloss and lipstick, witnessed inflation’s effect on customer spending, rising production costs and difficulty raising brand awareness. Other reasons for its closing, Williams said, included challenges in securing investor capital and scaling the company, despite LipLoveLine participating in a handful of startup accelerator programs.
As consumers backed away from discretionary purchases amid recent inflation and economic uncertainty, it hurt the brand’s sales, Williams said.
“Everyday people are facing tough spending decisions, often cutting back on nonessential items, including beauty products. This shift has made it increasingly difficult for small businesses, especially small indie beauty brands like mine, to maintain steady sales and have capital for growth,” she said in an email.
Williams said LipLoveLine couldn’t invest sufficiently in marketing, which posed a hurdle to efforts to scale the brand. Instead the company had to rely on a strategy focused on organic reach and partnerships with other brands. But that those avenues weren’t enough to raise awareness of LipLoveLine in a competitive industry.
“It became harder to reach potential audiences effectively,” she said.
LipLoveLine was founded in the spring of 2020, and began selling products through its website the following year. It was inspired by Williams’ struggles with body image and self-esteem while growing up.
The company had its office at Startup Virginia, a business incubator in Capital One’s Michael Wassmer Innovation Center. It didn’t have any employees at the time it ceased operations.
LipLoveLine rolled out more than 20 products during the life of the company, received recognitions and was able to successfully crowdfund more than $15,000 to finance its initial product launch. The startup secured six retail partnership deals that saw companies such as Amazon and Urban Outfitters carry its products.
The company participated in four startup accelerator programs, including Richmond-based Lighthouse Labs and the Amazon Black Business Accelerator. Williams said that while such programs provided good opportunities to network and learn, she felt there was an overemphasis on raising investor capital.
“I’m deeply appreciative of the accelerator programs I’ve participated in,” Williams said. “Many programs emphasize raising capital as a primary goal, which may not always align with a company’s readiness or immediate needs. It also looks very different for many founders and can be an extremely disheartening and exhaustive process.”
In a November blog posted to the company website, Williams wrote it was challenging to secure investor capital as interest rates rose in recent years.
She also noted that while accelerator programs provided access to grant awards, the funding felt insufficient to drive meaningful growth. She said accelerators could more readily set companies up for success with guidance tailored to founders’ industries and more practical advice on how founders can grow their brands.
“I believe accelerators can enhance their impact by offering more industry-specific guidance, addressing challenges like scaling, visibility, and differentiation in practical, actionable ways, and frankly writing bigger checks more often,” she said.
Williams, who has a background in public relations, didn’t share any specific plans about what her next professional move would be.
“I’ve always had a passion for creating and that will continue to guide my professional journey. Whether or not that involves launching another company remains to be seen, but whatever path I choose, I’ll bring the same love and dedication that fueled LipLoveLine,” she said.
Briana Williams has shuttered her beauty products startup LipLoveLine nearly five years after launching the business. (Courtesy LipLoveLine)
A local beauty products brand has ceased operations, with its founder citing a challenging economic landscape and financial struggles among factors that led to the decision.
LipLoveLine closed down this month, ending a nearly five year run for the startup. CEO Briana Williams said she was proud of its accomplishments, particularly given it launched early in the pandemic.
“LipLoveLine was a dream realized,” she said in an email to BizSense this week. “As business leaders, there comes a time when we must make tough decisions based on both professional and personal factors. I’m at peace knowing I made the best decision for myself and the business at this time.”
The company, which sold products such as lip gloss and lipstick, witnessed inflation’s effect on customer spending, rising production costs and difficulty raising brand awareness. Other reasons for its closing, Williams said, included challenges in securing investor capital and scaling the company, despite LipLoveLine participating in a handful of startup accelerator programs.
As consumers backed away from discretionary purchases amid recent inflation and economic uncertainty, it hurt the brand’s sales, Williams said.
“Everyday people are facing tough spending decisions, often cutting back on nonessential items, including beauty products. This shift has made it increasingly difficult for small businesses, especially small indie beauty brands like mine, to maintain steady sales and have capital for growth,” she said in an email.
Williams said LipLoveLine couldn’t invest sufficiently in marketing, which posed a hurdle to efforts to scale the brand. Instead the company had to rely on a strategy focused on organic reach and partnerships with other brands. But that those avenues weren’t enough to raise awareness of LipLoveLine in a competitive industry.
“It became harder to reach potential audiences effectively,” she said.
LipLoveLine was founded in the spring of 2020, and began selling products through its website the following year. It was inspired by Williams’ struggles with body image and self-esteem while growing up.
The company had its office at Startup Virginia, a business incubator in Capital One’s Michael Wassmer Innovation Center. It didn’t have any employees at the time it ceased operations.
LipLoveLine rolled out more than 20 products during the life of the company, received recognitions and was able to successfully crowdfund more than $15,000 to finance its initial product launch. The startup secured six retail partnership deals that saw companies such as Amazon and Urban Outfitters carry its products.
The company participated in four startup accelerator programs, including Richmond-based Lighthouse Labs and the Amazon Black Business Accelerator. Williams said that while such programs provided good opportunities to network and learn, she felt there was an overemphasis on raising investor capital.
“I’m deeply appreciative of the accelerator programs I’ve participated in,” Williams said. “Many programs emphasize raising capital as a primary goal, which may not always align with a company’s readiness or immediate needs. It also looks very different for many founders and can be an extremely disheartening and exhaustive process.”
In a November blog posted to the company website, Williams wrote it was challenging to secure investor capital as interest rates rose in recent years.
She also noted that while accelerator programs provided access to grant awards, the funding felt insufficient to drive meaningful growth. She said accelerators could more readily set companies up for success with guidance tailored to founders’ industries and more practical advice on how founders can grow their brands.
“I believe accelerators can enhance their impact by offering more industry-specific guidance, addressing challenges like scaling, visibility, and differentiation in practical, actionable ways, and frankly writing bigger checks more often,” she said.
Williams, who has a background in public relations, didn’t share any specific plans about what her next professional move would be.
“I’ve always had a passion for creating and that will continue to guide my professional journey. Whether or not that involves launching another company remains to be seen, but whatever path I choose, I’ll bring the same love and dedication that fueled LipLoveLine,” she said.