How Dr. Barbara Sturm Built a Billion Dollar Beauty Brand with No Training | Aspire with Emma Grede

How does a doctor with zero beauty training build one of the most influential skincare brands in the world? In this episode of Aspire, Emma Grede sits down with Dr. Barbara Sturm, the founder behind a global, anti-inflammatory skincare empire, to reveal the true story you’ve never heard.

Barbara opens up about the bullets she dodged, the bets she made, and the risks that almost broke her. From being dismissed by the beauty industry to scaling a brand from €350 to a brand valued at over a billion dollars. Barbara shares the mindset, the science, and the steps it took to build something no one believed was possible.

You’ll learn:
-How she built a global brand without investors
-The mindset every ambitious woman needs to scale
-What she wishes every founder knew before starting
-Why she never used retinol, and what she does instead
-The anti-inflammatory approach that changed the industry
-The moment she realized the world was finally listening

If you’re an entrepreneur, a skincare obsessive, or a woman building something big, this conversation will change the way you think about success, aging, and what’s actually possible.


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00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:23 - Meet Dr. Barbara Sturm
00:01:40- - From orthopedics to the Vampire Facial
00:04:18 - Creating the gene cream
00:06:00 - Hollywood comes calling
00:08:14 - Financing the first products
00:11:05 - Finding the right manufacturing partners
00:12:35 - Getting kicked out changed everything
00:19:25 - Raising investment at $15M in sales
00:23:13 - Ad Break
00:25:15 - What changed after taking investment
00:28:56 - The hardest moments building the brand
00:34:20 - Teaching leadership to the next generation
00:37:13 - TikTok and the beauty landscape
00:39:25 - The Sunscreen debate
00:45:30 - The three non-negotiables for skin
00:48:17 - The 360 approach to beauty
00:53:04 - Selling part of the business
00:56:41 - Ad Break
00:58:06 - Barbara's longevity routine
01:03:58 - Advice for people starting out
01:05:25 - Rapid Fire Questions
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Buy Emma's Book: START WITH YOURSELF is yours April 2026! Preorder today wherever you buy books or at https://www.emmagrede.com/

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ABOUT ASPIRE WITH EMMA GREDE
Build the life of your dreams and learn from the world’s most successful people.
Emma Grede, one of America’s richest self-made women, wants you to make the most of your life. On ‘Aspire with Emma Grede', learn through thought-provoking conversations with some of the most successful and smartest minds on the planet, including goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, investor, philanthropist and former chair of Starbucks, Mellody Hobson, podcast host Jay Shetty, billionaire entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Mark Cuban, and public luminaries like Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Charlamagne Tha God, Jessica Alba, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Each episode will unpack their habits, philosophy, and strategies, covering career advice, well-being, psychology, and, of course, how to win in business. The show offers personal stories, data-driven advice, real-world strategies, and the experience you need to turn your dreams into reality.

LISTEN TO ASPIRE WITH EMMA GREDE
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ABOUT EMMA GREDE
Emma Grede is a founding partner and chief product officer of SKIMS and CEO of Good American. She also made history as the first Black woman to serve as an investor on Shark Tank. Learn more at: https://www.emmagrede.com/