Summary
Overview
Joey Shama shares the story of building Elf Cosmetics from a $1 makeup concept rejected by major retailers to a billion-dollar publicly traded beauty brand. Starting in 2004 with his father's support and partner Scott Vincent Borba, Joey faced constant rejection from dollar stores and big-box retailers who believed quality cosmetics couldn't sell for a dollar. A viral rumor in 2006 about a Bloomingdale's acquisition sparked explosive growth, leading to eventual partnerships with Target and other major retailers. After selling to private equity multiple times and stepping away in 2015, Joey now runs AS Beauty and Fit for Life, having learned that success comes from seizing lucky breaks with relentless determination.
The Syrian Jewish Entrepreneurial Community and Early Business Exposure
Joey grew up in a tight-knit Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn where entrepreneurship was deeply embedded in the culture. His father ran an apparel business, and while Joey worked there learning the basics of purchase orders and sales, he feared becoming just the boss's son. This fear drove him to prove himself independently, though he credits his father's business for teaching him fundamental skills like tracking orders and understanding delivery dates that would later prove invaluable.
- Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn was very tight-knit, entrepreneurial, and business-oriented with a strong network of merchants
- Joey's biggest fear was joining his father's apparel company and not proving his worth, just being seen as the boss's son
- Worked at father's apparel business during college at NYU, learning basics like purchase orders, inventory systems, and sales
" I came from a community of merchants. We buy product. We sell product. We know how to do that. And that's something I always aspired to. I wanted to do it differently. "
Meeting Scott Vincent Borba and the Birth of the $1 Cosmetics Concept
Contrary to popular mythology about meeting at a party, Joey was introduced to beauty industry veteran Scott Vincent Borba through a mutual friend in 2002. Scott had worked at Hard Candy and Neutrogena and saw an opportunity in dollar stores, which were expanding rapidly but lacked quality, branded cosmetics. The insight was simple: create a branded line as cheap as plain-wrap products but with consistent quality, targeting the growing dollar store chains that had thousands of locations but no reliable cosmetics offering.
- Joey was introduced to Scott Vincent Borba through a mutual friend, not at a LA party as often reported
- Scott was a beauty industry expert who had worked at Hard Candy and Neutrogena Color Cosmetics
- Dollar store chains like Family Dollar and Dollar General were growing to 5,000-7,000 stores but had no quality, consistent cosmetics brands
- Target cost of goods was about $0.35 to retail at $1, leveraging the fact that cosmetics don't actually cost much to make
" If it was beauty, it was beauty. If it was yoga mats, it was yoga mats. If it was apparel, it was apparel. It was going to happen. "
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