Lee argues that total authenticity is neither possible nor desirable for most aspirational consumer brands because people and founders always present selected slices of themselves. He prefers “comfortable inauthenticity”: sharing a bounded, recognizable part of yourself that enables connection without pretending the audience sees your entire life. He also criticizes performative vulnerability and synthetic interactions that audiences can detect.

Lee defines literal authenticity as unfiltered expression that can repel an audience
Aspirational brands need a deliberate presentation rather than total disclosure
Audiences connect to selected slices without seeing a person's whole life
Performative vulnerability can feel less authentic than straightforward self-presentation
The concept requires context because the phrase alone can be misleading

“For me is actually more the concept of maybe comfortable inauthenticity”
Jeff Lee · 29:30

“They're still only presenting slices of themselves, even if they come off as so authentic and real and down to earth.”
Jeff Lee · 31:30

#authenticity#community#personal brand#social media

Hot Take· 3

Hot Take01:00

Why Lee Says Saturated Brands Must Earn the Right to Exist

Jeff Lee rejects the idea that effort alone explains Dibs Beauty's growth, but says crowded consumer categories demand work beyond a baseline execution standard. He describes product perfectionism and founder willingness to cover every role as features of Dibs Beauty's culture, while acknowledging that this can lead to extreme working hours.

Lee says founding a company requires being able to cover jobs when others cannot
He describes Dibs Beauty's makeup culture as unapologetically perfectionist
He argues that saturated categories require an extra increment of execution
The 120-hour figure is Lee's description of some workweeks, not a universal requirement

“It's not about working hard or the 01 30 quantity of effort”
Jeff Lee · 01:00

“We are absolute perfectionists when it comes to makeup.”
Jeff Lee · 02:00

#founder culture#beauty#execution#workload

Hot Take24:00

The Beauty Customer Lee Says Coastal Brands Overlook

Lee describes Dibs Beauty as a “50-state brand” designed for customers beyond the highly served New York and Los Angeles markets. He argues that many women in inland US markets want more color and have received less attention from beauty brands, while stressing that customer behavior varies by geography, community, and demographic.

Dibs Beauty targets customers across the United States rather than centering coastal tastes
Lee contrasts some coastal minimalist preferences with stronger color interest elsewhere
He believes inland customers have been comparatively underserved by brands
The company treats customers in smaller or inland markets as central rather than peripheral

“there has been a gigantic majority 25 00 of this country that has not had a brand speak to them cater to them design for…”
Jeff Lee · 24:30

“We view them as just as important, if not more so, than the coastal customers.”
Jeff Lee · 25:00

#customer segmentation#geography#beauty#positioning

Hot Take38:00

Lee's Darker Account of Fast Startup Growth

Lee warns founders against attributing success entirely to strategy and execution, arguing that timing, competitors, and hiring luck all affected Dibs Beauty. He also describes his own version of entrepreneurship as requiring intense availability and sacrifice, while explicitly saying people who cannot or do not want to live that way are making a valid choice. This is his personal philosophy, not a universal prescription.

Lee credits luck alongside team decisions and planning
Timing and absent competing launches can change an outcome
Even strong interviewing does not remove luck from hiring
His own commitment includes travel and hands-on retail work at short notice
He says founders have to love the journey for those sacrifices to make sense

“Luck plays a huge role in it.”
Jeff Lee · 38:30

“If you don't want to do it or can't do it, that is also fine because you have to love it for the game”
Jeff Lee · 41:30

#luck#sacrifice#entrepreneurship#founder mindset

Explainer· 2

Explainer11:30

Why a Low Beauty MOQ Can Hide a Differentiation Problem

Lee says a standard cosmetics minimum order can start around 5,000 units and may rise to 10,000 for a more ambitious production run. In his account, that makes entry comparatively accessible, but it also enables minimally differentiated white-label launches; contract manufacturers assess whether a new brand appears credible and clear about its plan.

Lee cites approximately 5,000 units as a standard cosmetics MOQ
He says many color-cosmetics brands use specialist contract manufacturers
A low entry barrier does not create meaningful differentiation
Dibs Beauty used category experience and customer knowledge to support more differentiated initial products

“In cosmetics, right, your standardQ is 5K. It can rise to 10K if you really want to do it well.”
Jeff Lee · 11:30

“Most every color cosmetics brand here works 12 30 with the top contract manufacturers”
Jeff Lee · 12:00

#manufacturing#moq#beauty#differentiation

Explainer16:30

What Lee Credits for Dibs Beauty's 90-Day Repurchase Rate

Lee confirms the host's reported figure that Dibs Beauty's 90-day repurchase rate exceeded 60% and says it was still holding as of the quarter discussed. He attributes that result to products sized around an average 90-day use cycle, limited customer trading away, a steady pipeline of novelty, extra product utility, careful CRM, and unusually direct founder involvement in customer service. These are Lee's explanations rather than independently established causes.

Lee confirms the reported repurchase figure and says it was still holding
Core products are sized around an average 90-day use cycle
The brand adds new products and extra functions to sustain interest
Lee and Courtney Shields still receive customer calls and direct messages
Lee connects direct founder responses with customer loyalty

“We pay a lot of attention to our CRM, to the customer retention funnel.”
Jeff Lee · 17:30

“my personal phone number is still 18 00 floating out there”
Jeff Lee · 17:30

#retention#repurchase#customer service#product design

Story· 2

Story10:00

The Five-Second Founder Match Behind Dibs Beauty

Lee traces his path from corporate law and CPG work with Alex Rodriguez to an introduction to Courtney Shields through Tula's founders. He says their first Zoom conversation clicked immediately because Shields understood product-customer fit and the two saw complementary founder skills.

Lee previously worked as a corporate lawyer and on CPG ventures
Tula founders Ken Landis and Dan Reich introduced Lee and Shields
Shields had spent years discussing makeup with a large audience
Lee attributes the partnership to complementary product, social, and business skills

“Within the first five seconds of the zoom it clicked”
Jeff Lee · 11:00

“She understood product market fit and customer um like actually matching a customer at where they're at”
Jeff Lee · 11:00

#cofounders#origin story#product-market fit#beauty

Story44:00

The Founder Reward Lee Didn't Expect

Beyond growth metrics, Lee says one of his greatest sources of joy is watching employees learn, earn promotions, and take on responsibilities they were not formally trained for. He says educational pedigree fades in importance after hiring compared with demonstrated growth, and that owning a P&L also gave him new common ground with his entrepreneurial family.

Lee values employee learning and expanded responsibility
He says he does not retain or prioritize employees' college histories after hiring
Promotion announcements are a meaningful source of pride for him
Business ownership changed the language of his relationship with his parents
He presents these rewards as unexpected parts of the founder journey

“nothing makes me happier than to 44 30 write the the promotion emails announcing when somebody has earned a title”
Jeff Lee · 44:00

“what matters to me right so much more is can you grow and learn things that you 45 30 weren't taught in school”
Jeff Lee · 45:00

#employee growth#leadership#promotions#founder journey

Takeaway· 4

Takeaway14:30

Why Lee Thinks Beauty Brands Need Retail Earlier Now

Lee says Dibs Beauty benefited from three years of direct-to-consumer growth before becoming genuinely omnichannel, but doubts a new beauty entrant would have the same runway today. He argues that retail is especially valuable for color cosmetics because shoppers can see, feel, and experiment with products before buying; he presents this as his market view, not a universal rule.

Dibs Beauty moved from pure DTC toward omnichannel retail
Lee says pure-play DTC remains possible in the US but has become very difficult
He sees earlier retail pressure for new beauty and color-cosmetics brands
Physical trial matters more for products whose color and feel influence conversion

“I think that there's a lot more pressure to enter retail earlier in your cycle.”
Jeff Lee · 15:30

“Being a DTC brand, a pure play DTC brand alone is still doable, but incredibly hard.”
Jeff Lee · 15:30

#retail#dtc#omnichannel#beauty

Takeaway35:30

The Micromanager's Shift to Domain-Level CEOs

As Dibs Beauty grew from one full-time employee to nearly 30, plus more than 150 part-time contractors and freelancers, Lee says his role had to change. He and Courtney Shields keep distinct operating lanes while staying in communication, and Lee is learning to trust vice presidents, directors, and department heads as “CEOs of their own domains” despite his instinct to inspect details personally.

Lee and Shields operate in complementary creative, product, social, and business lanes
The wider team increasingly executes rather than waiting on founders
Lee describes himself as a micromanager who still scrutinizes product details
Scaling requires trusting leaders to manage defined slices of the business
Letting go is presented as a continuing transition, not a completed transformation

“I've now had to train people to be the CEOs of their own domains.”
Jeff Lee · 37:00

“Part of being effective is letting go and trusting your vice presidents, your directors, your department heads”
Jeff Lee · 37:30

#delegation#leadership#cofounders#scaling

Takeaway46:30

Dibs Beauty's No-Certainty Plan for AI Discovery

Lee argues that no one yet knows which app or interface will dominate future product discovery, so Dibs Beauty is avoiding a plan built solely around ChatGPT. Its practical focus is to choose which products must remain discoverable in two to three years, earn mentions from likely authority sources, prepare durable static content for potential machine retrieval, and preserve validation points such as retail and sales staff before conversion. Host Nathan Chan adds that a friend in SEO recommends digital PR, but that is relayed as a third-party claim.

Lee says the next dominant discovery application is still unknown
A medium-stage makeup brand cannot prioritize every SKU equally
Dibs Beauty values coverage from selected authority sources and relevant community discussion
The company is preparing durable content without claiming to know the final platform rules
Discovery still needs validation before a shopper converts

“Right now, the battle for the next universal app, especially for discovery, is not over.”
Jeff Lee · 47:00

“that tells you that they have a strategy for when you know SEO goes by the wayside is BSing you”
Jeff Lee · 49:00

#ai discovery#digital pr#search#brand authority

Takeaway51:00

Lee's Personal Approach to Sleep During Unpredictable Work

Lee says learning his own sleep schedule is his most important personal wellbeing input as a founder with unpredictable hours. He reports that 15-minute naps work for him and that he combines them with the aim of reaching eight hours of sleep, while telling others to determine what duration works for them. This is a personal practice shared by Lee, not medical advice or evidence that fragmented sleep is appropriate for everyone.

Lee compares founder unpredictability with his former corporate-law schedule
He reports that short naps work for him personally
He aims for a total of eight hours of sleep
He explicitly says people who need longer periods should work that out for themselves
The episode provides no clinical support for applying his routine to other people

“15-minute naps work for me because I can stack them together to get my solid 8 hours of sleep.”
Jeff Lee · 51:30

“If you are someone that needs a longer period, figure that out.”
Jeff Lee · 51:30

#sleep#founder wellbeing#productivity

Frameworks in this episode

Anticipation-to-Advocacy Launch Pyramid

Community Touchpoint Index

Customer Proximity Triangulation

Retailer-Customer Congruence Test

Rotating Board of Directors

Insights & moments

⚡Myth Buster· 1

Why Lee Rejects “Authenticity” as a Brand Strategy

◆Hot Take· 3