Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dennis Dannel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dennis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
The Skincare industry is running on outdated, 60-year-old product technology, rife with unnatural additives and fillers. While these chemicals increase bottom-line profitability, they work to damage skin and overall health. With very few innovators on the scene, skin care customers have grown accustomed to buying products that do little-to-nothing to change or improve the nature of their skin. TresMonet Skincare has entered the scene with breakthrough molecular technology that is changing the face of skin care.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
As a confirmed passion junkie, my commitment to creativity and self expression has led me down several different professional pathways. I am a lawyer (Tulane Las School), a museum-exhibited fine artist (https://bit.ly/44LmPwa), and a New York Times reviewed actor/producer (https://nyti.ms/3OgisE2).
Despite my background as a lawyer, I fell in love with the Arts at the age of three, landing my first speaking role in the kindergarten Easter play. I was absolutely smitten! I started developing my crafts at my Arts-centered grammar school and high school (Metairie Park Country Day School), where I took weekly art classes, earned plum acting roles, and sang in school choirs–eventually being admitted to the Louisiana All-State Choir. I further cultivated my skills during college at the University of Virginia, taking advanced art classes and singing in the Men’s Glee Club and the Virginia Gentlemen.
After college, my path shifted when I “fell into” a full scholarship to Tulane Law School, concentrating in the areas of business enterprises and entertainment law. While these disciplines inform my current work, they did not feed my 25-year-old soul. Growing frustrated by the mundane world of business, I left the Law and enrolled in MA performance program at NYU’s Gallatin School of Education. After three years of intense training, studying ballet, vocal jazz, and acting, I entered the professional acting community, and 25 years later, I had been on the New York stage over 40 times, and produced over 100 plays off-off Broadway and off Broadway stage. The last play that I produced and had the lead in was New York Times reviewed.
Unsurprisingly, theater acting doesn’t cover the expense of NYC living, so I started a consulting business, writing business plans and PPMs, crafting pitch decks and contracts, and creating qualified pro forma financials for small businesses that were trying to raise investor capital (this helped me to quit waiting tables). I worked for a small investment banking firm, restaurateurs, real estate developers, filmmakers, and anyone else who needed professional documentation. Working with NYC-based business professionals, helped me to develop the business acumen that I needed to perform in any environment and serves me so well today
In 2016, I was called to the the stage again, when I was cast in Jackie Alexander’s “High Priestess of Dark Alley,” to be performed in my hometown of New Orleans, LA, at the city’s oldest theater, Le Petit Theatre. This would serve as my official homecoming, after more than 20 years living and acting in NYC. During the play’s run, my drawings and paintings were exhibited for three months at the McKenna Museum of African American Art. What an honor!!
The way that I got into the Skincare industry was through a series of seemingly unrelated events that brought me to where I am now. In January 2018, I moved to Los Angeles to start a cannabis cultivation and sales business with my best friend, who is a master grower. I’d written a business plan, PPM, and financials (for myself this time) and raised some capital to start the venture. We were ready to apply for a license and sign a lease, however, the City of Los Angeles didn’t start giving out licenses in LA until 18 months later, in the middle of 2019.
After two months of burning money from LA living, I knew we had to make a shift to stop the bleeding. I knew I couldn’t go home because I had a fiduciary responsibility to my investors so I said to my business partner, “Let’s make a CBD-infused skin care line, to stay active and relevant.” I said this, not knowing my partner, Dr. PJ LaRive’s full wheelhouse as a retired NASA engineer, which features specializations in advanced nanotechnology, plant sciences, and mechanical engineering. In fact, during his time at NASA, Dr. LaRive led the research team studying nutrient delivery to astronauts in zero gravity. He also worked in sickle cell gene therapy, creating intelligent Nanobots, designed to enter the blood stream to seek and remove the errant cell. Little did I know that we were going to join forces to create our breakthrough technology that is set to help millions and “change the face of skin care.”
We started taking conference calls with various professionals in the CBD space, to learn about such things as the mole weight of CBD, mixing properties, extraction materials and techniques, etc. One day, we got on a call with a neuroscientist, who left neuroscience to get into the world of skin care. He claimed that his company used stem cells in their formulations, which intrigued Dr. LaRive. However, after some rather intense tire kicking, Dr. LaRive was left unimpressed and questioning, at which time he summarily ended the call and went to find the company’s white papers. Therein, he discovered that the company was not using actual stem cells, but rather “stems of apples” and calling the “stem cells.”
Infuriated by his discovery, Dr. LaRive went to bed that night angry; and in the middle of the night, he woke up with a formula in his head. He grabbed the notepad that he keeps next to his bed, scribbled down the information, and went back to sleep. Over the course of the next two weeks, Dr. LaRive visited science departments at three different New-Orleans-area universities to perform his research.
The first university team, after reviewing the formula, was able to pinpoint the CBD, but they couldn’t identify the other element. The second team identified both the CBD and the stem cells, but concluded that these elements could not survive together due to the acids present in the CBD. At the third university, Dr. LaRive’s advanced molecular technology allowed the unlikely pairing of CBD + stems cells to thrive in the same environment. Dr. LaRive used this technology to formulate our halo product, the TresMonet CBD + Stem Cell Serum.
A few weeks later, Dr. LaRive burned the back of his hand twice in one week, resulting in a nasty third-degree burn. Testing our IP on his burn, he applied TresMonet Serum to the affected area 3 – 4 times a day. After the fifth day, the area had completely healed, without residual scarring. This is when we knew that we had something on our hands that could change the world. Now, it was time to apply the IP to develop a product and enter the marketplace; and as we grew, one product turned into a the Ultimate TresMonet’s Anti-Aging Skincare System, consisting of seven products.
The CBD in our formulations was becoming a major hindrance, as no credit card processor would work with us, and marketing was also problematic because Google and Facebook (which also owns Instagram) don’t allow advertising of CBD-infused products on their platforms. To remedy this issue, in a major shift and advancement in our formulation, Dr. LaRive was able to replace the fatty acids from hemp CBD with those from the Moringa plant. As a result, we are no longer considered a CBD-infused product manufacturer, which removes any and all of the barriers to market entry that are associated with the CBD industry. This effectively lifted the Google-add and social-media-marketing ban that we had faced for the previous four years. On the heals of this major shift we undertook a full TresMonet rebranding, upgrading our marketing suite, I.e., new website, bottles & jars, and packaging. Now, we can move beyond being known as the best kept secret in skin care, to being recognized as a Skincare industry leader and vanguard—recognized for our proprietary science and unparalleled product efficacy.
Featuring unparalleled 5 – 10 day anti-aging results, the TresMonet Skincare System renews & refreshes skin, exfoliates while hydrating, and reduces the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles. TresMonet’s proprietary molecular technology is the first to successfully combine plant proteins with snail stem cells. Moringa extract moisturizes and cools skin, while snail stem cells exfoliate, promote skin renewal, and stimulate production of collagen & elastin. Formulated with NASA-developed nanotechnology, TresMonet produces the most effective anti-aging products on the market.
Reflecting our exceptional product efficacy, TresMonet was awarded the 2022 New You Beauty Award, among 10,000 applicants. Moreover, Forbes Magazine called TresMonet, “a brand to watch;” and Millennium Magazine called TresMonet, “no less than the Rolls-Royce of the CBD Industry” and said that we “cracked the anti-aging code.”
Beyond these accolades, what I am most proud of is that we have created breakthrough technology in the TresMonet Skincare System that features 100% organic products, free from pesticides, parabens & fragrances, and works like nothing else in the world. I am also proud that we can bring peace of mind to to a very jaded Skincare audience.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
The effects of the pandemic were particularly debilitating for us. Online sales were impossible at that time because we couldn’t find a credit card processor who would work with CBD-infused products; and B2B sales dried up, as the quarantine kept everyone at home and away from businesses.
My partner and I held on as long as we could with no money coming in, even paying our employees from our own savings, but the fateful day eventually came when we had to lay off our staff. This was heartbreaking because you feel an obligation to your staff who depend on you to feed their their families. Interestingly, however, people kept coming into the office.
They said the work that we do is too important to quit, and they knew things would work themselves out. This went on for six weeks. Let me restate this: key members of our staff worked for us for six weeks without pay because of their commitment to our Mission of helping people.
Thankfully, the struggle paid off, when we won the 2022 New You Beauty Award for outstanding CBD Skincare, among 10,000 applicants. This put TresMonet back on the map, as retail sales started up again, and we even got some private label clients. Based upon this success, we were able to attract some new investors who helped to fund our rebranding, as we reintroduce TresMonet Skincare to market.
We are so thankful to our employees for the loyalty that they showed during our growth. We would be nowhere without them.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
At TresMonet, we are responsible for all phases of production, featuring fully-automated manufacture & bottle-fill equipment. And as a FDA-approved, GLP-certified lab (Good Laboratory Practices), we formulate all of our fully-organic products in-house. This allows us to manage quality control, while concurrently protecting our proprietary IP.
My partner, Dr. PJ LaRive, has his PhD in mechanical engineering and worked for NASA for over 17 years, building laboratories and production systems. Moreover, he designed and built L’Oreal’s original production facility, as well as four Coca-Cola bottling facilities, and a bio-fuel refinery.
Our production capacity, combined with our breakthrough molecular technology, means that we have all that we need to build and scale TresMonet into a Skincare industry leader and vanguard.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tresmonet.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tresmonet.skincare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tresmonetskincareinc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tresmonet-skincare-647213162/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tresmonet
Image Credits
Mani Zarin needs to be credited for the model shots.