Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leah Garcia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Leah, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
I was born a risk-taker—it’s in my DNA. Growing up on a ranch, I was thrown into the ring, both literally and figuratively, learning to embrace challenges head on. This bold, fearless mindset became the foundation for the biggest risk of my life: starting NULASTIN.
When I was introduced to the scientific benefits of elastin for skin and hair health, I was highly intrigued on a personal and professional level. The years I spent in the sun as a professional mountain biker did me no favors. My propensity to stress ended up causing facial paralysis, hair loss, premature aging and weakened tissue. As you can imagine, this novel elastin protein, as a personal care salvation, had my full attention.
The wheels started turning on how to bring this technology to market. So, I did what any good risk taker would do: I self-funded the brand by taking out a mortgage, depleting my savings and sacrificing luxuries, like dining out and taking vacations, to launch this venture. I was a solopreneur for the first 5 years, doing everything myself, and growing NULASTIN into a $17 million brand before hiring my first employee. The biggest takeaway from the whole experience was to trust my vision. Risk can bring great reward.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
How I got into hair regeneration dates back to my 20s, when I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, a condition that temporarily paralyzed one side of my face. The paralysis eventually resolved, but my doctors warned me that facial asymmetry could worsen with age. Though I regained control of my facial muscles, my skin was never the same.
At the time of my paralysis, I was also living an intense lifestyle as a professional mountain biker. Between the relentless sun exposure, countless wipeouts and the stress of constant competition, my body began to show signs of wear and tear. My hair started falling out, in clumps, and my skin looked weathered. The lingering asymmetry from Bell’s Palsy only added to my frustration.
When I transitioned into a career in television as a sideline reporter, the reality of the cameras made these issues impossible to ignore—those cameras don’t lie! I tried every skincare and haircare product imaginable, but the results were minimal and disappointing. That’s when I was introduced to elastin, a vital structural protein that gives skin its youthful bounce and anchors your hair to your scalp.
This discovery changed everything. Elastin not only gave me the answers I was searching for but also sparked my aha moment: there were no products on the market specifically designed to replenish elastin for hair, lashes or brows. I knew this was a gap I had to fill.
Working with leading biotech researchers, we pioneered the first-to-market collection of elastin-based serums that deliver real, visible, age-defying results.What makes our serums so unique is elastin itself. NULASTIN serums are formulated with the first ethically sourced elastin renewal protein in beauty. Few people realize that elastin surrounds every hair follicle, forming the Elastin Root™ System—a web-like structure that anchors hair. By replenishing elastin at the follicle, our serums fortify this system, reducing shedding and enhancing fullness.
For me, NULASTIN is so much more than a brand—it’s a deeply personal transformation. These products helped me overcome the impacts of stress, aging and environmental damage. And not only have I experienced incredible changes, but so have thousands of others.
The testimonials we receive at NULASTIN are incredible. Men and women of all ages are getting their hair, lashes and brows back. Their confidence is back, too. Seeing these transformations is what fuels my passion every day.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
Other people’s money is the Modus Operandi for starting a business—or so I was told. Starting a business seemed simple enough: write a business plan, create the branding, put together corporate documents, build a pitch deck and knock on doors.
In 2015, I was in full bootstrapping mode. With no formal business training or experience raising capital, I leaned on advice from those who had built brands before me. I believed the money would follow if I could just get started. I engaged a lawyer and graphic designer on a pay-later basis and attended a seminar on writing a pitch deck. Armed with a Private Placement Memorandum, I confidently uploaded my documents to online platforms like EquityNet and CircleUp, ready and waiting for the investor calls.
Crickets.
When I realized these platforms were never going to reply, I called a few people I thought might listen. My big break came with the North Bay Angels in Sonoma, California. Though I was a Colorado corporation, I pitched the idea of hiring North Bay talent once up and running.
With minimal cash reserves, I bought a plane ticket, stayed at a Motel 6, and—hilariously—forgot to pack underwear. Mortified, I stopped at a department store on the way to the meeting. When my friend called from the boardroom asking where I was, I blamed traffic instead of admitting the truth. That moment of personal levity became my own icebreaker. I pitched confidently, and while the event was magnificent, no one committed that night.
On December 31, 2015 (I will never forget this date), that friend from the boardroom invested $50,000. I put that money in the bank and vowed to never spend it. What it gave me was confidence. There was someone who believed in what I was doing. NULASTIN formally incorporated January 13, 2016 with $50,000 in the corporate bank account.
By 2017, I was ready to sell our LASH, BROW and SKIN serums (HAIR wasn’t finished yet). To fund manufacturing and packaging, I launched an Indiegogo campaign. It started out really strong, but after three days, pledges stopped. Confused and frustrated, I sent out desperate social media messages and even messaged Indiegogo’s founders on LinkedIn (thankfully, they didn’t respond).
Taking matters into my own hands, I drove to Indiegogo’s San Francisco headquarters, bypassed security and demanded answers. And they gave me my answer: Stripe, the payment processor, had flagged my campaign for making “structure-function” claims, which are prohibited for cosmetics. You can’t claim to “grow hair”; you can only “enhance the look of it.” I ate some humble pie that day.
After hiring a regulatory lawyer, the campaign resumed, raising $17,000—enough to ship products and fund my first Facebook ad. My first online sale was a moment I will never forget. From there, NULASTIN grew organically. I worked solo, scrappy and nimble, growing the business to $17.5M in revenue.
In 2021, Denver Angels led a Series A round, marking the tipping point from solopreneurship to a small business. I hired my first employee and NULASTIN began to scale. The original $50,000 investment? I never spent it. I returned it as a dividend—a gesture of faith, fulfilled.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
When I first met Dr. Felipe Jimenez, he was working at Guthy Renker on Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty, among other D2C brands. We discussed the viability of adding a brow serum to Cindy’s line and developed a mutual respect for our shared passion for elastin. Years later, when he was President at Benchmark Cosmetics, I reached out, asking for his help in designing NULASTIN’s next generation, custom formulas for LASH, BROW, HAIR, and SKIN.
Fate was on my side. Benchmark was undergoing a reorganization, which opened the door for Dr. Felipe to consider new opportunities. I wrote him letters, made calls and even arranged a dinner with him and his wife. As a small-town girl who values integrity, I knew his decision would be heartfelt rather than financial. I couldn’t offer a big salary, but promised him the chance to focus on elastin and develop a proprietary peptide or protein that we could call our own. Thankfully, our visions aligned and now, we’re redefining hair regeneration one breakthrough at a time.
I like to call Dr. Felipe our R&D secret weapon. He’s my friend, business ally and NULASTIN’s President and Chief Science Officer. His brilliance drives our award winning, elastin replenishing solutions, which are continually raising the bar in transformational beauty. He’s been instrumental in helping NULASTIN secure 38 international and U.S. patents, with four more pending, in elastin technology (many authored by him) that rivals big pharma.
Right now, Dr. Felipe and I are developing exciting new product formulations set to launch in spring 2025. NULASTIN is about to take the haircare world by storm—stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nulastin.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nulastin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nulastin
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-garcia-592988
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/nulastin
- Other: Tik Tok URL:
@nulastin PINTEREST URL:
https://www.pinterest.com/nulastin/
Image Credits
NULASTIN®