We recently connected with Mieka Crystal and have shared our conversation below.

Mieka, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

One of the biggest risks I took was walking away from the comfort of my branding agency to build a beauty brand from scratch in a completely new city. I didn’t have a client list waiting for me. No storefront. No team. Just a vision and a lot of belief in what Brow Heroes could become.

I started by focusing on services and building a strong identity around brows. But as I worked with more clients, I kept noticing the same gap. The aftercare options felt boring, overly clinical, or not designed with the modern beauty client in mind. I wanted something elevated. Something intentional. Something that felt like it belonged on a vanity, not hidden in a drawer.

That’s when I decided to take another risk and create my first product, Good Base, a whipped brow and lash cleanser. At the time, I didn’t have major funding or a big team. I was learning formulation, packaging, manufacturing, and distribution in real time. It would have been easy to wait until everything felt more secure, but I’ve learned that momentum matters more than perfection.

So I funded a small run, created content, and introduced it to my audience while still actively building Brow Heroes behind the scenes. The response was immediate. Clients loved it. Artists started asking to carry it. And suddenly what started as an idea became the foundation for something much bigger.

That risk shifted how I saw myself. I wasn’t just building a service based business anymore. I was building a brand, a product line, and a future ecosystem for beauty professionals.

Looking back, every major step in my journey has come from taking risks before I felt fully ready. That’s kind of the Arch Girl mentality. You don’t wait for perfect conditions. You build, you test, you adjust, and you keep moving forward.

Mieka, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m the founder of Brow Heroes, a beauty brand centered around thoughtful brow services, modern aftercare, and tools designed for both clients and artists. My background in branding shaped how I approached building the business. From day one, I focused on creating something that felt cohesive, recognizable, and intentional rather than just offering services.

Brow Heroes is built around the idea that brows are foundational. They frame the face, but they also influence confidence and daily routine. That perspective guided how I developed our services and eventually expanded into product development. Everything we create is designed to support results before, during, and after the appointment.

What sets Brow Heroes apart is the balance between artistry and structure. We care deeply about the experience, but we also think about systems, education, and longevity. That includes aftercare, service timing, and products that extend results. Our goal is to help clients maintain their brows while also giving artists better tools to work with.

I’m most proud of building a brand that continues to grow beyond the treatment room. Brow Heroes is evolving into a larger ecosystem that includes services, retail, and professional focused products. The long term vision is to create a brand that supports both sides of the beauty industry, the client and the artist, while raising the standard for what brow focused brands can be.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

We currently prioritize selling through our own channels, including our website and direct relationships with clients and professionals. For us, that decision was intentional. Building a brand in the beauty space requires control over the experience, education, and how products are introduced. Selling direct allows us to communicate the purpose behind each product and create a stronger connection with our audience.

There are definitely advantages to larger platforms like Amazon or Etsy, especially when it comes to visibility and convenience. They can help products reach a wider audience quickly. However, they also remove some of the storytelling and brand context that’s important to us, particularly because our products are designed to support professional services and aftercare.

By selling primarily through our own ecosystem, we’re able to grow more intentionally. We can introduce products alongside services, educate clients and artists, and refine things based on real feedback. It also allows us to build relationships with beauty professionals who may eventually carry the products within their own studios.

That said, I don’t see it as an either or decision. As the brand grows, expanding to additional platforms can make sense. But early on, focusing on direct channels has allowed us to establish identity, gather insights, and build a stronger foundation before scaling distribution.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One of the biggest influences on my entrepreneurial thinking has honestly been watching Shark Tank. I’ve watched every episode I could find. Over time, it became more than entertainment. I started studying how founders presented their ideas, how the sharks evaluated businesses, and the common mistakes entrepreneurs made when pitching or scaling.

I pay attention to things like margins, positioning, customer acquisition, and how products are differentiated. Hearing the sharks break down businesses in real time helped me start thinking more strategically about my own brand. I often catch myself analyzing products the same way now, from packaging to pricing to market fit.

It also taught me how important clarity is. The founders who succeed usually know exactly what problem they solve and how their product fits into the market. That mindset influenced how I approach Brow Heroes and product development. I try to think beyond just creating something I like, and instead focus on building something that makes sense as a business.

Even now, when I see certain products in stores, I immediately recognize them from Shark Tank. It’s one of those resources that shaped how I think as an entrepreneur, even without being a traditional book or course.

Contact Info:

• Website: Browheroespro.com and Browheroes.com
• Instagram: Browheroes.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571903335503#
• Other: TikTok @browheroes

Image Credits

Eli Penson
Briana Burgard