After having her second child at age 40, Cecil Booth noticed changes in her skin. She wasn't bouncing back as quickly as she had six years earlier, when her first child was born, so she asked her sister, Rebecca Booth, M.D., who is a gynecologist, author and hormonal wellness expert in Louisville, Kentucky, about it. Rebecca told her that it was related to her hormones, which ebb and flow throughout the month and with age.
“Estrogen is programmed to decline and ultimately retire," says Cecil. As it declines, she says, so does the production of collagen and elasticity, which can lead to fine lines and wrinkles. Cecil, who worked in marketing with a Fortune 500 global beauty company, had never considered the impact hormones had on her appearance and in aging.
Cecil Booth (pictured) co-founded VENeffect with her sister, Rebecca.
“So much of the skin care industry was geared around sun damage and chronological aging, which are very real things," she says. But no one was talking about the role estrogen played in appearances. At their hormonal peak—when women are most fertile—says Cecil, skin takes on a glowing appearance.
Cecil Booth and Rebecca Booth, M.D., co-founders of VENeffect
She and Rebecca kept talking, and an idea formed. What if they worked together to create a line of products that specifically addressed, through skin care, the aesthetic hormonal challenges women face when aging? In 2006, Cecil quit her job of more than 20 years (Rebecca still continues to practice medicine), and the sisters, both in their 50s, started VENeffect. “Never did we think these two career paths would intersect, but they both did as we were aging and had this common need for hormonal vitality," says Cecil.
Cecil and Rebecca both run the company through their home offices in Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky.
Using their personal savings, credit card and stock options that Cecil had cashed in from her previous job, they worked with chemists to formulate a line of products that would mimic estrogen. The key was using molecules called phytoestrogens—plant-based estrogens found in things like soy, grape seed, grapefruit seed and red clover.
“We put in everything you want from an anti-aging product—emollients, peptides, proteins, all the great technology that's available," says Cecil. “But the point of difference are these phytoestrogens used at very high levels that bring about that glow and that elasticity in the skin. So it works very differently than most anti-aging products that have been launched over the last 20 years." While the products were being developed, Rebecca penned a book called The Venus Week to educate women on how hormones influence them.
—Cecil Booth, co-founder, VENeffect
In 2011, after two people in the Booth sisters' network put in a good word for them, they managed to get an appointment with executives at Neiman Marcus that led to the retailer carrying their four products (two lotions, eye cream and lip treatment) the following year. The sisters brought in an investor to expand their available capital for the launch.
Today, nearly five years after the product launch, Cecil and Rebecca continue to lead the company from their home offices in Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky, respectively, with one additional full time employee in the Chicago office who handles marketing and operations and a full-time sales director in New York. VENeffect also employs nearly a dozen part-time employees who handle operations, customer service, warehouse interface and sales support in the stores, both in the U.S. and in the U.K.
More than five years since launching, the company has two full-time employees and nearly a dozen part-time employees.
The team stays connected throughout the week via phone and video calls. “In this day and age you can run a business virtually from anywhere," says Cecil. Cecil runs the overall company and collaborates with Rebecca in key areas, including product development and business strategy. Rebecca's scientific understanding and Cecil's marketing and product development background complement one another in addressing the needs of women. And the sisterly connection helps with communication. “We're so honest with each other, because we have this bond," says Cecil.
The company's products were originally sold in Neiman Marcus, but have since expanded to other stores.
According to Cecil, the two have learned a lot and even shifted business plans as needed along the way. For starters, after two years in Neiman Marcus, the founders decided they were ready to grow and began talking with other stores. VENeffect products are now sold in a number of national retailers and etailers. They’re growing internationally, as well. In the past year, the brand launched in the U.K. via Space NK Apothecary and Soft Surroundings, a women's lifestyle brand.
By working with chemists, the Booth sisters developed skin care products that mimic natural hormones.
Their growth strategy has paid off: sales have grown 50 percent over last year due to same-store sales increases and expansion into new customers and markets. “We have exceeded 100 stores, and significantly increased our e-commerce footprint, up from 35 stores." says Cecil. Its products have also doubled: VENeffect now offers eight different skin care items.
In coming years, Cecil says her goal is to expand into Australia, New Zealand and Asia. “We would like to see it in many markets of the world, because this challenge of hormonal aging is universal," she says. In addition, Cecil says there's a great deal of education needed when it comes to women and hormones. She and Rebecca would like to continue raising awareness about what happens to women's bodies as they age. Part of that quest, she says, is helping people to understand that “hormone" isn't a bad word.
In the coming years, Cecil hopes to expand the company to other international markets, including Australia and Asia.
“Hormonal changes and even the word estrogen carry a lot of positive and negative. Being hormonal is not seen as a positive, yet we're designed as women with hormones," she says. “And they're beautiful."
