From Mom To Mogul, All With Good Skin

CNN Money:

Tracy Brennan wasn’t looking for a multimillion-dollar business idea; she just wanted to modify her skin-care routine when pregnancy wreaked havoc on her face.

But she discovered that, short of a dermatologist’s office or department store, there was no one location offering a mix of products and treatments for her skin type and condition.

So Brennan, then in her early 30s and a former advertising executive and stay-at-home mom, developed a business idea for one over the next few years. She wrote a business plan detailing a one-stop skin-care center that would offer an assortment of brands, along with nonsurgical treatments from Botox and collagen to facials and waxing.

In 2003, Brennan and her husband, William Brennan, an investment banker, used their savings to open a store on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, a popular shopping destination among the young Hollywood crowd.

She then partnered with father-and-daughter dermatologists Marvin and Vicki Rapaport, who serve as medical directors for the venture.

The store, which Brennan named Kalologie, became popular with everyone from students seeking acne treatments to professional women looking for anti-aging serums to men stopping by for laser-hair removal.

As demand rises for skin rejuvenation and non-surgical treatments, Kalologie found success in the fragmented market for skin-care products and services. The business generated $2 million in revenue last year and projects revenues of $9 million this year, according to Brennan.