The Opinionated, Badass Founder of a Revolutionary Beauty Brand

66-YEAR-OLD PAULA BEGOUN began her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 28. Remembering how she thought about starting on her own she laughs, “I kept getting fired from other jobs. I am loud, I am brash and I yell. You don’t keep jobs when you are yelling at people. That’s how I became an entrepreneur because I wanted to do what I loved to do and I wanted to wake up in the morning and still have a job.” 35 years ago, Paula Begoun shook up the beauty world with radically honest, straightforward talk about which skin care products would help women — and which wouldn’t.

- Punita Sabharwal

When Begoun started it was an era of no internet.. She wrote her first book about skincare, which was a hit among consumers. And once the internet came she started putting the information on her website. From being a critique of the industry to coming out with her own products has been a transition. “I talked to my family as I was formulating my products a lot of readers and friends said this - I know this transition is hard but you always say that this product is bad, this product is good, don’t use jar etc. why don’t you make products which we should use.” That led to the foundation of Paula’s Choice. She was a visionary of selling through online channel as she made it a direct to consumer brand.