In this episode of the Built Beautiful Podcast, Nicole breaks down the exact blueprint behind every modern beauty unicorn. Whether you’re dreaming of the next Fenty, Good American, Skims, Olaplex, or a category-defining biotech brand, this is the playbook founders wish they had on day one.

Nicole walks step-by-step through how unicorn brands are truly built:
• Category design over competition — redefining your space instead of fighting for shelf space
• The power of a single hero SKU — the product that becomes your proof of concept and your moat
• IP, language, science, and supply-chain control — the assets investors value most
• Thought leadership and founder visibility — why founders become the megaphone
• Community engineering and retention — building five-year loyalty, not five-minute reach
• Smart, strategic capital — how to choose investors who fuel growth, not chaos
• Operational scalability — the number-one reason unicorn acquisitions fall apart
• The 5-Year Unicorn Framework — what to build in years 1–5 to hit $100M+ revenue

This episode is a masterclass for beauty founders, biotech innovators, aesthetic entrepreneurs, and anyone serious about creating a category-defining brand with real staying power.

Only 0.02% of startups ever reach a billion-dollar valuation. But with strategy, precision, and five-year discipline, you can build a unicorn—or a strategic “micro-unicorn” with a life-changing exit.

If you’re building in beauty, biotech, or aesthetic innovation, you’ll want to take notes.

Subscribe, share, and join the Beauty Fam as we build the next generation of category-defining brands.