Dr Liia Ramachandra of Epilynx: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Launched My Business or Startup
An Interview With Doug Noll
Passion alone is NOT enough
There is no use to start a business where you do not know anything about it. Even if it is your passion. Such as I love shoes but I do not know how to make them (myself) or design them so that they will fit perfectly and will add to comfort. Passion alone is not enough. You really need to know your stuff :)
Taking the risk to start a company is a feat few are fully equipped for. Any business owner knows that the first few years in business are anything but glamorous. Building a successful business takes time, lessons learned, and most importantly, enormous growth as a business owner. What works and what doesn’t when one starts a new business? What are the valuable lessons learned from the “University of Adversity”? As part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Liia Ramachandra.
Dr. Liia Ramachandra wears many hats, from CEO and mother to doctor and patient. It was her personal experience as a patient that led her to create EpiLynx, stemming from her own health struggles. Despite facing challenges, both in health and career, Dr. Liia and her husband, Dr. Sumant, drew on their combined expertise in healthcare to establish EpiLynx, offering skincare solutions tailored to previously overlooked needs.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have spent my ‘previous’ life working in the corporate world where I grew from an entry level to a VP in the pharmaceutical industry companies. I have worked for some of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world such as Hospira/Pfizer, Astellas and Takeda. At the age of 40,4 years ago, I decided to take a leap of faith and fulfill my life’s dream to start my own adventure. So I left my 6 figures corporate job and started from scratch. EpiLynx by Dr. Liia was born from my struggle with gluten allergy and psoriasis (since I was 6 years old) and realizing that I wasn’t alone. Not being able to find allergen-free and gluten-free skincare products that could guarantee being allergen-free and gluten free, my husband, Dr. Sumant Ramachandra, MD, Ph.D., MBA, and I decided to create our own to help patients and people struggling with autoimmune disease and allergies.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
I would say it was COVID in 2020…We were doing well growing our business of skincare and beauty products but when COVID happened a lot of our customers wrote to us that they needed gluten-free, allergen-free and preferably vegan hand-sanitizers. So we have rebuilt some parts of our lab and started making hand sanitizers at cost to help many people in need. At a certain point we were shipping thousands of hand sanitizers per week. I have never thought that we will be doing this instead of making beauty products! We have stopped doing it now but I still have quite a bit of customers coming to us and asking for our hand sanitizers since they have loved it so much.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
There is not one point where things magically change or take off. I truly believe it is an accumulation of hard work, trial and error and laser focus. We have done and tried multiple things and now we seem to have found what does and does not work. Eliminating distractions and ‘nice to have’ and focusing on our mission to serve customers is what made us successful (and still does).
So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
We are doing great and our business has grown 2x each year. The biggest thing is to learn from your mistakes and failures and turn them into learnings and successes. Stay true to your mission and your customers and FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake would be that I, being a compounding pharmacist and an analytical chemist, and having the ability to invent and develop formulas, I have developed 80 SKUs instead of focusing on 3–5 SKUs, since I wanted every possible product under the sun.
This is a very costly mistake since you need to buy the right ingredients plus jars and boxes etc.
Now we are focusing on a couple of SKUs that truly make a difference and make it easier for our customers to find and choose what they need!
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Our innovation is our mission to bring the beauty industry to a different standard. When I started EpiLynx by Dr. Liia, I did a lot of research on market brands already available. I noticed that while some products market themselves as “clean,” none fit the mold of what we consider safe and functional for people with certain skin conditions, allergies or even sensitive skin. “Clean” skincare is used and misused often. Clean for us means free of the most common allergens such as nuts, gluten, shellfish, dairy, parabens, and phthalates.
I truly believe that clean needs to be seen not only as a chemical concept but also as a medical concept. This classification would ensure that people who suffer from certain conditions would not exacerbate their symptoms and jeopardize their health by using the wrong skincare products and cosmetics.
So our innovation is: let’s take chemically clean as a foundation and bring the industry one step higher and reimagine the ‘clean’ beauty being also medically clean (clean from the most allergens).
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Tips not to burn out:
Burnout is a growing concern in today’s fast-paced work environment, leading to physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that hurts job performance and the organization as a whole.
It’s easy to blame the workload and company culture, but we also have a significant role in creating a work-life balance for ourselves.
We all have bad work habits that contribute to burnout, such as overcomplicating things or procrastinating tasks, resulting in poor time management.
Here are some habits we can all work on to prevent burnout:
1. Neglecting self-care? Take that shopping day off!
2. Negative thinking? Take a moment for gratitude every day.
3. Lack of boundaries? Say NO more often.
4. Multitasking? Stop being proud of it — it doesn’t work.
5. Perfectionism? You will never accomplish anything but stress.
6. Overcommitment? Start saying NO — it is a full sentence.
7. Individualism? Delegate and team up, then grab that drink after work.
8. Poor time management? Focus, focus, focus.
Let’s recognize our role in preventing burnout and work on these habits to create a healthier work-life balance for ourselves and our organizations.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Yes, number 1 is my husband, Sumant. He always believed in me and is my biggest fan. It sounds cliche but he always gives me energy and brings me up when I am at my lowest. He supported me leaving the corporate job and pursuing this dream. We have bootstrapped to start this business. As you can imagine the investment to have your own skincare lab, high quality ingredients, investment in the Research and Development can be huge. He has supported me through all of this.
Then of course my kids tell me every day that they are proud of me and my parents and friends who always support me unconditionally.
But I am most grateful to my customers who believe in us and what we do. They show their appreciation in using and loving our products and sending me notes on how our products have changed their lives etc.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We support various societies that focus on autoimmune conditions and education. Such as Celiac Patient Association, Suicide Prevention, Eczema Association etc. We also donate funds to support education for girls.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first launched my business,” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Obsess about your customer
A. This is truly a #1. EVERYTHING you do, every choice you make, should be for the benefit of your customer. Be obsessed with your customers.
B. My story: Even Though I have my team, I make sure that I read every customer email and reply to all their questions and listen to all of them. This is the #1 reason we grew so quickly. I listened to them and we constantly improved our skincare products to adjust to their needs. We eliminate ingredients that they might be allergic to and constantly aim for improvement of either our products, services or operations.
2. Passion alone is NOT enough
A. There is no use to start a business where you do not know anything about it. Even if it is your passion. Such as I love shoes but I do not know how to make them (myself) or design them so that they will fit perfectly and will add to comfort. Passion alone is not enough. You really need to know your stuff :)
B. I started EpiLynx by Dr. Liia because I knew what was lacking in the beauty world (identify a problem) and I knew how to fix it. With my background as an oncology pharmacist (PharmD) and a chemist, I have learned to develop, formulate and produce medicines and skincare.
3. You need Laser Focus
A. It is important to do only the most ‘needed’ things. It is always very seductive to do it all, to develop it all, to do everything that customers might want and to spread yourself thin. But that’s a definite recipe for failure. Doing it all and spreading yourself thin is also a distraction technique that keeps you busy so you feel productive while not much will be happening. So, do one thing and do it extremely well before you move into another skincare product, project etc.
B. My team and I fell into that trap in the beginning where we wanted to do too much, launch too mah products, and work on too many channels. We were spending a lot of money without much being accomplished.
4. Own it
A. When you start and run your own business you do not have a boss which is great! It feels freeing that there is no more 9–5 or somebody who tells you what to do. This is an upsight and a huge downsight. There is no boss so you are solely responsible for your mistakes and successes. You can’t blame anyone but yourself, you need to own your mistakes and learn from them and immediately improve upon them. There is no time for endless discussions and meetings since in the meantime you might be losing your customers and money. There is no 9–5 anymore which is fantastic however you have to be present 24/7, anytime and all the time. This is why this can not be just passion but you need to be obsessed with your idea/company.
B. We made this mistake a few times where I went back to consulting in the healthcare industry to earn more money so I could sustain the business but I quickly realized that if I was not there, the business was not going anywhere. When things didn’t go well, we were blaming the vendors or the environment (such as COVID), but did not help anyone: not yourself or business. You have to own it, make the needed change and move on…with an extreme sense of urgency.
5. Find Time to Be Bored
A. What, find time to be bored, while running a business? You must be kidding me? No, I am not. You really need to find time to just do nothing, or go for a walk, or meditate or go for a spa day and just be bored. Only then, the most creative ideas will come that will not just help your business but will truly move the needle.
B. My best ideas come to me while I am biking or in the shower. Even the idea to start EpiLynx by Dr. Liia came to me in the shower and seemed absurd at first but look where we are now.
Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?
I don’t think there is a formula for success to ride the emotional highs and lows and it is super personal. I would recommend 3 things though:
1. Self care (take walks, go shopping, do that hot yoga)
2. Focus on your mission and eliminate all noise
3. Focus on the most important things in work and life, such as your family, time with them, the most important things that make your work meaningful and successful and outsource everything else).
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Kindness and choosing to be happy. Being kind to yourself and others will make this a much better world. Choosing to be happy and see things and people from a positive perspective and always having the benefit of the doubt that people are good in their core, will eliminate a lot of misunderstandings, anger and hate.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Instagram: @epilynxbydrliia
FB: EpiLynx Cosmetics (https://www.facebook.com/Epilynx-Cosmetics-101179681854046) Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-liia-ramachandra-159227155/
Youtube: Dr. Liia Ramachandra (https://www.youtube.com/channel/
UCYQzSCaXCwZ3G593ABj5wfA)
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.
