Hi everyone, I'm Hillary Kerr, the co-founder and chief contact officer of Who Up Where,

and this is Second Life, a podcast spotlighting women who have truly inspiring careers.

We're talking about their work journeys, what they've learned from the process of setting

aside their doubts or fears, and what happens when they embark on their Second Life.

Today, I'm joined by the founder and CEO of Array, Alison Conrad.

Deemed the wrinkle cream of hair care, Alison launched Array as a single supplement to support hair color.

In 2020, she founded the company alongside her longtime hairdresser, who saw the demand for such a

product every day in his chair, and together, they have built out an assortment of products

beyond that initial supplement to include a shampoo and conditioner, plus styling products

all designed to proactively address aging hair. Formulated with vitamins, antioxidants,

and a clinically efficacious peptide to help delay and repigment gray hair,

Array has created an entirely new category and folks are loving it. In fact, the company grew 12

X in 2022 alone. But, back before Alison was a hair care pioneer, her background was actually

quite varied. She worked in fashion for major brands like Coach and Trina Turk, and even started a

side hustle selling meat to order skirts. Once she got a taste for early stage businesses,

she continued to grow brands at impressive rates, including at Blushington and Aaron Condron,

plus advising consumer companies like Good Milk. It is quite a fascinating story,

so with no further delay, now on Second Life, it's Alison Conrad.

All right, Alison, are you ready to go? You bet, I'm excited. I am too. So, we like to start at

the beginning on this podcast. What did you study in school and much more importantly?

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up? Way back in the beginning,

I thought I was going to be an orthodontist. What? Why? How? How did you even know what that was?

...