When Failure Clears the Way for Something Better

Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff

Rebecca Minkoff

Society & Culture

4.8 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kiana Cabell was slathering coconut oil on her skin long before it became a beauty trend. This week on SUPERWOMEN, I sit down with the co-founder of Kopari Beauty, one of the first brands to make clean body care cool and accessible. Kiana shares how she turned a multipurpose pantry staple into a breakout brand, what happened when her first product idea didn’t take off, and how Kopari evolved alongside her through every stage of growth. She talks about raising four kids while building a business, stepping back without stepping away, and why the best way forward is to start before you’re ready and to figure it out along the way. Episode Guide: (00:00) Meet Kiana Cabell, co-founder of Kopari Beauty(01:54) How coconut oil sparked a business idea (06:10) Navigating co-founder roles and dynamics (10:28) How Kopari stayed different from their competitors (13:45) Build a community before approaching retail (16:31) Lessons from raising VC too fast (20:28) Learning to let go and hiring a CEO (24:55) What most people misunderstand about sunscreen (28:25) Why starting before you’re ready is the best advice (29:37) The challenges of scaling inventory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	When I launched the brand, I didn't know what I was doing, but I jumped in and you start figuring it out and then the answers kind of come.
0:07.2	Today's guest is Keanu Cabell, the co-founder of Kapari Beauty.
0:11.5	And I was using my coconut oil for beauty like I always have.
0:15.1	It's so simple.
0:16.0	It's just pure virgin coconut oil and it's nothing better.
0:19.6	She was one of the first clean beauty brands,
0:22.5	originally launching with a personal lubricant that did not go very far, quickly pivoted with her
0:27.4	co-founders into what is known now as suncare, skin care. We started a brand not really having
0:32.9	any experience and we just like drinking through a fire hose and you're learning you're like
0:37.8	riding a roller coaster and you don't know what's coming next really innovating before on everything
0:42.7	clean 10 years ago with kind of the beginning of the entire clean beauty movement the hair world
0:48.3	was so different it was performance driven people want smooth people want volume People want all these things. And at the time,
0:56.1	it was just too granola. Take listen to how she built the business, what inspired her, and how she
1:01.5	mothers for children as a founder. I think you need to have like who you are and what's your
1:06.7	differentiator. A little bit of a blueprint. Like where do you want to go? How are you going to get there?
1:12.1	Be hungry and be willing to kind of stick with it.
1:22.8	I'm Rebecca Minkoff, and this is Superwomen.
1:25.7	Each week, inspiring women are interviewed to uncover the unexpected journeys, the challenges,
1:30.8	and the unwavering spirit that makes them powerful.
1:34.4	Get ready to be motivated by stories of resilience and discover the keys to unlocking your
1:39.5	own potential.
1:43.0	Fiona, welcome to the podcast.
	...

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