Sasha Plavsic, Founder of ILIA Beauty, the clean cosmetics brand known for redefining performance makeup, opens up about what it took to build a $100M business from a garage and a $25,000 line of credit.
In this raw and vulnerable conversation, Sasha shares how a deeply personal quest to heal her skin led to the creation of ILIA, a brand that went on to help define the "clean beauty" category alongside industry giants like Sephora. But behind the brand’s success story lies an untold reality of burnout, identity loss, and a literal health collapse that forced her to reckon with the cost of carrying it all.
From almost closing ILIA’s doors to hiring a CEO and eventually selling a majority stake to the Courtin-Clarins family, Sasha walks us through the most defining and difficult moments of her journey.
Whether you’re bootstrapping your first venture or navigating scale, Sasha’s story is a powerful reminder that success should never come at the cost of your health or your joy.
Key Takeaways and Topics:
How Sasha built ILIA Beauty from a garage with no outside funding for the first 7 years
The personal skin struggles that led her to question conventional beauty products
Why she rejected the “all natural” label and pioneered a hybrid formulation model
Early setbacks, including being told labs couldn’t make the products she envisioned
The pivotal moment she considered shutting ILIA down—and what saved it
The decision to hire a CEO and why it was the best move for the brand and her health
How ILIA scaled from $5M to $100M, eventually catching the eye of the Courtin-Clarins family
The physical collapse that forced Sasha to finally slow down—her kidneys started shutting down
How hustle culture and perfectionism nearly cost her life, and what she’s doing differently now
The guilt and double standards faced by working mothers and women founders
How Sasha protects her energy today: boundaries, executive coaching, and saying “no”
Her advice to founders: trust your gut, delegate what drains you, and stop trying to do it all
The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com
Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com
Follow ILIA Beauty
Ig: https://www.instagram.com/iliabeauty
Follow Sasha
Ig: https://www.instagram.com/sashaplavsic
Follow Megan
Ig: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau
In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc
Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com
Themes: entrepreneurship, clean beauty, burnout, founder health, motherhood, bootstrapping, female founders, exit strategy, scaling a startup, sustainable success, executive coaching, mental health, delegating, work-life balance, hustle culture, investor-free growth, ILIA Beauty, women in leadership, resilience, skin care innovation, founder vulnerability
Olivia Landau, Co-Founder and CEO of The Clear Cut—the largest digitally native natural diamond jewelry company in the United States—shares how a side hustle selling engagement rings through Instagram DMs transformed into a company that's hitting $100M in revenue.
Despite being dismissed by venture capitalists and warned by her family not to become an entrepreneur, Olivia Landau chose to bet on herself. Alongside her then-boyfriend (now husband and co-founder), Kyle, she took a leap of faith, walking away from the safe path and rejecting startup “best practices” that didn’t feel aligned.
Instead of following the noise, she doubled down on what felt right: human connection, deep education, craftsmanship, and building slow and intentionally. Her voice is a powerful reminder of what can happen when you block out the noise, trust your gut, and build your way—even when everyone says you’re doing it wrong.
Key Takeaways and Topics:
How The Clear Cut started as an educational blog and Instagram side hustle
Olivia’s generational roots in the diamond industry and how that shaped her approach
The myths around lab-grown vs. natural diamonds—and why she refuses to sell lab-created stones
Fundraising rejection: Why no VCs would invest and how they raised $700K from angels and customers instead
The Clear Cut’s breakthrough moment during the pandemic and how their custom-built tech scaled the business
Why “unscalable” things are worth doing first
The emotional toll and impostor syndrome that come with fundraising and startup leadership
How Olivia navigates being a new mom, co-founder, and CEO
Debunking ethical misconceptions about natural diamonds—and why the real story matters
Why having a personal brand and showing your face on social media can be a competitive advantage
Her advice to aspiring founders: Don’t wait for perfection, just take the first step
Disclaimer:
Olivia shares her view that natural diamonds can be more ethical than lab-grown alternatives. This is a nuanced topic; what is “ethical” depends on your values. Natural diamonds may support economies like Botswana’s, while lab-grown stones produced with renewable energy may appeal to those prioritizing environmental impact.
Some stats shared from memory have been clarified:
Diamonds make up 25–30% of Botswana’s GDP, not 80% as mentioned (that figure refers to exports).
Diamond revenues fund free primary education, subsidized secondary education, and universal healthcare in Botswana.
While “stipends” aren’t standard, the government provides scholarships and financial support to students and select groups.
We’ve included these clarifications to support informed decision-making.
The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com
Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com
Follow Olivia and The Clear Cut
Her Ig: https://www.instagram.com/olivialandau
The Clear Cut: https://www.instagram.com/theclearcut
Follow Megan
Ig: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau/
In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc
Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com
Themes: entrepreneurship, diamond industry, The Clear Cut, venture capital, scaling a startup, personalized luxury, ethical sourcing, tech, jewelry, women founder, e-commerce, working with a partner, motherhood, impostor syndrome, custom jewelry, resilience, lab-grown diamonds, natural diamonds, storytelling, brand building