Consider the Environment You Are Creating: Interview with Daniel Isaacs, Co-Founder of Medik8

I recently went one-on-one with Daniel Isaacs, founding partner of Medik8.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Daniel: Many early years growing into a young adult spent working in my Dad’s pharmacy - helping him across the whole business, both behind the scenes and the front end. Dealing with all kinds of customers/patients. Here I learned not only about the pharma and beauty industry but the value of community. And, for sure, entrepreneurship - this was no ordinary chemist! He was selling all kinds of merchandise - (some that had nothing to do with pharmacy whatsoever!) -  children's toys, seasonal gifting sets, travel equipment, you name it. 

I’ve always gravitated to science; I studied chemistry at University and straight after I started working with my brother (founding partner and also a regular at the pharmacy) to form the Medik8 skincare brand. 

The learning curve at Medik8 was, let's say… steep. We grew the business ‘the hard way’ - we set out with no investment or advisors yet set our intentions to create the most advanced and technically challenging products; with no formulation training, and armed with the basic lab equipment that we could get our hands on (namely a spatula and a beaker). 

There were so many lessons and such power in this true learning curve - to succeed we had to fully immerse ourselves in the beauty industry - to understand not simply what was happening in the manufacturing and market landscape but “why” - why hadn’t anyone created a more advanced version of vitamin C, why was no one talking about retinol (both ingredients being integral to skincare as we saw it at the time and still are to this day). Only this way could we achieve our ambitions and truly innovate.

And with a purest approach to product development - led by what we believed to be the most effective solutions according to science - it meant we weren’t distracted by trends,  which resulted in very long life cycles of our launches. 

Had we initially accelerated through investment or expanded the team faster in the earlier years  I don’t believe we would have the sustained growth we have now and we would have struggled to maintain our ethical principles, in-house vertical integration, and timeless skincare philosophy. Those foundational learning experiences gave me the tools to now lead a much larger yet still pioneering business. 

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?

Daniel: Back to the pharmacy,....this was at a time when pharmacists still made things behind the counter. We were fascinated by how he mixed all the compounds together and would make up creams and lotions in real time to help his customers. It was such a buzz to hear when something he’d made had improved a customer’s problems. We were hooked.

We were hugely inspired by Anita Roddick, creator of The Body Shop. She was such a trailblazer, even by today’s standards - truly ahead of her time bringing ethics and sustainability to beauty. We were motivated to try to do the same but add back the science I so loved. We started to investigate scientific skincare to marry both results and ethics together.

There were brands which did ethical purchasing. There were brands which had beautiful fragrance and texture. And now new professional brands were emerging which focused on results. But no one seemed to combine this all together - to give “results and experience”. That sudden realization was the spark which set me on the course to create Medik8. I believed that skincare consumers cared about results and experience, but were forced to choose. And that is the whole ethos behind Medik8 - you truly can have it all.

Ideas can come from everywhere, but successful ones have a purpose and need to solve a problem or a gap in the market. Always listen to your customers, identifying the gaps in their day-to-day needs is the starting point, the rest will follow.

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?

Daniel: The market was growing and we had a deep conviction that we were providing something valuable to skincare users on a fundamental level. Though the market hadn’t turned to “science” back then as it does now in all channels, we knew that people value true effectiveness and that a robust scientific approach was the best way to assure that  - plus of course a great experience - it seems obvious now but this was the gap in the market. We had the faith that the market would turn this way - truth will prevail. It was only a matter of time. And we believed in ourselves to be able to execute our intentions. 

Of course, we had validation along the way -  we made sure we heard firsthand what was the experience of our products like for people - perhaps not having the budget for external consumer testing was a blessing at the time as we had to actually ask people what they loved and if they had any pain points with both our products and others in the market. We learned fast and stayed agile in our thinking and business development - of course now with social media and e-commerce you can gather large sets of rich data about your products and brand and I personally take the time to read as much as I can. 

In short - start with something you truly believe in and put the value in the quality of your insights as much as the quantity.

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?

Daniel: Always innovate. Innovation is hard. Pushing boundaries is hard work - resources, investment, complexity. It's getting harder with the competition, but in order to maintain at the forefront of scientific skincare we adopt an out-innovate approach as our ‘norm’.

Don’t be led, be leaders and foster an entrepreneurial spirit throughout the whole business.

Build a truly connected team. Recognize that everyone is an expert in their field, from accounts to operations, facilities to marketing.  A highly engaged team makes for efficient cross-functional team of experts, where every single person is involved in blue sky thinking to drive the business forward. Never overlook anyone and build space to ideate.

Be customer-centric. Customer centricity has always guided our approaches and vice versa, having clarity on your customer means you can talk directly to them, never underestimate the power of the customer, and keep them close.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Daniel: Always have a curious mind, be interested in everything, and know a little about a lot, this way you can genuinely connect with your teams and peers. I always say it's important to believe in the power of role models. A relatable role model is crucial to unlocking and achieving success as a leader and as a business.

Effective leadership is giving space - with the right talent, the answers are always in the room. It’s important to give everyone the opportunity to step forward, but remember this might be in different guises so nurture different communication styles/spaces and channels to foster relationships.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Daniel: People are at the center of every success, It’s not about hiring mini-you’s. Don’t underestimate the level of change needed. Look for ‘different’ - the more you can relax your assumptions about what good looks like the better. Think laterally about sourcing talent and be comfortable with being challenged - it drives new conversations, change, and cut-through.

Succeeding requires effective communication, experience, proof points, and a balanced scorecard across the board to attract and retain talent today.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Daniel: Invest in yourself - it’s easy to forget, especially when you’ve got momentum, but if you’re not growing, neither will your business or organization. Make time for what inspires you, prioritize opportunities for personal development - never rest on your laurels. Make time for space away from the day-to-day, to reflect and keep learning. 

Consider the environment you are creating - not just your strategy. Ask yourself: “Are you creating an environment that produces the behavior and outcomes you seek in individuals/ teams/ your community?” 

Read about the human condition - our psychology underpins everything that happens in business and society in general; having even some basic understanding will enhance your perspective in every aspect of your work - from spotting current/future trends, managing your people, providing value to your customers… 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Daniel: It’s a quote from Atomic Habits by James Clear - “We do not rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.”   I’m pretty sure this explains every success or failure I’ve ever experienced.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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