Yesterday, Alix Earle plastered the internet with the launch of Reale Actives, her first brand of her own. It’s a skincare brand designed to be safe for acne-prone skin, which she spent the past two years developing with Imaginary Ventures.
But while Earle is just getting started as a founder, she already has a wealth of insight into marketing and how brands can reach consumers today. With 14 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, she’s one of the world’s most successful influencers. Her resume includes four Super Bowl commercials, an equity stake in the soda brand Poppi as part of her endorsement fee (which meant she benefitted from its $1.95 billion sale to PepsiCo), and sharing her wisdom with students at Harvard Business School.
Ahead of the launch of Reale Actives, Earle, 25, sat down with Fortune for a wide-ranging conversation about her own career, influencer marketing today, and what brands are getting wrong.
Tell me about Reale Actives.
Where do I start? Acne is something I started to struggle with in middle school and throughout high school. I tried different doctors, medications and a bunch of different products and treatments. And then going into college, I had done Accutane three times, and after every time I completed it, my acne would tend to come back. It was kind of what kickstarted my career online, because I was at such a low point in my self-confidence that I just decided to go online and share about my acne because I thought maybe it would help someone.
