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Julie Chung is in the business of making people happier and their lives easier.
T3
(Myself included.)
Hair is a crowning glory for women.
If your hair feels good, then you might go out and do amazing things with more confidence.
Chung at her other job.
Chung recalls a fashion designer friend of hers whod recently brought the Airebrush on vacation.
That kind of feedback means everything.
But thats important for any founder, right?
You have to know every little thing that makes a product successful in the marketplace.
And now you’re able to buy T3 everywhere fromSephoratoNordstromand evenBest Buy.
Its still sort of this pinch-me situation.
Glamour: Starting a brand of hair tools doesnt come without a lot of thought and planning.
Where did this passion come from, and how was T3 born?
So that was sort of set for me.
I was using a $15 drugstore blow-dryer, and it just wasnt working for me.
My hair is coarse and thick, really hard to manage.
Where did you go from there?
Tools werent being marketed to women in a way that women understood.
Beauty marketing takes our emotions and meets our needs, but the hair industry wasnt doing that.
So there was a white space.
Thats how T3 started.
Your medical background was also essential, Id imagine.
Its not that different from medicine.
Medicines about increasing quality of life.
Its about solving problems.
Theres a real-life person behind that solution that youre trying to solve.
Its funny how hand in hand it really goes.
Chung at her other job.
What did your parents say at the time?
My parents were worried I was going to drop out of med school.
Plus, Kent and I werent married yet so there was some risk there too.
My parents were like, it’s crucial that you get engaged.
We need to see some commitment because youre spending a lot of time with this guy doing this thing.
Its been a happy ending, but yeah, it was a little risky.
And youre still a practicing ophthalmologist at UCLA one day a week.
How did you decide how to divide your time between jobs?
One thing that people never teach women is that you cant do everything.
You have to prioritize.
My family will always come first.
I [had] massive infertility problems and was told I was never going to have children.
I dont think I could have pulled back otherwise.
I went to three days a week, and then T3 started growing.
What do your parents say now?
My parents are happy for me and very supportive.
Originally my mom was like, Business companies so unstable, so unpredictable.
Now shes like, Oh, you should probably be an entrepreneur!
Her tune has changed.
What do you wish consumers realized about hair tools?
Theres a lot more to a hair tool than hot air, and weve learned this over 20 years.
Thats how our company started.
I had a problem, and we set out to fix it.
Its no different today.
The hair-tools category is not as crowded as beauty, but hair is way more complicated.
Its really understanding your customer and tweaking that technology to fit her needs.
What is the best quality in a boss?
Someone who really listens to you.
A boss who really listens is teachable.
It also means you have a more open mind if youre actively listening.
Whats the worst quality in a boss, aside from someone who doesnt listen?
Someone with a huge ego who is inflexible.
And someone who isnt a team player.
What is your favorite part of the job?
Interacting with women and solving their hair problems.
I love the creative process.
I love the product photo shoots, working on the package design, all of it.
And I really love the technical part, because my other world is technical.
What are you a perfectionist about?
What is the most misunderstood thing about what you do?
That its just hair.
Thats how my parents used to see it.
Your job as a doctor is so much more important.
I would strongly disagree.
The psychology of hair is so huge.
Nine out of 10 women will tell you they dont know what to do with their hair.
Whats the best piece of money advice youve ever received?
To not be obsessed with it.
To hold it loosely.
To stop thinking numbers, because numbers ultimately will hinder your creativity.
The money will come if you do things that youre passionate about.
I really believe that it’s crucial that you give it away.
We are huge in philanthropy, including womens health initiatives and children through World Vision.
How do you deal with disappointment?
I think theres a purpose in everything; theres learnings.
So I allow myself to be disappointed but not for long.
Ill step aside and say, What can I learn from this?
How can I grow from this?
What I really want to say is, You know what?
There are so many wonderful things that I have.
What advice do you wish you could give your younger self?
To not care so much what other people think.
Just do what you are passionate about and dont listen to the naysayers.
Its okay if not everyone agrees with what you want to do, what you want to be.
I dont know if I wouldve gone into medicine had I cared so much of what my parents think.
Finish this sentence: People would be happier at work if…
They stopped calling it work.
What should they call it?
If you see what you do as missional, then it changes the way you view things.
You really have to change your perspective in what it is that youre doing.
Thats why I don’t consider my job as just hair.
When you see it as something more, youre more creative.
