Beauty brand founder turns engagement ring into $12 million success story

The mysterious Japanese geisha has served as muse for artists and fashion designers for centuries. And six years ago, Victoria Tsai was so taken with the natural beauty of modern-day geisha, she decided to launch Tatcha, a skincare line based on their ancient secrets.

Tsai, a 37-year-old Harvard Business School alum, had a chance encounter with a geisha at a cosmetics store in Japan and noticed the woman had flawless skin without a drop of makeup. This piqued Tsai’s curiosity and triggered her exploration into the world of gold-flecked blotting papers and dewy skin mists.

Tsai ultimately discovered “Miyakofuzoku Kewaiden” (translation: “Capital Beauty and Style Handbook”) -- known as the geisha bible -- originally published in 1813. The seven-chapter book is devoted to finding beauty and elegance in both appearance and spirit.

This text was the foundation for Tsai’s foray into the entrepreneurial space. After she returned to the U.S. she left her job at GoodGuide, an app that aggregates health, environment and social performance of consumer products, and dedicated her life to pursue her American dream – albeit one infused with Japanese essence.

It didn’t come easy. She raised money to start her business by selling her engagement ring, her car and furniture. She launched Tatcha in 2009 in San Francisco.

Fast-forward six years and Tatcha is ready for its close-up. Its three-year growth rate was 10,996% and it logged $12 million in revenue for fiscal 2014, according to the company. Not to mention, it’s ranked #21 on this year’s Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies.

Tsai came up with the name for her line by combining two Japanese words: tatehana ("standing flower") and chabana ("arrangements created for us as part of the Japanese tea ceremony"). Tatcha’s website explains: “Like freshly unfurled petals from a grafted plant, Tatcha was born from combining the first three letters of each of these deep-rooted phrases.”

Taking a note from geisha beauty regimens, Tatcha uses ingredients like Okinawa red algae, silk, peony and rice bran, and forgoes chemical-rich formulas with parabens, mineral oils and sulfate detergents.

You can find the brand at Barneys, Sephora and on QVC – and they don’t come cheap. Products range in price from $12 to $185. A few of Tsai’s bestsellers include Rice Enzyme Powder, Dewy Skin Mist, and Camellia Cleansing Oil.

“The idea that I could find authenticity, simplicity and beauty in another place and bring that to life for other people is a dream come true,” Tsai told Yahoo Finance. “It never felt like that much of a risk; it was something that I had to do.”