# Madison Reed: Amy Errett

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2025-08-18
- Length: 1h 18m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett

## Summary

Amy Errett, founder and CEO of Madison Reed, explains how she pivoted from a career in finance and venture capital to launch a hair color brand at age 56. She details the product development process with Italian manufacturers, the strategic use of a color-matching algorithm, and the company's evolution from direct-to-consumer sales to a multi-channel model including 100 Color Bars and retail partnerships with Ulta. Errett also candidly discusses the painful separation from three co-founders, a failed Groupon trial, and the challenges of raising capital in a consumer market dominated by AI narratives.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=0) Introduction: Amy Errett and Madison Reed
- [4:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=262) Early Career: Spectrum, Olivia, and Being Fired
- [18:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=1087) Venture Capital at Mavron and Howard Schultz
- [24:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=1446) Identifying the Hair Color Opportunity
- [33:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=1989) Product Development with Italian Manufacturers
- [43:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=2608) Launch Strategy: PR, Groupon, and Algorithms
- [56:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=3408) Co-Founder Meltdown and Management Lessons
- [1:02:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=3737) Expanding to Color Bars and Retail (Ulta)
- [1:10:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett#t=4232) Pandemic Response and Current Market Challenges

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Madison Reed (company)
- L'Oreal (company)
- Ulta (company)
- Groupon (company)
- Dollar Shave Club (company)
- Mavron (company)
- Olivia (company)
- Spectrum (company)
- Glide Church (other)
- Holland America (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Founder Feature: Marilyn Yang of Popadelics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-04-11-founder-feature-marilyn-yang-of-popadelics) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [How to Ask Someone to Invest in Your CPG Brand, with Fave's Ryan Raish](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-10-10-how-to-ask-someone-to-invest-in-your-cpg-brand-with-faves-ryan-raish) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Val Emanuel of Rif Care](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-01-03-founder-feature-val-emanuel-of-rif-care) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [021: Using Public Research to Develop WINK Lash and Brow Oil with Megan Cox of Amalie Beauty](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-10-04-021-using-public-research-to-develop-wink-lash-and-brow-oil-with-megan-cox-of-am) (Product Startup)
- [Founder Feature: Maxi Heidenblut of Häppy Candy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-04-04-founder-feature-maxi-heidenblut-of-happy-candy) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-08-18-madison-reed-amy-errett. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.