Fiona Co Chan Launched a Beauty Brand That Instantly Went Viral—And Got a Deal on Shark Tank

I think what’s great about TikTok specifically is you can just be yourself, be very genuine, and just talk about your product. You don’t even have to be good at content. TikTok kind of finds the audience for you. Even when I watch my old videos, I’m like, “Oh, I don’t know if that was the best piece of content,” but it resonated with people. 

Just show up, be yourself. That’s what I love the most about TikTok. And for me, I realize that I just really love creating content. It’s actually one of the things that I love doing every single day, and that’s why I still do it.

What is the best piece of money or career advice you’ve ever gotten?

The best piece of career advice that relates to me being a founder was “Go with your gut.” Even if you get advice from other people, no one’s going to know your business as intimately as you do. So ultimately, you are the one that makes the decisions. You have all the information of what constitutes the right decision for your situation.

What is the last great book you read?

I recently read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which I really liked and was so engrossed in. I could not put it down. It was really good.

Explain the moment you realized, Okay, I might actually be successful….

I don’t actually always feel that way, but I think I started to see some success when I found we got into Ulta.

What is your favorite low-stakes treat after a productive day?

I love taking baths. I really like boiling ginger skins and putting it in the bath. I find it detoxing. It’s almost like a sauna replacement, where it helps you get out the sweat. I brainstorm a ton of ideas in the bathtub and really enjoy it.

What is your go-to thank-you gift?

I am someone who loves going to the spa, and I love giving people spa gift cards. I’ll just look up a really nice spa in their city. I love giving spa treatments.

People would be happier doing their work if…

They were really passionate about it, and if the work that they were doing was energizing them instead of draining them.

If you weren’t in your current career, what do you think you’d be doing?

I cannot imagine doing anything else. I really like creating makeup and skin care hybrids. I really like working on TikTok. I think I have the dream job of a collection of everything I love doing. If I didn’t do this job, I would find my way to do this job somehow.

What are five work essentials you can’t live without? 

Definitely my phone, definitely my laptop, definitely this TikTok tripod—I don’t even know what it’s called, but it’s the tripod that everyone has. It’s really great. I can’t live without it. I also have a shelf of just my product development samples. I cannot live without that. If I’m traveling, I’m always traveling with product development samples. It’s a bad habit.