Erika Geraerts - Head of Fluff
Erika is the founder of Fluff, a beauty brand for the next generation. Building more than just a beauty brand, Erika has a focus on creating products that highlight that the future of beauty is more than makeup.
Alongside founding Fluff, Erika co-founded frank body, Willow & Blake, and LBSS cafe.
Erika on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikageraerts
Fluff: https://www.itsallfluff.com/
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“Sorry to tell you guys, but you are going to get wrinkles.”
“We're a makeup company telling people to wear less, and we're also using social media to tell people to get off their phones.”
“That's not our vibe. That's not what we're going to do.”
“I think the biggest job I have is actually to convince myself, because when I have that conviction, it's like no one can really stop me.”
“Without having a psychologist to meet up with and talk to, you really can start to believe your own shit.”
“It would be foolish for us to think that the storey we came up with 3 years ago for Fluff wouldn't need revisiting.”
“It's very rare that you can make someone fall in love with you on a first date.”
How do you communicate an evolving business vision to investors?
Maintain constant, close communication with investors, revisit your original vision regularly to check you're on track, and recognize that investors are betting on you and your story as much as the product.
Should a startup invest heavily in trademarking early on?
Trademarking can be very costly and isn't always worth it; competitors can often get around protections anyway, so it's often better to focus time and money on strengthening your own brand rather than fighting every potential infringement.
How should a small business find its brand voice when writing website copy?
Don't outsource your voice to someone else — start writing as yourself first, then have someone review it, rather than trying to imitate another brand's tone.
Erika describes nearly two years of research before launching Fluff, narrowing down to a lip product, powder, and mascara as the core items, with the bronzing powder becoming the first finished product.
Erika recounts deciding she wanted to see a psychologist, getting a referral, and then coincidentally having another counsellor walk into the Fluff store, buy a product, and reveal she was a psychologist — leading Erika to book with her and later refer many friends to the same person.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
Fluff, founded by Erika Geraerts, is a casual cosmetics company that challenges traditional beauty industry messaging. Rather than telling consumers to buy more products to fix insecurities, Fluff encourages people to feel more in makeup but not feel less without it, using sustainable metal packaging and transparent, non-clichéd branding.
From episode 778→Erika Geraerts says it depends; while she trademarked heavily with Fluff based on lessons from Frank Body, she notes competitors can still copy close enough to avoid infringement, and fighting trademark battles can drain time and money better spent strengthening the brand itself.
From episode 778→Erika Geraerts credits regular therapy, a strong personal support network, and balancing hustle with downtime (including 'wine and walks') as key to managing founder stress, and encourages removing stigma around seeing a psychologist.
From episode 778→Every episode featuring Erika Geraerts on The Daily Talk Show.
