{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/668417dd4cb273e4613fe2e9/69a811e647994e342705dfdd?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Beauty Empire Founder: The Untold Story Behind The Global Brand Rodial -  Maria Hatzistefanis","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/668417dd4cb273e4613fe2e9/1772622141373-35b4bf62-ca54-46ef-984d-458563fd1da1.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>This week Alberto sat down with Maria Hatzistefanis, founder and CEO of the Rodial Group, bestselling author, and a Dragon on Dragons Den Greece.</p><p><br></p><p>Maria grew up on a small island in Greece, dreaming of a bigger world. She moved into magazines, studied business at Columbia, entered investment banking, then got fired at 25, a moment that forced her to choose what she actually wanted.</p><p><br></p><p>With 20,000 in savings and no beauty industry experience, she started Rodial from home, faced investor rejection, and built the brand through focus, persistence, and product storytelling. She took a suitcase to Cosmoprof, met suppliers stand by stand, found the lab she still works with today, and launched with a tight initial range, because focus beats noise in the early days.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>You will learn</strong></p><ul><li>How Maria built Rodial from home, with limited capital, no funding, and no industry background</li><li>Why launching with focus beats launching too many products, and how to pick a niche that travels</li><li>How to win attention without huge budgets, naming, storytelling, press strategy, and consistent brand positioning</li><li>How to think about influencers realistically, what works now, what changed after Covid, and why long term partnerships matter</li><li>How to handle failure, cash flow pressure, and decision making, including the lesson from a mistake that nearly ended everything</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Follow Maria:</strong></p><p>https://www.instagram.com/mrsrodial</p><p>https://uk.linkedin.com/in/maria-hatzistefanis-64b7985</p><p>https://www.tiktok.com/@mrsrodial</p><p>https://twitter.com/MrsRodial</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Get Maria's books:</strong></p><p>How to Make Your First Million: Build wealth with style and audacity</p><p>https://amzn.to/4crK3P1</p><p><br></p><p>How to Make it Happen: Turning Failure into Success</p><p>https://amzn.to/46B3DEN</p><p><br></p><p>How to Be an Overnight Success</p><p>https://amzn.to/4b1ACmV</p><p><br></p><p>How to Live Your Best Life: Transform your mindset and manifest</p><p>https://amzn.to/4blUL8F</p><p><br></p><p>#entrepreneurship #founderstory #startupjourney #mariahatzistefanis #mrsrodial #rodial #beautybrand #businesspodcast #startupadvice #femalefounder #thrivingminds #marketingstrategy #brandbuilding #entrepreneurlife #dragonsdengr</p>","author_name":"A&D Media"}