TV Star-Turned-CEO Lo Bosworth Knows Social Media Is a Powerful Tool for Building a Business, But Says ‘It Is Eating Away at Our Brains’
Lo Bosworth shares the mindset and strategies she used to found Love Wellness, a company that is revolutionizing women鈥檚 health.
On this episode of , I sit down with , who you might remember from MTV鈥檚 “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills.” These days, Lo ditched reality TV to become the powerhouse founder and CEO of , a women鈥檚 health brand that鈥檚 been going strong for 10 years. She鈥檚 also the brutally honest host of the podcast and, despite kicking ass with digital content, says, 鈥淚 would kill social media in general because I think it鈥檚 like eating away at our brains and ruining our society.鈥 She added with a laugh, “But I’m like a cog in the wheel at this point 鈥 I use it to make people aware of my business.”
We鈥檝e broken down Lo鈥檚 success insights to help you trust your gut and build a healthier business in three, two, one!
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Three Key Insights
1. Turn Frustration Into Your Founder Superpower
Lo didn鈥檛 start Love Wellness because everything was going great鈥攕he started it after 18 months of feeling depressed and anxious and dealing with unresolved women鈥檚 health issues as doctors missed severe vitamin deficiencies on a simple blood panel. That frustrating experience made her 鈥渁cutely aware of this care gap when it comes to women鈥檚 health and the self-advocacy that has to happen to get the care that you need.鈥 Instead of accepting the system as-is, she went deep into Reddit communities, PubMed journals, and emerging microbiome research to create products like fragrance-free intimate cleansers and vaginal probiotics that “changed an entire aisle.”
Takeaway: Identify the problem in your life that no one is solving well鈥攁nd build the business that finally solves it.
2. Build Proof Before You Ask for Permission
Lo didn鈥檛 wait for investors鈥攐r Hollywood鈥攖o choose her. When a potential cooking show fell through, she used her last savings from “The Hills” (鈥渢ens of thousands of dollars鈥) to fund her first thousand units of a probiotic she still sells today. She built her own site, did everything herself for two-plus years, and used her social media not for vanity but as a free marketing engine by candidly sharing her health journey. By the time she went out to raise money, she says she鈥檇 been 鈥渢he sole operator of this business for a number of years and we were doing great鈥 it was kind of like, do you want in or not?鈥
Takeaway: Before pitching partners or investors, create real traction鈥攑aying customers, profitability, or proof of concept鈥攕o your ask becomes 鈥淒o you want in?鈥 instead of 鈥淧lease pick me.鈥
for weekly inspiration.
3. Authentic Storytelling Beats Empty Marketing
Lo is crystal clear on one thing: in today鈥檚 social media environment, you can鈥檛 just shout claims and expect customers to care. 鈥淚t鈥檚 critically important at this point that you are an excellent storyteller,鈥 she says, and that you鈥檙e genuinely connected to the problem you鈥檙e solving. She warns that if you don鈥檛 have a personal relationship to that problem, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 the first issue,鈥 because what resonates now is a founder willing to craft a narrative about their life, their tension, and the pain point they鈥檙e fixing鈥攏ot just a list of features. On top of that, she points out that social platforms, content formats, and customer acquisition tactics are changing 鈥渆very three to six months,鈥 so you have to be willing to reinvent yourself and your strategy almost constantly.
Takeaway: Build your brand around a real story鈥攜our story鈥攁nd stay flexible enough to reinvent how you tell it as platforms and customer behavior evolve.
Two Free Resources to Learn More
- You can keep up with Lo on all social platforms at and dive into her women鈥檚 health universe at .
- For more inspiration for turning frustration into a booming business, read about how these two college founders built a $50 million company between classes.
One Question to Ponder
Lo is both dependent on social media for her business and deeply skeptical of what it鈥檚 doing to us, saying she鈥檇 鈥渏ust kill social media in general鈥 if she could and go back to home phones and block parties. So here鈥檚 your question:
If you removed social media from your life for a year, how would you build community around your brand鈥攁nd what kind of founder would that force you to become?
Email your answer to howsuccesshappens@entrepreneur.com and I鈥檒l read some of my favorites on a future episode.
About How Success Happens
Each episode of How Success Happens shares the inspiring, entertaining, and unexpected journeys that influential leaders in business, the arts, and sports traveled on their way to becoming household names. It鈥檚 a reminder that behind every big-time career, there is a person who persisted in the face of self-doubt, failure, and anything else that got thrown in their way.
On this episode of , I sit down with , who you might remember from MTV鈥檚 “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills.” These days, Lo ditched reality TV to become the powerhouse founder and CEO of , a women鈥檚 health brand that鈥檚 been going strong for 10 years. She鈥檚 also the brutally honest host of the podcast and, despite kicking ass with digital content, says, 鈥淚 would kill social media in general because I think it鈥檚 like eating away at our brains and ruining our society.鈥 She added with a laugh, “But I’m like a cog in the wheel at this point 鈥 I use it to make people aware of my business.”
We鈥檝e broken down Lo鈥檚 success insights to help you trust your gut and build a healthier business in three, two, one!
Listen here
Subscribe now: | |