‍At a Glance

A beauty industry veteran, Sarah felt her own needs weren't being met by leading brands when she turned 45. Inspired by beautiful women over 50 like Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, and Salma Hayek, she founded All Golden, a skincare and hair care brand for women 45 and over. Discover how Sarah and her company are using E-Commerce as a platform for brand storytelling, fostering authentic CX relationships, and building a community where women feel their beauty needs are truly seen and cared for.

Who is Sarah?

Meet Sarah Kugelman, Founder of All Golden!

About All Golden

All Golden is a luxury skincare and hair care brand made specifically for women aged 45 and older. Founded by beauty veteran Sarah Kugelman, the brand focuses on the physical changes in skin and hair during mature years, promoting a pro-aging and confident lifestyle. 

Sarah’s Entrepreneurial Journey

"I'm a serial beauty entrepreneur," Sara begins. "I had two other businesses before this, and all of my businesses have come out of a personal need, something I wanted but the market didn't have, or I couldn't find." When Sara turned 45, it became clear that major beauty brands didn't consider real women her age a priority customer. "There was this huge gap between the way people pictured women over 45 and the way they actually were in real life," she adds, drawing a comparison between The Golden Girls – who were written as being in their 50s – and stars like Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, Salma Hayek, and Lucy Liu, all considered beautiful and around that same age. "I wanted to come into the market at this cultural pivot and really reflect and convey these women." In 2022, she founded All Golden, a skincare and hair care brand for women 45 and over.

What Excites Sarah About E-Commerce

"Not to date myself, but I did launch the first beauty internet site in 1999," Sarah shares, noting that this early venture in E-commerce gave her firsthand knowledge of customer experience before CX, as a concept, even existed. With All Golden, Sarah wants to tell the brand's story in a way that resonates with customers. "E-Commerce enables us to really build community through content, and not just necessarily through commerce," she finishes.

What Sarah Would Focus On with 10 Extra Hours 

Asked about the challenges she faces regularly as a founder, Sarah responds, "Fundraising. I'm always fundraising, and nobody loves that," adding that she wishes her days could be more devoted to brand building, marketing, and being the face of All Golden.

With an extra 10 hours devoted to her company each week, Sarah would focus on two main areas: product development and digital marketing. "Product development is so critical to our business and innovations," Sarah says, admitting that she would like more hours to seek out innovative new technology in terms of formulations. Fortunately, she has been able to offload measuring and analyzing key digital marketing metrics to specialized team members. "When you're the founder, and it's your passion and your baby, if you could spend more time there, you probably could figure out a bunch of stuff that is not happening," she stresses.

The Team at All Golden

Sarah has taken a modern approach to structuring her team at All Golden, which is made up of two full-time, high-level members, along with part-time and fractional employees, all of whom work remotely. "This has worked really well for us in terms of being able to support the business while also keeping our overhead down," she adds.

The CX Philosophy at All Golden 

All Golden's CX philosophy strives to connect with customers in an authentic way, women should never feel like they're being sold to with an aggressive agenda. Beyond that, her journey with the brand should be as easy and efficient as possible, from discovering new products through marketing emails to navigating the website and making a purchase. "We want to bring her into a place where there's this moment of discovery, where she's finding out about something she wishes she'd known about already, but is excited to get to know more," Sarah adds.

How a Small Beauty Brand Goes the Extra Mile for Customers

While All Golden can’t compete with the advertising budget of big beauty companies, as a small beauty company, it can set the example of how to treat customers – personally answering a customer email can make all the difference. “Humanness and empathy go a really long way, because a lot of times, we’ll answer a customer’s email and they’re like, ‘I can’t believe somebody got back to me,’” Sarah says, adding that they aim to find a solution for whatever the problem may be. “People are incredibly grateful. And that person is the kind of person who will tell ten friends about your brand and the experience they had.”

Innovation and Adaptability

Fostering Innovation at All Golden

As a beauty industry veteran, Sarah understands the importance of educating herself and staying informed about the latest advancements and trends in skincare and haircare. With this knowledge, she formulates strategies that are unique to All Golden, helping to differentiate her brand from its competitors. "You can get inspiration from so many different places," Sarah adds, "sometimes I get it from travel, food, fitness, or wellness. And then I try to fold that into the innovation pipeline that I'm working on through the company."

Sarah’s Key Priorities and Goals for All Golden

"For us right now, it's really about building brand awareness and scaling the business," Sarah begins, adding that the goal is for All Golden "to be nationally recognized, and a beauty brand to contend with in the category of skincare and hair care." With multiple projects already in the works, aimed at positioning All Golden as breaking new ground for the beauty needs of women 45+, the brand is set to launch at Ulta.com, QVC.com, and Sam's Club.

Sarah’s Main Advice for Aspiring E-Commerce Entrepreneurs

Sarah begins her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs by stressing that "the numbers don't lie. Don't spend based on what you think you're going to make in revenue or what you're going to raise in the future. Spend to what you can afford now, so you don't get yourself in trouble." Adding to this, she recommends raising double the funding you think you need, because launching a business always costs more than initially anticipated.

Most often, the entrepreneurial path is riddled with doubters and naysayers who tell you that your business will never work or be successful. "Just have faith and confidence in your idea, and in your ability to execute," Sarah says. She's quick to note that many founders get caught up romanticizing the idea and all the possibilities it holds, failing to recognize that launching a brand or company is also 50% execution.