Victoria Tsai | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 (age 46–47) Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | Wellesley College (BA) Harvard University (MBA) |
| Known for | Tatcha Co-Founder |
| Awards | WWD Beauty Inc Founder's Award (2019) Cosmetic Executive Women Female Founder Award (2019) |
Vicky Tsai (born 1978 [1] ) is an American businesswoman who is a co-founder of Tatcha, [2] a skincare company based on Japanese beauty rituals. [3]
As a young infant, Tsai's parents moved to the United States from Taiwan, settling in Houston, Texas. From a young age, Tsai became aware of seemingly unattainable Western beauty standards and was one of the only Asian students at her school. [4] She struggled with her identity as a result of feeling underrepresented and isolated as a minority in the early '90s in Texas. [5]
Tsai studied at Wellesley College, where she received a B.A. in economics, [6] and Harvard Business School, where she received a M.B.A. and later led research on the state of AAPI women in business. [7] She found her first corporate job working for Starbucks in Shanghai, which focused on its expansion into the China market. Her team pitched and executed a strategy to launch consumer products in China in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which housed the bottled Starbucks Frappuccino. [8] Tsai worked in corporate America as a financier for a decade and spent her twenties traveling globally for work. [9]
Tsai traveled to Kyoto, Japan, in 2008. [3] [7] There, she met with a modern geisha who introduced her to time-tested ingredients based on a Japanese diet. [9] She not only discovered cultural remedies for her skin, but also felt the experience begin to heal her spirit. [7] When she returned to San Francisco, where she created Tatcha, an entrepreneurial endeavor she described as a "necessity". [7]
In 2009, Tsai approached retail partners for the business, but was told Tatcha was "too niche" and "too exotic" for the Western woman. [4] After struggling to secure funding, Tsai sold her engagement ring, car, and furniture, then worked from her mother's garage. She spent 9 years without a salary. [7] In 2017, she received funding from private equity firm Castanea Partners. [10]
Despite many years at the company, the business was sold to Unilever in 2019 for $500 million, and Tsai stepped down shortly afterward. [4]
Tsai married Eric Bevan at the Gamble Mansion in Boston, Massachusetts May 29, 2004. The couple shares one daughter, Alea. [1]