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Brandon Truaxe

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Brandon Truaxe (1976-2019), was a Persian-Canadian computer scientist known as the founder of Deciem, the Toronto-based skincare and cosmetics company.

Early life

Truaxe was born Ali Roshan in Tehran on June 19, 1978[1] during a lull in the unrest that would explode in revolution a few weeks later. His family left Iran and came to Toronto in 1995 as permanent residents. His mother died of breast cancer as he was young and his father returned to Iran.

He studied computer science at the University of Waterloo. After graduating in 2001, he sold the software company he had founded as a university student. His formative professional experience happened around this time, when he had an internship on analysis software for ″one of the big cosmetic manufacturers — a big brand that owns many things″ in New York, and was shocked at the mark-ups it charged.[2][3]

In 2002, Truaxe founded his first skin care brand Euoko with partner Julio Torres and invested $400,000 from his sold software company. Truaxe’s mentor and investor in Euoko Inc. was Pasquale Cusano, a Vancouver jeweler.[4] Truaxe sold that brand in 2011 and launched in 2012 Indeed Labs, best known for its Nanoblur collection. Truaxe left Indeed Labs with two non-compete clauses that disallowed him from creating any facial skincare products for three years.[5][6][7]

In 2012 he launched Indeed Labs, best known for its Nanoblur collection. Truaxe left Indeed Labs with two non-compete clauses that disallowed him from creating any facial skincare products for three years.[8][9][7]

Deciem

In 2013, Truaxe founded "Deciem, the Abnormal Beauty Company", in Toronto, while still under the non-compete agreement with Indeed Labs. Deciem's multi-brand strategy is driven by a vertically integrated structure: it has its own laboratory, in-house manufacturing, in-house e-commerce, in-store stores, and proprietary marketing infrastructure.[10]

Deciem′s debut product, the Hyaluronic Molecule, was an ingestible. Deciem functioned as an umbrella company with annual revenue expected to reach $300 million in sales by 2019 for multiple product lines.[7][11] The most notable are The Chemistry Brand, an anti-aging hand cream that became the number one selling hand cream in the UK,[2][12] and The Ordinary, a low-price-point skin care brand.

In August of 2016, Truaxe launched Deciem's, The Ordinary product line with twenty-seven products.[13] It first sold exclusively online, then in various department stores, and about 30 company-owned stores it opened in Canada, the US, the UK, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands.[14][15]

In June 2017, Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) acquired an equity ownership of 28% in Deciem for $50 million. Truaxe announced his decision to sell a portion of the company was driven by the company's inability to keep up with the consumer demand for their products.

By late 2018, Deciem was in 42 stores worldwide and sold more than one product every second.[7][16]

Controversy

In early 2018, Truaxe's behavior become erratic. His business partner, Kilner stated that "Before 2018, he barely even drank alcohol,” responding to reports that he was ingesting psychedelic mushrooms in front of employees, convinced of their creative and spiritual benefits. According to an interview with the Financial Post, Truaxe took crystal meth in Britain, leading to an arrest and treatment.[17]

In October 2018, Estée Lauder Companies sought legal action after Truaxe ordered all of Deciem’s operations to close with immediate effect due to “financial crimes”. Truaxe was ousted as CEO, and Nicola Kilner Reddington was appointed as the sole CEO. A few days later, a restraining order was issued against Truaxe after he had sent emails to ELC chair emeritus Leonard Lauder and other executives.[11][18][1] Andrew Ross, executive vice president of strategy and new business development at ELC, and Pasquale Cusano, the Vancuver jeweller, were now the company’s only board members. ELC’s injunction also led to the appointment of Pricewaterhouse Coopers to investigate, and report to the board, the alleged financial crimes.[19][7]

Only a few months later, in January 2019, Truaxe died in Toronto at age 40 after falling from a condominium.[11][20] A spokesperson for Estée Lauder Companies stated: “Brandon Truaxe was a true genius, and we are incredibly saddened by the news of his passing. As the visionary behind Deciem, he positively impacted millions of people around the world with his creativity, brilliance and innovation.”[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Derysh, Igor (22 January 2019). "Brandon Truaxe Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com.
  2. ^ a b "Brandon Truaxe of Deciem The new radical". Nuvo Magazine. 2017-05-30.
  3. ^ Brandon Truaxe: the man who will change the way you buy beauty, Evening Standard, 4 May 2017
  4. ^ Jamie Rosen: The Mix Master, W Magazine, 1 April 2008
  5. ^ "deciem". 2019-05-28.
  6. ^ How to launch a fast-growing cosmetics company, Cosmetics Business, 17 June 2016
  7. ^ a b c d e "The inside story of how Deciem, the Abnormal Beauty Company, lived up to its name". Financial Post. 2018-11-30.
  8. ^ "deciem". 2019-05-28.
  9. ^ How to launch a fast-growing cosmetics company, Cosmetics Business, 17 June 2016
  10. ^ https://www.onvista.de/news/the-estee-lauder-companies-investiert-in-deciem-the-abnormal-beauty-company-64857193
  11. ^ a b c Bromwich, Jonah Engel (2019-04-17). "He Built, Then Nearly Broke, a Successful Beauty Start-Up. Can It Go on Without Him?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  12. ^ https://www.racked.com/2016/9/22/12993276/deciem-skincare-reddit
  13. ^ "The 14 Deciem products everyone's obsessed with". Harpers Bazaar. 2017-05-18.
  14. ^ "The Cult Skin-Care Brand Whose Secret Ingredient Is Being Dirt Cheap". The New York Time. 2018-01-29.
  15. ^ "The method behind Canadian beauty product founder's madness". CBC News: The National. 2018-03-03.
  16. ^ Deciem and Indeed Labs lead tributes to founder Brandon Truaxe, who died aged 40, Cosmetics Business, 21 Jananuary 2019 2016
  17. ^ Bromwich, Jonah Engel (2019-04-17). "He Built, Then Nearly Broke, a Successful Beauty Start-Up. Can It Go on Without Him?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  18. ^ "Brandon Truaxe, the controversial founder of the skin care company Deciem, has died". Vox. 2019-01-21.
  19. ^ Deciem Founder Brandon Truaxe Has Been Ousted, Women's Wear Daily, 12 October 2018
  20. ^ Nachruf - Deciem-Gründer Brandon Truaxe, Vogue, 22 January 2019
  21. ^ "Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe, the brain behind The Ordinary brand, dies aged 40". The Guardian. 2019-06-22.
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