Page 78 - Reader's HouseMagazine - Issue 62

CHARMAINE CHOW
Elevates Modern Skincare With GetHarley’s Visionary Blend Of
Technology And Expertise
CBY LYRA GREEN
harmaine Chow is nothing short of an extraordinary visionary, redefining the skincare landscape with her brainchild, GetHarley. Armed with a solid foundation in Economics from the prestigious London School of Economics, Charmaine’s career trajectory took her from the high-paced
Charmaine Chow shares her entrepreneurial jour-
ney, her mission to revolu- tionise skincare with Get- Harley, leveraging AI and human expertise, while championing sustainabi- lity, accessibility, diversity, and top-tier personalised care for global consumers.
GetHarley innovating further to improve the customer experience?
At GetHarley we pride ourselves in the ability to make things seamless for the practitioner and the patient at once, so we are leveraging AI to help with automating a lot of tasks and processes in the company to achieve that. That said, we think the ultimate luxury is having a human on the other side of the con- versation, so we still want to keep a human-in- the-loop experience at all times.
“I craved a trusted voice to guide me through the thousands of options for my skin.”
– Charmaine Chow
GetHarley connects skincare experts with consumers — how do you ensure the quality and reliability of your network of clinicians?
To acquire its network of clinicians, GetHar- ley actively recruits qualified aesthetic doctors, plastic surgeons, and dermatologists by reaching out to professionals in the field, likely through direct outreach, industry connections, and marketing efforts, allowing users to choose a clinician based on their expertise and avai- lability on the platform, effectively building a large pool of practitioners to match with clients based on their specific skin concerns; users
can also choose to be matched with a clinician based on their needs and preferences through the GetHarley platform.
“The ultimate luxury is having a human on the other side of the conversation.”
– Charmaine Chow
What challenges did you encounter while raising funds, particularly the recent
£40 million, and how did you persuade investors of GetHarley’s potential?
In the short run the market is a voting mac- hine, in the long run it is a weighing machine. Fundraising is hard, you have to navigate not only your business trajectory but also adapt
to market gyrations. In the early days, people didn’t understand the vision of bringing skin- care experts into the skin health conversation, investors were mainly investing in a lot of direct-to-consumer brands that were scaling ra- pidly and marketing-led. So it took speaking to many investors for them to understand that our vision was not to bring more skincare products in to the market but to empower practitioners to help patients find just the right skin solution for them, at all moments of their life.
“Sustainability is something we will always be mindful of and will be strengthened as we grow.” – Charmaine Chow
world of finance to the nuanced realm of beauty technology. Her professional journey, spanning illustrious firms like Morgan Stan- ley, KKR, and Goldman Sachs, equipped her with sharp analytical acumen and an innate ability to identify opportunities where others see challenges.
Yet, what sets Charmaine apart is her deeply personal connection to her work. Inspired by her own struggles with skincare and a desire for clarity in an industry riddled with noise, she built GetHarley—a groundb- reaking platform bringing science, human expertise, and technology into a seamless, hyper-personalised skincare experience. Guiding consumers to optimal skin health by leveraging a curated network of top-
tier practitioners, Charmaine has not only elevated the standard for patient care but also empowered experts to deliver tailored solutions with unparalleled ease.
In this exclusive interview, Charmaine shares her inspiring story, delves into the innovative core of GetHarley, and provides profound insights into entrepreneurship in the competitive health and beauty techno- logy sector. Her forward-thinking approach to sustainability, diversity, and leveraging te- chnology for personalisation exemplifies the responsible yet dynamic leadership needed in today’s world. Join us as we explore the vision, grit, and brilliance of the trailblazer behind one of the most exciting develop- ments in modern skincare.
With the rise of artificial intelligence and technology in skincare, how do you see
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