René Graham's guest appearances

René Graham

Just Go Grind with Justin Gordon

Rice Architecture Tête-à-Tête

The Brand Manual

Elon Musk

Bill Gates

Tim Ferriss

Jack Hughes

Mikey Taylor

Gary Arndt

Omar Zenhom

Chris Westfall

Chris Lee

Jennifer Smith

Andrew Parker

John Lee Dumas

Austin Belcak

Sam Adams

Vanessa Larco

OwlTail

An interview with René Graham, who in addition to being a licensed architect, co-founder and design principal of a joint architecture &amp; real estate development practice, Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Architecture, as well as a Visiting Critic at Texas A&amp;M College of Architecture, is the founder and CEO of Renzoe Box, a modular system for color cosmetics. Although her work is divided among two different industries, she recognizes challenges and strategies that are common across these pursuits, from the gender divide in the architecture and startup communities to the design thinking necessary for creating makeup boxes to dwellings. Her cross-disciplinary experience underscores her belief that crossing conventional boundaries may unlock new potentials for the built environment. This episode was conducted by hosts Anna Cook and Yangtian Yan.

Interview with René Graham

René Graham is the founder and CEO of Renzoe Box, the next-generation makeup platform and first makeup storage &amp; pod system designed to replace your entire makeup bag. Renzoe Box is a customizable beauty kit combining your favorite brands' makeup products into one sustainable compact.   A native of Texas, René Graham holds a Master in Architecture from the Rice University School of Architecture, where she completed her thesis work with Eva Franch Gilabert, Director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Before entering the world of product design in 2017 and founding Renzoe Box, LLC, Graham achieved significant and diverse experience in architectural practice, community development and real estate development.   in addition to leading Renzoe Box™, LaurelHouse Studio and BCS Modern, Graham is a long time Board Member of the Downtown Bryan Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the cultural vitality and preservation of Historic Downtown Bryan, Texas. She has held advisory and committee roles for many public and private organizations including City of Bryan, Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, Leadership Brazos, Startup Aggieland, the Texas Bighorn Society, and the National Science Foundation. Of all her roles Graham’s favorite is serving as a faculty member and educator at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&amp;M University. Considering herself a “design thinker across many scales,” it is at these institutions where she enjoys collaborating with students and colleagues, battling out ideas to investigate new potentials of the built environment. In her spare time she enjoys attending the symphony, exploring new cities, building wildlife guzzlers in the west Texas desert mountains, and snuggling with her niece &amp; nephew, Elise &amp; Grayson, or with her dog, Oliver.   Connect with René Graham    Renzoe Box Facebook Instagram LinkedIn    Some of the Topics Covered by René Graham in this Episode    The moment the idea for Renzoe Box was born How René actually began to solve the pain point she was experiencing and start the customer discovery process Pre-selling at Beautycon LA Figuring out manufacturing and navigating international production From the first prototype to what the product is today Balancing being an entrepreneur and her career as an architect and deciding to go full-time with Renzoe Box Raising 250K through angel investors to get started and the power of networking Renzoe Box's business model Navigating the mix-and-match customization component of the product in terms of sourcing and scaling Customer acquisition and marketing strategies for Renzoe Box René's advice for utilizing influencer marketing Building out the team for Renzoe Box and a growing support system Renzoe's digital curation tool The big vision for Renzoe Box A typical day for René and finding balance René's advice for entrepreneurs    Links from the Episode    Beautycon LA #158: Zubin Bhettay, Co-Founder and CEO of Fuzzy Pet Health, a Subscription-Based Pet Health Company, on the Challenges of Fundraising, Building a Mission-Driven Business, and Finding Balance as an Entrepreneur Keurig K-Cup Coffee Machines Kayla Itsines Tory Burch Fellows MassChallenge Venture Deals by Brad Feld 

René Graham is the founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.renzoebox.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Renzoe Box</a>, the next-generation makeup platform and first makeup storage &amp; pod system designed to replace your entire makeup bag. Renzoe Box is a customizable beauty kit combining your favorite brands' makeup products into one sustainable compact. A native of Texas, René Graham holds a Master in Architecture from the Rice University School of Architecture, where she completed her thesis work with Eva Franch Gilabert, Director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Before entering the world of product design in 2017 and founding Renzoe Box, LLC, Graham achieved significant and diverse experience in architectural practice, community development and real estate development. in addition to leading Renzoe Box™, LaurelHouse Studio and BCS Modern, Graham is a long time Board Member of the Downtown Bryan Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the cultural vitality and preservation of Historic Downtown Bryan, Texas. She has held advisory and committee roles for many public and private organizations including City of Bryan, Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, Leadership Brazos, Startup Aggieland, the Texas Bighorn Society, and the National Science Foundation. Of all her roles Graham’s favorite is serving as a faculty member and educator at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&amp;M University. Considering herself a “design thinker across many scales,” it is at these institutions where she enjoys collaborating with students and colleagues, battling out ideas to investigate new potentials of the built environment. In her spare time she enjoys attending the symphony, exploring new cities, building wildlife guzzlers in the west Texas desert mountains, and snuggling with her niece &amp; nephew, Elise &amp; Grayson, or with her dog, Oliver. Connect with René Graham <ul> <li><a href="https://www.renzoebox.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Renzoe Box</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RenzoeBox/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/renzoebox/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/renegraham" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li> </ul> Some of the Topics Covered by René Graham in this Episode <ul> <li>The moment the idea for Renzoe Box was born</li> <li>How René actually began to solve the pain point she was experiencing and start the customer discovery process</li> <li>Pre-selling at Beautycon LA</li> <li>Figuring out manufacturing and navigating international production</li> <li>From the first prototype to what the product is today</li> <li>Balancing being an entrepreneur and her career as an architect and deciding to go full-time with Renzoe Box</li> <li>Raising 250K through angel investors to get started and the power of networking</li> <li>Renzoe Box's business model</li> <li>Navigating the mix-and-match customization component of the product in terms of sourcing and scaling</li> <li>Customer acquisition and marketing strategies for Renzoe Box</li> <li>René's advice for utilizing influencer marketing</li> <li>Building out the team for Renzoe Box and a growing support system</li> <li>Renzoe's digital curation tool</li> <li>The big vision for Renzoe Box</li> <li>A typical day for René and finding balance</li> <li>René's advice for entrepreneurs</li> </ul> Links from the Episode <ul> <li><a href="https://la.beautycon.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Beautycon LA</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.justgogrind.com/zubin-bhettay-podcast" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">#158: Zubin Bhettay, Co-Founder and CEO of Fuzzy Pet Health, a Subscription-Based Pet Health Company, on the Challenges of Fundraising, Building a Mission-Driven Business, and Finding Balance as an Entrepreneur</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.keurig.com/coffee+makers/c/coffeemakers101" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Keurig K-Cup Coffee Machines</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.kaylaitsines.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Kayla Itsines</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.toryburchfoundation.org/fellows/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Tory Burch Fellows</a></li> <li><a href="https://masschallenge.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">MassChallenge</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1118443616" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Venture Deals by Brad Feld</a></li> </ul>

#159: René Graham, Founder & CEO of Renzoe Box, a Customizable Beauty Kit and Next-Generation Makeup Platform, on Creating the Amazon of Beauty and Building a Sustainable and Innovative Company

René Graham is an architect turned inventor/entrepreneur who created the Renzoe Box, a product that is revolutionizing the way women purchase and store makeup.

René Graham is an architect turned inventor/entrepreneur who created the Renzoe Box, a product that is revolutionizing the way women purchase and store makeup.

René Graham - Renzoe Box