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How Nick Perry and Peter Winkle launched global optical business Bailey Nelson, and how Afterpay has helped them grow.

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Launching any business means making sacrifices – and that was certainly true for the co-founders of <a href="https://baileynelson.com.au/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bailey Nelson</a>.By any definition, by their late twenties, Nick Perry and Peter Winkle had excelled in their careers; Perry was working with the founding team at The ICONIC, while Winkle, an ex-management consultant, was set to take up a full scholarship at the University of Oxford.And yet another future beckoned; the pair had spotted a niche in the optometry market, and were convinced that a business selling stylish, modern glasses at competitive prices had potential to be successful.

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So, Perry left his job and Winkle turned down Oxford – and instead they set up a stall at North Bondi markets.&nbsp;It was, they admit, a humbling experience.&nbsp;“We literally had a table with a white plastic tablecloth over it with 20 frames laid out,” recalls Perry. “Most of our friends lived in Bondi, so basically anytime we saw someone we would hide under the table.”&nbsp;When Winkle’s parents – understandably perplexed by their son’s decision to jettison a place at Oxford – visited their stall, the pair memorably failed to sell a single pair of glasses.&nbsp;“Things were very, very tense,” remembers Perry.

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Fortunately, the business soon grew, and within a few months, Bailey Nelson opened its first store in William St, Paddington. Today, a decade later, the brand has more than 110 stores in four countries, as well as a thriving online business.Despite Bailey Nelson’s rapid expansion, Winkle and Perry’s vision has remained the same since inception. “We pride ourselves on providing incredible glasses, incredibly good prices and a great customer experience in store,” says Winkle.The pair credit their success to a great product, hard work, attracting the right talent – and perfect timing; when Bailey Nelson launched the retail optometry landscape was ripe for innovation, they say.

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"The pair credit their success to a great product, hard work, attracting the right talent – and perfect timing."

“When Peter and were looking to start the business [shopping for glasses] was a very medical experience. The optometrist we used to go to didn’t have a lot of passion for what they were doing, and the prices were unbelievably high. So, it was kind of a grudge purchase,” Perry says.&nbsp;Plus, having studied mechanical engineering, Perry could see that most optical frames were fairly inexpensive to manufacture – but sold with a huge mark-up. “I just thought it was extraordinary. It seemed like such a high margin."

Today, Bailey Nelson has evolved into a full-service optometry business, offering eyewear, retail, sunglasses, contact lenses and optometry services.Just as Winkle and Perry have taken an innovative approach to optometry, they have been similarly forward-thinking in their approach to payments, and, in 2018 Bailey Nelson became the first optical retailer to partner with Afterpay. Today, all their stores offer Afterpay or Clearpay.“We would recommend to every merchant that they should be working with Afterpay,” says Winkle.The business took on Afterpay after customers – especially younger customers – began asking for it, and at first, says Perry, they didn’t understand the value of the payments platform – or the younger generations’ aversion to credit. “I’m an older Millennial and I’ve always had credit cards,” says Perry. “So, I didn’t get it at the start. But you have to follow the younger customers – they are the trendsetters.”

Today, Afterpay allows Bailey Nelson customers to purchase glasses or other optical products when they need them and pay them off in instalments. Offering this kind of flexibility is critical for customer-centric brands, says Winkle, especially those in the health space.&nbsp;“Buying glasses is a necessity not a desire. People need them for work and home, so we believe it’s important to have different payment options.”And the Afterpay partnership has benefited Bailey Nelson, too. Customers who pay with Afterpay spend, on average, 10 per cent more than other customers at Bailey Nelson. They also shop more frequently with the brand. Meanwhile, Afterpay Day drives awareness and last year a 41 per cent spike in sales.“Afterpay has played an important role in our business journey up until this point and will so in the future.”

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All references to any registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Afterpay does not endorse or recommend any one particular supplier and the information provided is for educational purposes only.

How Nick Perry and Peter Winkle launched global optical business Bailey Nelson, and how Afterpay has helped them grow


How Nick Perry and Peter Winkle launched global optical retailer Bailey Nelson, and how Afterpay has helped them grow

Bailey Nelson's innovative vision for the optometrist indutry

Inside Bailey Nelson’s vision for a new type of optometrist

Inside the success of men’s health platform Mosh.

It was bad enough to be experiencing hair loss in his early 20s, but when lawyer-turned-management-consultant Gabe Baker went searching for treatment, things somehow got worse.The large hair loss treatment clinics he visited turned out to be expensive and determined to lock him into a long-term contract. Plus, he adds, as a self-conscious young 20-something, “it was a fairly embarrassing experience walking into a hair loss clinic”.

"It was a fairly embarrassing experience walking into a hair loss clinic.”

Baker was sure there was a better way – and after talking it through with his flatmate, financial consultant David Narunsky, the pair decided to launch a business that offered hair loss consultations and treatments online using telehealth.“Bringing the whole model online solved a lot of the issues,” says Baker. “It meant you could [deliver the services] in a discreet way. And you also cut out all the real estate costs and could therefore offer a cheaper and more affordable solution to potential customers.”Providing home delivery for products made treatment even more convenient and discreet for customers. “You don’t even have to worry about going for repeat prescriptions or frequent visits to the pharmacy.”It was a neat end-to-end solution, but even Baker and Narunsky couldn’t have predicted how successful their business, <a href="https://www.getmosh.com.au/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mosh</a>, would become.

Just five years since the pair dreamed up the idea from their Bondi flat, Mosh has more than 50,000 customers, attracted three rounds of investment and been valued at $90m. It has also expanded into other men’s health areas including weight loss, erectile dysfunction and mental health.&nbsp;“Guys are pretty bad when it comes to being proactive about our health care,” says Narunsky. “Mosh as a platform is focused on making men’s health easier.”<h2>Bootstrapping vs borrowing</h2>At first, Mosh grew thanks to Narunsky and Baker’s sheer determination (“We would come home every day with a passion to do a bit more. That passion or fire was always there.”) and their own savings.Looking back, the pair say that <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/business/access/boosting-profitability/bootstrapping-business" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bootstrappin</a>g was the right choice for them. “For me, finding the right product, and market fit and validating the concept before going out to market for funding makes a lot of sense,” says Narunsky.Later, their background in finance and management consultancy helped them structure the funding deals they secured for Mosh.<h2>Why marketing matters</h2>&nbsp;What neither Narunsky or Baker had experience in was marketing – and early on they admit they underestimated its importance.“We were overly focused on product and one of the big learnings for me is that you have to have a solid go-to marketing strategy in place as you’re building your product. Otherwise, you end up with a perfect product…but nobody knows about it.”

They quickly rectified this by making marketing one of their first hires, and today Mosh, which has a stylish, modern website, has a number of sports sponsorships in place to boost brand awareness.“It’s about entering into ‘purposeful partnerships’,” says Narunsky, pointing to Mosh’s sponsorship of Melbourne’s St Kilda Football Club, which has a dedicated mental health and wellness facility for players. “There’s a really nice alignment there between our mental health offering and what they have built.”<h2>How Mosh uses content throughout the funnel</h2>Another key marketing strategy is content. Today, Mosh offers an extensive database of engaging articles about men’s health. “We really try to break down the stigma surrounding a lot of the issues that we’re trying to treat.”Not only does Mosh’s content, delivered by <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/business/access/email-marketing/what-is" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">email marketing</a> and <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/business/access/social-media-tips/small-business-social-media-guide" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social media</a>, keep the brand front of mind with customers, but it helps educate customers and raise awareness of additional products and services available on Mosh.“We’ve been able to start conversations… what’s really interesting is the majority of our customers are treating a condition for the first time. We’re really building out a new market here.”

<h2>Maintaining the right mindset</h2>Throughout Mosh’s business journey, Baker and Narunsky say that maintaining a positive mindset has been key. “Building a business is hard,” says Narunsky. “There are no free lunches! And we are operating a complicated business.&nbsp;“It’s highly regulated, there are lots of stakeholders – we’re dealing with medical professionals, we’re dealing with customers, we’re dealing with a range of different categories,” says Narunsky, adding that scaling and securing investment is also particularly challenging right now.“But I’m a big believer in having the right team, having the right mindset,” says Narunsky. Because if you’re in the entrepreneurial space, you’re going to be facing battles.”<h2>The pandemic push</h2>One battle that Mosh initially faced was convincing doctors and patients of the validity of telehealth.“Before the pandemic, we had to go and speak at conferences or events and we’d have to try and explain to people that it’s not illegal to consult your doctor online. We would always say, ‘Raise your hand if you know that you can speak to your doctor online’ and barely anyone would raise their hand.”The global pandemic changed all of that, says Baker.<h2>Partnering with Afterpay</h2>Another boost to the business has been Afterpay, which Mosh partnered with early on.“Our customers were demanding it as an option,” says Baker, who adds that offering Afterpay has increased Mosh’s reach. “It’s expanded the pool of available users to us because there’s a huge chunk of the population looking to shop online with flexible payment options.”

Inside the success of men’s health platform Mosh

Founders of men's health platform Mosh, Gabe Baker and David Narunksy, explain how they built their business, and how marketing and content fueled its growth.

Mosh: from Bondi bedroom to $90m business

From Bondi bedroom to multimillion-dollar business

Mosh success story 

Making convenience a priority - and a commitment to doing the right thing for the environment - has helped this purpose-led hygiene care brand soar to success.

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As a three-time start-up founder Prisca Ongonga-Daehn is no stranger to making quick decisions.&nbsp;So, when a conversation around the family dinner table turned to the Great&nbsp;Pacific Garbage Patch&nbsp;— the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world – Ongonga-Daehn immediately started thinking of ways to take action around climate change.Over the next few weeks, her family started making positive changes around their home and improve their impact on the environment, from switching from clingfilm to beeswax wraps in the kitchen to being diligent about recycling and food waste. But when Ongonga-Daehn turned her attention to the bathroom, she realised that the only reusable alternative to buying single-use hand soap that she could not recycle involved driving to a refill station in Melbourne, which wasn't only inconvenient, but also consumes energy that could be better spent elsewhere and a demanded addition to her carbon footprint.

“It’s not convenient for me to drive into Melbourne all the time to go to the refilling station and I don’t have space to keep litres of hand soap stored away.”&nbsp;“I thought, ‘This is crazy! There are so many sustainability solutions ready for the kitchen and nothing really for the bathroom where we wash our hands and bodies every day?’”.So ensued a two-year journey of researching sustainability, environmental and green business solutions that would have a minimal climate impact, reduce waste, recycle, and offer a genuinely helpful solution in the form of an eco-friendly company with management who believed in its ethos.&nbsp;﻿The result? The company's first green&nbsp;product launched in November 2020: a waterless plant-based handwash powder concentrate delivered in a certified home-compostable sachet that is environmentally sound and climate-friendly and designed with sustainability in mind.

Made sustainably in Australia to reduce carbon emissions, the eco-friendly sachets are delivered us carbon-offset shipping to reduce environmental impact and the industry's often heavy carbon footprint. All users have to do is add one of the environmentally green sachets to 300ml of water and voila! A sustainable foaming handwash perfect for your family, the environment and your skin is created.&nbsp;&nbsp;The product was an instant sell-out, leading to the company's recent expansion into body wash, with plans to launch a shampoo and conditioner this year.&nbsp;Since the launch of her sustainable business, Ongonga-Daehn has had time to reflect on what makes a successful climate-conscious brand.Her conclusion? Convenience is key for sustainable brands that want to succeed in the sustainability industry. In an increasingly busy world where more and more people are thinking about climate change and searching for reusable and environmental products for homes that they can recycle, engaging with technology and doing resource research is key.&nbsp;

<h2>Why customer convenience is key for sustainable brands</h2>The secret to convincing consumers to try a new product – particularly one that is sustainable – is to make the experience as convenient and simple as possible, says&nbsp;Ongonga-Daehn.

“What do we have to do to make it a no-brainer solution?”

When it comes to designing products, the question Ongonga-Daehn always asks her team is “What do we have to do to make it a no-brainer solution? That’s our challenge.”

<h2>1. Boosting convenience with subscriptions&nbsp;</h2>As an online-only, direct-to-consumer business which delivers its products straight to consumers' doors, baresop. is already a convenient sustainability option for consumers wanting to buy environmentally designed toiletries that improve their skin and reduce waste at the same time. But the brand takes this one step further by leading with clever technology options like their&nbsp;<a href="https://baresop.com/policies/subscription-policy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="font-size: 20px;">subscription service</a>&nbsp;option which ensures sachets arrive every few months without customers having to remember.<h2>2. Making sustainability easy with home-compostable packaging&nbsp;</h2>“We have thought about the entire lifecycle of our product,” explains Ongonga-Daehn, who introduced home compostable packaging which allows customers to add the sachet packets to their home compost or green waste bin.<h2>3. How Afterpay makes payment easier&nbsp;</h2>“One of the biggest challenges of running a sustainable business is that people will compare the price of your product to a product that has been produced off-shore in massive quantities, using really harsh, cheap, chemicals or unethical practices,” says Ongonga-Daehn.One way&nbsp;baresop.&nbsp;combats this and makes its green products more accessible is by offering Afterpay.&nbsp;“We are seeing a lot of our customers use Afterpay, especially post-peak pandemic when most people have had their income compromised to some level” notes Prisca, who says that offering Afterpay means that her customers do not have to choose between price and planet.&nbsp;Aside from offering a <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/business/access/marketing/customer-centricity" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">customer-centric</a> approach that’s as convenient as possible, Ongonga-Daehn says the other crucial aspect of running a successful sustainable brand is authenticity.

"Your ‘why’ has to be substantive and true."

“As a founder, it's so important to me that we are doing real things that are impacting people's lives and championing change in an authentic way, and not just for PR.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from starting baresop. is that if you're doing something purely because you can see the dollar amount, or you want to buy a bigger house or a flashy car, don’t do it. Please. Because it’s not enough to get you through the hardships that come with starting a business. This is my third business and it’s harder every single time, so if money is your core driver you’re going to burn out. Your ‘why’ has to be substantive and true.”

baresop. founder Prisca Ongonga-Daehn shares her secrets to running a successful and sustainable business. 

baresop. founder Prisca Ongonga-Daehn shares her secrets to business sustainability and running a successful brand

Business sustainability: baresop. on how to be more sustainable

Business sustainability: baresop. founder on how to be more sustainable

 baresop. on the secret to creating a successful sustainable brand  

The team at skin cancer detection specialists MoleMap celebrate every time they save a life. Here’s why they make sure caring is at the core of their business model - and how Afterpay helps them in their mission

When Michelle Aquilina took on the role of CEO of<a href="https://www.molemap.net.au/sydney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </a><a href="https://www.molemap.net.au/sydney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">MoleMap</a>, Australasia’s leading skin cancer detection, mapping and diagnosis specialists, in September 2021, she says one of the aspects of the business that most impressed her was how thoroughly it centred on its patients. “Since it was originally founded in 1997, it had one goal,” she says. “To decrease the number of deaths from melanoma.”That goal is much more than just a line in a spreadsheet or forecasting model. It’s something that Aquilina and the team say they celebrate every day.

Early detection and saving lives is what matters to us.

“Early detection and saving lives is what matters to us,” she says. “We make life-changing discoveries for individuals and families. For me, those are the most fulfilling moments.”In fact, those moments are so powerful and impactful, Aquilina says, that the team takes time to celebrate and acknowledge each success. “Oh, we talk about them all the time, we celebrate them,” Aquilina insists. “We will always communicate from the bottom up on any diagnosis that has saved a life and made an impact to an individual. We genuinely care."

It’s this legitimate empathy, one that Aquilina tries to model from the top, that she believes is behind the company’s success over the last 25 years. From its early beginnings in New Zealand, MoleMap now has 110 staff across New Zealand and Australia, and in 2021, it achieved its highest revenue ever.<h2>A singular focus&nbsp;</h2>Most importantly, the team diagnosed just under 5000 suspected melanoma and skin cancers during 2021. And the company’s future projection is ambitious, with plans to double in size in the next few years.Aside from a culture of compassion, the key to MoleMap’s success is that it has a clear and unflinching focus, according to Aquilina. Skin cancer detection and diagnosis is all they do. “We are a holistic, end-to-end service,” she says.&nbsp;<h2>A tech-meets-expert approach</h2>When a patient visits MoleMap, a dermacopic camera is used to identify any benign or malignant skin lesions. Those images are pushed into the cloud where an algorithm is used to identify any anomalies. And then, critically, a human element is brought in; the data is sent to a telehealth dermatologist who makes a final diagnosis. A report is prepared for the patient, letting them know whether things are all clear, if they need to return or whether there’s an identified melanoma or skin cancer.

“All we do is look at skin – monitor and check,” Aquilina says. “Every year people have their eyes checked; they visit the dentist. We want the community to include regular, routine skin health checks. That’s the gap we’re filling.”<h2>Making health more accessible with Afterpay</h2>The biggest barrier for MoleMap’s patients has been cost. “That initial visit with a MoleMap specialist isn’t government-funded,” Aquilina explains. Her solution? Afterpay. “As soon as I took the reins, I quickly identified there was a significant opportunity for Afterpay to be embedded in our business model,” she says. When she brought it on, she saw an immediate uptake from patients, estimating that around 5 per cent of new patients used Afterpay to pay for their MoleMap service, and existing patients also rushed to come on board the buy-now-pay-later model.

By providing affordable and accessible healthcare Afterpay is saving lives.

For Aquilina, the impact was undeniable. “What Afterpay has done is create affordable and accessible healthcare,” she says. “That should not be underestimated. Afterpay is saving lives.”

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The team at skin cancer detection specialists MoleMap celebrate every time they save a life. Here’s why they make sure caring is at the core of their business model - and how Afterpay helps them in their mission

MoleMap CEO: "We celebrate every time we save a life"

How a patient-centric approach helps MoleMap thrive

And why Afterpay was a key partner

It was an idea that disrupted an entire industry – and quickly became one of Australia’s most successful start-ups.&nbsp;Today,&nbsp;<a href="https://hismileteeth.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">HiSmile</a>, which offers at-home teeth-whitening kits, sells 1 million kits each year and has turned over $200 million over the past five years.But to truly appreciate the brand’s extraordinary popularity, you only have to scroll through its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hismile/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social media pages.</a> There, videos of fresh-faced beauty bloggers enthusiastically applying HiSmile products sit alongside photographs that have been ‘liked’ and commented on by tens of thousands of the brand’s devoted 4 million fans.&nbsp;“We’re a brand that was born and bred on social and digital,"&nbsp;says HiSmile 2IC Justin Gaggino.&nbsp;"[When we launched] no one had the unique understanding of social media that we did at the time, which allowed us to scale for maximum results.”&nbsp;That unique understanding of the appeal of social media to millennials was aided by the fact that the company’s two co-founders Nik Mirkovic, 24, and Alex Tomic, 26, are millennials themselves.&nbsp;“They saw an area [in teeth whitening] where no one was really building a brand in the teeth whitening space. It was very clinical and dental, whereas the way we’ve approached it is very cosmetic.”

Part of HiSmile’s millennial-savvy strategy involved embracing <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/business/access/social-media-tips/influencer-marketing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social media influencer marketing</a> - from enlisting micro-influencers to superstars such as Kylie Jenner and boxer Conor McGregor – early on.These days, the focus is on “trusted” influencers with deep engagement, rather than huge followings – although Gaggino adds that “as the influencer market matures, we’re looking at different ways to attract the attention of our core customer”. This means paid media spend, user-generated content, investing in attention-grabbing original social content with a nine-person in-house team and exploring new platforms like Tiktok. “We’re very agile – we’re not afraid to just try things, and I think that speaks well to millennials.”

“We’re not afraid to just try things, and I think that speaks well to millennials.”

Although HiSmile’s core customer base is 25-34, the brand aims to speak to 16-25 year-old women. “It’s all about reflecting who your loudest customers are – the ones who will build that brand advocacy. Those young advocates are loud, they're quite&nbsp;passionate and creative... which attracts the attention of other demographics."&nbsp;For this young customer base, transparency (HiSmile products are cruelty-free and vegan), a fun, relatable approach (emojis and millennial pink are fixtures on the brand’s social pages) and personal customer experience are key.&nbsp;

“Afterpay has been very beneficial. Cart abandonment rates have dropped, and when customers shop with Afterpay average order values increase."

Another crucial aspect has been Afterpay, says Gaggino. “Afterpay is a core component of millennials’ purchase behaviour. It’s the way millennials like to shop.” For products like those offered by HiSmile, which retail at $80 per kit, Afterpay has helped ease the path to purchase, says Gaggino.&nbsp;“Afterpay has been very beneficial. Cart abandonment rates have dropped, and when [customers] shop with Afterpay average order values increase.”Not only that but digital co-marketing partnerships have helped HiSmile extend its reach, including into new territories like the US. “We’ve been advertising with Afterpay and they’ve been advertising with us. We’ve been working in tandem to make mutually beneficial business gains, where we spread awareness with our customer base and vice versa.”So, where does a fast-growing $200 million company head next? Gaggino says the brand will be investing heavily in research and development in 2020, and looking to cement itself as a global, household name. One thing’s for sure: wherever HiSmile goes, millennials are sure to follow.&nbsp;&nbsp;

All references to any registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Afterpay does not endorse or recommend any one particular supplier and the information provided is for educational purposes only.&nbsp;

With an industry-disrupting idea, HiSmile is selling more than 1 million teeth-whitening kits every year. Find out how HiSmile unlocked the millennial market on Afterpay Access.

With an industry disrupting idea, HiSmile is selling more than 1 million teeth whitening kits every year Find out how HiSmile unlocked the millennial market on Afterpay Access

Social Media Business Strategies from HiSmile | Afterpay

How HiSmile unlocked the millennial market

Nutritionist Jessica Sepel on leveraging social media

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When Jessica Sepel first launched her health blog in 2012, body positivity wasn’t a buzzword, being healthy was often code for being skinny, and wellness and beauty were two distinctly separate sectors.&nbsp;It was against this backdrop that Sepel, a nutritionist, started posting about her own health journey, and gradually building an audience who loved her warm and relatable mix of health tips and self-love advice.Today, Sepel presides over a multimillion-dollar empire dominated by a hugely successful vitamin and supplement range, as well as books, an eight-week program and an app.&nbsp;

"I think people appreciate that I’m a nutritionist and not a celebrity."

What hasn’t changed is Sepel’s devotion to community building, which she credits as one of the key reasons for her vitamin range’s success. “I think people appreciate having me as the face of the brand, especially knowing that I’m a nutritionist and not a celebrity. They can connect with me and it’s a tangible and relatable connection.”

That’s not to say that Sepel simply parlayed social media fame into sales. When she launched her vitamin business, JSHealth, she had 60,000 followers; today that’s grown to more than 550,000 across three accounts (@jshealth, @jshealthvitamins and @jshealthapp).&nbsp;The secret is personal, accessible content and a commitment to community, says Sepel, who spends three hours every day on social media, responding to DMs, writing candid captions for her posts and engaging with individuals.&nbsp;Sepel launched JSHealth in 2018 after attempting – and ultimately failing – to launch a food product. After setting out to create a healthy Coco Pops cereal alternative, the nutritionist decided that the ingredients were too expensive and the market too competitive, and pivoted to vitamins, which were a longtime passion.

It took two years to develop the range, and Sepel almost gave up after spending tens of thousands of dollars on two different manufacturers who couldn’t deliver on what she required.After eventually finding the right manufacturer in Australia, Sepel’s next challenge was to create the formulas with a team of experts. “We spent a lot of time perfecting the formulas, making sure the ingredients were well researched and high quality, and using therapeutic dosages. A lot of companies don’t use therapeutic doses, because it’s expensive, but we do.”&nbsp;Today, the JSHealth Vitamins range features products that specifically target women aged 18 to 55, including anxiety and stress formulations, hormone and PMS support, and collagen supplements.Next to her brightly coloured competitors, Sepel’s products stand out with their stylish, clean white labels and rose gold accents. But that’s not the only difference between JSHealth and its rivals. On social media, JSHealth takes a markedly different approach to content; compared to the heavily stylised social media feeds of most vitamin companies – which tend to be dominated by sterile product shots – Sepel’s posts feel real and relatable.&nbsp;“If I post my really messy five-minute work lunch of pasta with a napolitana sauce, people relate to that more than a polished, perfectly edited photo,” explains Sepel. JSHealth also makes use of user-generated reviews, which are posted on its website and to social media, often using before and after shots to illustrate the health transformation. As a result, JSHealth has up to five times the social media followings of some of the largest, global vitamin brands.&nbsp;

“If I post my really messy five-minute work lunch of pasta, people relate to that more than a polished, perfectly edited photo.”

“Unlike the big brands, we are very much in touch with our community, and every single product has been created for them,” says Sepel, who personally checks in with customers and sends out care packages to the 20-odd “JSHealth girls” who’ve supported her since the beginning.&nbsp;In 2021, Sepel plans to launch several new formulations – including a male hair growth and libido blend – and two (currently top-secret) new verticals on the JSHealth website.&nbsp;With the global beauty supplements industry projected to be worth US$6.8 billion by the end of 2024, Sepel also plans to continue building her beloved community, not only in Australia, but globally, too. “We’re focusing on international expansion in 2021. JSHealth has an intimacy with our customers that the big brands don’t have.”

<h2>JSHealth founder and director Jessica Sepel’s three pieces of advice for starting a new business:&nbsp;</h2>

Embrace your challenges.&nbsp;“Don’t wish your challenges away because they will strengthen your business. When we created JSHealth Vitamins, we had at least three failures before we found the right manufacturer who shares our passion. Don’t be afraid of the tough times because, ultimately, they turn into blessings. Use your failures as motivation to keep going.”&nbsp;

Be consistent on social media.&nbsp;“Your tone of voice and your mission has to infiltrate every part of your business and be consistent throughout all of your content, including your Instagram captions, eDMs and website copy. I’m so lucky that the JSHealth team understands our brand and genuinely care about our community.Be selective with <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/business/access/social-media-tips/influencer-marketing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">influencer marketing</a>. We get a lot of requests from influencers and celebrities wanting to try our product, but we only engage with influencers who love our brand and are excited to share their before-and-after <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/business/access/product-photography/product-photos-iphone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">photos</a>. For example, Martha [Kalifatidis, of&nbsp;Married at First Sight&nbsp;fame] actually carries the vitality and collagen blend in her bag [her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CIu2-tDgYr6/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@JSHealthVitamins</a>&nbsp;post received 23,200 likes in 24 hours]. As the director, it’s my job to oversee everything and make sure all the teams are speaking the same language – across digital, graphics, customer support and growth – to make sure the messaging is consistent.”&nbsp;

Stay authentic.&nbsp;“Above all else, I think it’s important to stay connected to your mission. It’s my heartfelt purpose to help people live a healthy life, and I’ve maintained that throughout my business journey.”&nbsp;

Discover how nutritionist Jessica Sepel is leveraging social media to grow her multimillion-dollar vitamin empire, JS Health on Afterpay Access

Discover how nutritionist Jessica Sepel is leveraging social media to grow her multimillion dollar vitamin empire, JS Health on Afterpay Access

How One Vitamin Startup is Beating Major Brands on Insta | Afterpay

Meet the vitamin start-up beating major brands on Instagram

How Mint*d Smile is taking the dread out of dentistry.

With its millennial-mint and white décor, dental hygiene studio&nbsp;<a href="https://mintdsmile.com.au/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mint*d</a>&nbsp;looks more like a blow-dry bar than a dentist – which is exactly what founder Jessica McKimm hoped to achieve.&nbsp;“We want to have a totally different vibe to a normal dental practice, so we’ve spent a lot of time investing in the architecture of the space, the colours and the way it feels,” she says. “We want people to enjoy coming here.”

For a dental practice, that’s a bold aim. Yet since launching in Miranda in August this year, McKimm says her ‘smile crew’ of dentists and technicians has treated more than 400 clients, many of them repeat customers, and a second Mint*d studio is opening in Bondi Junction on December 11.&nbsp;“I love that we’re seeing exactly the customer we wanted – and they’re raving about the experience,” she says. “We’re hoping to expand all over the country in the next few years.”Targeted at millennial consumers who don’t have health insurance, Mint*d is a full-service dental practice that aims to disrupt dentistry in the same way blow-dry and nail bars opened up a new segment of the beauty industry.&nbsp;

Many of the traditional downsides of dentistry – such as drab waiting rooms and the inevitable ‘bill shock’ at the end of the appointment – have been removed in favour of a more modern, millennial-friendly and transparent approach.&nbsp;Customers can choose from a range of packages – from a 15-minute ‘Speedy Sparkle’ stain removal for $69 to a one-hour, in-chair ‘The Whitening’ treatment for $399 – while walk-in appointments are welcome.“Our services are affordable enough that you can come in for a clean as part of your preparation for a night out, just as you might get your nails done, or your hair,” says McKimm. “We have 15-minute polishes and 30-minute cleans, but we’re also a full-service dental practice, so you can have a check-up and [other treatments] too.”

“Our services are affordable enough that you can come in for a clean as part of your preparation for a night out.”

McKimm says Mint*d addresses common and well-documented fears surrounding dentist visits; one&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ada.org.au/Dental-Professionals/Australia-s-Oral-Health-Tracker/Australia-s-Oral-Health-Tracker-Technical-Appendix/ADA_AHPC_Technical-Appendix_07032018.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;found that fewer than half of all Australians had undergone a check-up in the previous 24 months.&nbsp;“Our research shows that millennials only go to the dentist when there’s an immediate need – for example, when something starts to hurt – or after an accident,” says McKimm. “They’re not loyal customers, they’re triggered to return by a specific event.”Mint*d is funded by Bupa, where McKimm works as a project manager, but the idea was one she developed with the help of her boss, Stephen Druce, the director of business development and marketing. “Mint*d opens up a new market for us,” says McKimm. “Our practices serve the health-insured customer really well, but Mint*d caters to those who don’t have insurance. It’s a way of making sure oral health is on everyone’s radar.”&nbsp;

McKimm and her team have worked hard to make the Mint*d experience as calm and frictionless as possible. An external digital board outside the studio displays Mint*d’s services and corresponding next-available appointment times so clients can, say, book an appointment to fit in with their morning’s shopping trip in the mall, says McKimm. They make their own bookings and notify staff of their arrival using a digital check-in and booking station just inside the door.&nbsp;All forms for medical history are completed online in a simple three-step process – and once clients have signed in, they sit at a bar with complimentary tea and water. During the actual appointment, clients wear protective eyewear with earpieces that can connect to their own device so they can listen to a podcast or playlist.Afterwards, clients can access a digital treatment plan online, so they can manage their own dentistry experience. “Our aim is to be clear and transparent about what we’re offering, which is new for the industry,” says McKimm. Treatments are cheaper, too, she adds. “For $199, you can have a full check-up and clean, including X-rays, where that might cost you $300 at another dentist.”

Several different payment options are available, including treatment ‘bundles’, memberships and Afterpay.&nbsp;“Afterpay resonates with our target demographic, so we saw it as a pull for our business to attract customers,” says McKimm. “Also, dental is seen as an expensive [category] and this is one of the barriers we’re trying to remove by offering affordable treatments, so it made sense to partner with Afterpay to help bridge this barrier with us.”In the next few months, McKimm will evaluate the effectiveness of the Miranda and Bondi studios before rolling out more outlets nationally. “The experience of launching Mint*d has been incredible,” she says. “It’s a privilege to be able to watch your idea come to life.”

Mint*d Smile is taking the dread out of dentistry, with an interior that feels more like a blow-dry bar than a dentist's office. Read founder Jessica McKimm's vision on Afterpay Access.

Mint d Smile is taking the dread out of dentistry, with an interior that feels more like a blow dry bar than a dentist s office Read founder Jessica McKimm's vision on Afterpay Access

How Mint*d Smile Tackles Dentistry for Millennials | Afterpay

Meet the dentist aimed at Millennials

Why Dr Benjamin Hadikusumo of The Shrink Company places values ahead of pure profit

Whenever Dr Benjamin Hadikusumo hears&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theshrinkcompany.com.au/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Shrink Company</a> described as a “clinic”, his heart sinks. “I feel like I’ve failed,” says the CEO and founder of this unique collective of mental health experts. “The word ‘clinic’ feels very mundane – you go in, you receive treatment, you leave. To me, this is my home.”

The Shrink Company’s head office, in Tweed Heads, northern New South Wales, certainly feels more Hamptons than hospital, with staff encouraged to bring in trinkets and photographs from home to create a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. But Dr Hadikusumo’s approach to his work is more than just window-dressing, reflecting his emotional connection to the company. “My staff – they are my people, they are my family,” he says.Dr Hadikusumo – a psychiatrist and adjunct associate professor at Bond University, Queensland – started The Shrink Company in 2015, with little more than a laptop and a determination to take a more purpose-driven approach to his discipline.&nbsp;He now has a team of 22 people, including psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health nurses, across five sites in northern New South Wales and Queensland.&nbsp;GP referrals, which are the usual way in which patients reach a specialist, are important, but community awareness of Dr Hadikusumo’s business means potential clients are also asking their GPs to refer them. “I feel market confidence is high for our business,” he adds.&nbsp;

The Shrink Company offers a hybrid, team-based model of care, rather than the traditional model where patients see one specialist at a time. Four key values, or pillars, underpin the business: excellence, integrity, sincerity and humility. (“Every person within the organisation is a floor sweeper,” states the website. It’s true, affirms Hadikusumo: “If the garbage is full, I’ll take it out.”)For Dr Hadikusumo, this focus on values translates into staff loyalty and a consistently high level of care for clients. “We are not in the business of mental health,” he says. “We’re in the business of hope. Mental health is just how we do it.”

<h2>Hire staff with shared values</h2>Hiring people whose values align with the company is vital within a purpose-driven business, says Dr Hadikusumo. However, it hasn’t always been easy.“It’s not something you learn in medical school. We’ve made mistakes along the way and hired people who didn’t share our values, and that was probably down to a lack of clarity. But we interview better now. I always place values above competency. Competency can be taught, values cannot.”Shared values also help boost staff engagement. At twice-yearly in-house events, employees are given awards in categories that reflect The Shrink Company’s four key pillars. They’re also offered additional training through in-house programmes.&nbsp;“People ask why we do that, because these are not income-generating initiatives,” says Dr Hadikusumo. “The answer is that this is the way we operate to stay true to our values.”&nbsp;At Christmas, Dr Hadikusumo and his staff prepare hampers for patients they know are doing it tough. “We’re not able to do it at scale, like an NGO or anything,” he laughs. “But we’re doing well enough to give back to the community.”

<h2>Why Afterpay is a good fit for health</h2>“We’ve signed up to Afterpay because we wanted to give clients options,” says Dr Hadikusumo.&nbsp;When The Shrink Company moved into the disability sector, it discovered that the tests required to help with diagnosis and treatment weren’t funded by Medicare. Some patients couldn’t pay for those tests upfront. “This was a way to enable people to start their journey with us.”The Shrink Company is now in the process of transitioning its systems and website to enable patients to take full advantage of Afterpay’s service.

<h2>Why innovation is key</h2>As The Shrink Company grew, it took a direction that Dr Hadikusumo hadn’t anticipated. “We had a bit of an identity crisis, where we moved quite a lot into the disability sector,” he explains. “So, we have split the company into four business divisions, including The Shrink Academy and Shrink Neuro, to enable The Shrink Company to focus on its core mission, which is frontline mental health.”&nbsp;Having the ability to respond to patterns of patient need is important, says Dr Hadikusumo. “Three years ago, we decided to future-proof the business. We thought, ‘We’re small now but we can grow bigger by doing things nobody else can do.’ So we went for hospital-level accreditation in order for us to demonstrate our commitment to quality assurance, and this also allowed us to offer treatments that traditionally could only occur within a hospital or tertiary institution setting.”Dr Hadikusumo also tries to leverage new technology whenever he can. There are no support staff in his four satellite offices – instead, a video doorbell registers a patient’s arrival for an appointment, and there’s a computer for new patients to fill in their details. “I got the idea after a trip to the US, where I picked up a car from Hertz without meeting anyone in person,” he says. “I have to say, the reception to this was a bit mixed at first, but now everyone has got used to it.”If he had chosen the more conventional route as a sole practitioner of private psychiatry, Dr Hadikusumo admits he would probably be better off. “The more traditional approach would have given me the lifestyle many doctors prefer much earlier on,” he says. “But I’m more interested in the long game. I wanted to see if I could help more people, and produce a better outcome, and that’s what I believe we do.”&nbsp;

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The Shrink Company's head office in Tweed Head isn't a "clinic." Read how Dr. Benjamin Hadikusumo pioneered a new model for healthcare.

The Shrink Company's head office in Tweed Head isn t a clinic Read how Dr Benjamin Hadikusumo pioneered a new model for healthcare

Tweed Head's "Shrink Company" Pioneers New Model | Afterpay

How this health centre is pioneering a new model of care

Vetwest practice manager Joanne Campbell shares her tips for coping under pressure

When Perth went into lockdown at the peak of the Covid-19 crisis, vets remained open and legally able to operate. And because more people were at home with their animals – and noticing the first signs of their animals’ ill health - demand at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vetwest.com.au/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vetwest</a>&nbsp;Currambine in Perth soared.“I’d never seen anything like it, especially in March last year,” remembers practice manager Joanne Campbell. “We were even consulting in the carpark.”

<h2>The important of flexibility and planning</h2>The secret to coping under unprecedented pressure was rigorous management, flexibility - and trial and error. Customers were told to bring their animals to the clinic’s carpark, and either a vet or a vet nurse would walk to the car to take the patient’s history and find out why they were there.Nurses and vets would then run in and out of the practice with animals and medications, while, for the most part, their owners stayed in the car. Thinking on the fly was key. “At first we thought we could get by with one nurse for two or three vets, but we quickly worked out that with all the running in and out that we had to have one nurse per vet.”

Campbell has been a vet nurse for more than 25 years, and headed up the Currumbine practice – one of 16 Vetwest clinics in Perth - for nearly five. Her team of around 16, including four or five vets, manages between 700 and 800 animal consults a month – at least in non-lockdown times. Two of her vets have an interest in orthopaedics and ophthalmology, which means nearby clinics often refer their patients for care, and the clinic may perform anywhere between six and 14 surgeries per day.Daily staff meetings and “a very well-managed diary” are the secrets to running the practice smoothly, Campbell says, but even with the Perth lockdowns behind her – touch wood – the clinic is still facing another Covid-related difficulty.

<h2>Valuing staff</h2>There simply aren’t enough travelling vets or vet nurses from overseas to fill vacancies when her staff are sick or on leave. That means Campbell has to come up with new and innovative ways to look after the staff she does have, as well as any casuals, so that they feel valued.One way is through up-skilling. She runs at least three specialised training sessions a month – in everything from dental to bandage care – so that all her staff, even her casuals, feel like they’re getting the support they need to progress in their careers. “It’s about giving them job satisfaction,” she says.

<h2>Managing customer expectations</h2>Campbell also carefully manages the clinic’s bookings so that she doesn’t overload her staff. “We have a few sister clinics that we can refer people to if things get too busy. Or maybe we tell people that while a vet can’t see you at a particular time, you could drop your animal off, and someone could see them in between consults. We always want to meet the needs of our clients but sometimes you do have to say, ‘I’m sorry, we just can’t fit you in today’ or 'We can see you next week'."Campbell says that the introduction of Afterpay in March 2021 has been game-changing for the clinic’s customers, who now have more flexibility when it comes to paying for procedures.“We had a lady come in with her cat yesterday. The cat had been missing for days and it had lost all its skin on its toes and had little wounds up its legs. We had to stitch it and bandage it up again,” Campbell says. “Afterpay allowed this lady to spread her payments out rather than having to have all the money up front. It was really great. Afterpay has definitely made a huge difference to our practice.”&nbsp;Despite the busy workload, the Vetwest staff still relish every animal that comes through their doors – mostly cats and dogs but even the odd ferret, guinea pig or chicken. “There are lots and lots of puppies which means lots of cuddles,” Campbell says. “Today we had someone come in with a beautiful cat that was a unique colour, and we all gathered round going ‘Oh wow, how cute is that cat?’”As an animal lover, does the joy of meeting a sweet new furry client ever get old? Joanne laughs. “No,” she says. “Never, ever, ever.”

When a Perth vet saw demand double during Covid-19, they were forced to adapt to handle the deluge.

When a Perth vet saw demand double during Covid 19, they were forced to adapt to handle the deluge