Rene Shin: Marrying K-Beauty and CBD

Rene Shin saw two booming markets and decided to bring them together because innovation and creativity are what female disruptors do best. She is a doctor and founder of Jinjoo Labs, the world’s first CBD skincare line featuring K-Beauty technology. How does her medical practice affect her business? What has her experience being a woman entrepreneur been like? Read on to find out!

Getting that one winning idea

When Rene noticed how popular K-Beauty products were around the world and how effective CBD seemed to be for skin repair, she knew she could come up with a great product. The idea also allowed her to bring her two countries together.

Despite knowing little about CBD initially, Rene slowly educated herself by translating her husband’s business documents to Korean. She had also always cared about starting skincare at a young age, something she had learned from her mother. “As a doctor, I started reading the studies regarding the skincare effects of CBD and I put the two together. So with the help of my family including my father, we pushed to make this endeavor a reality,” she says.

Leading a growing startup

Rene is surrounded by entrepreneurs: both her father and husband founded their own companies. As such, she got into the business knowing there would be great days and bad days. Her advice to deal with the ups and downs? Keep a good disposition and constantly look to the future. While she knows Jinjoo Labs might not work out she’s hopeful the products will speak for themselves. Indeed, they have a unique value proposition in the field and technology to back them up.

Rene isn’t a novice either. She is both a doctor and studied for her MBA. Those two areas of expertise allowed her to be a successful leader during market research, working with scientists, clinical trials, pricing, etc. She was able to use both her medical knowledge to make sure the product was effective and up to her standards while building a good business model. She understood the need to take the time to get a product good enough to make the launch a success.

Rene Shin fights stereotypes by helping others

Working at a hospital, Rene’s life mission is to help her patients. But having her own company allows her to have a voice, she says. “I am a minority twice over,” she explains. “Once for the color of my skin and the second time for being a woman. You wouldn’t imagine the stigmatization I have to face while working at a hospital. All I want is to give ethical and great care to my patients, but sometimes they just want to see a man because of their misogynistic attitudes.”

But that doesn’t prevent Rene from helping others. When asked what advice she would give other women wanting to start their own business, she had a lot to share:

1. Research, research, research

2. Figure out how many hours you are willing to work on the project

3. Find the right people to help you

4. If you don’t have the time, don’t commit to change

5. A good idea will attract talented people

Find Out More About Rene Shin

Connect with Rene on LinkedIn and follow her on Instagram. Make sure to check out Jinjoo Lab for some truly unique skincare products!