G: Sarah, you went from finance to beauty founder. What gave you the confidence to make such a major career pivot?

SGT: I think all founders have a little irrational exuberance and irrational optimism. You have to, or you won’t feel like you can do anything. I definitely have that in spades. Both my parents are entrepreneurs, and they instilled in me a “you can do anything” mentality.

But honestly, it didn’t feel like that big of a leap. In finance, I was making clients happy. At Olive & June, we’re working to make our community feel wonderful about themselves just through a different medium. I’m an Enneagram 2, so I love making people happy. I’ve just brought that energy into a new space.

G: Did you always believe Olive & June could become something this big?

SGT: Always. I thought it was going to be a big salon chain, actually. But once we started growing, I realized nails were the one category in beauty that didn’t have a true at-home system. There were no tools or programs to help people get a salon-quality manicure or pedicure at home.

We’d built brand recognition, and we saw a huge opportunity to scale. Three salons, 10 salons, even 100 salons only serve a limited segment at a certain price point. I wanted to democratize the salon manicure. I always believed it would be huge. When we launched products, it wasn’t surprising to me that we blew past projections even before COVID. And in 2020, when we sold out three times, I knew we really had something people needed.

G: What are some daily habits or rituals that have fueled your growth—personally and professionally?

SGT: People joke that I have a million best friends. I just love connecting with people. I love hearing their stories, being part of their journey, and being the person, they call in a tough spot. That’s the heart of what Olive & June is. It’s here to make you happy. That’s what I do in my personal life too.

I read constantly—Substack's, TikTok, anything to stay close to the zeitgeist. I’m trying to understand what people are feeling and bring that into our brand.

I also walk 10,000 steps a day. I did it this morning on my walking pad. It clears my brain. And I really thrive on social interaction, whether that’s sending a meme or giving a pep talk. It’s all about helping people feel their best.

G: A lot of brands lose their cool factor when they go mass. How did you keep Olive & June’s identity intact?

SGT: Well, I don’t know if my 10-year-old thinks I’m cool, so I’d love to replay this for her.

We’re consumer obsessed. It’s always about what the community is feeling or wanting in the moment. We collaborate with incredible brands—like Bubble, which went nuts at Walmart, or Colleen Hoover, which went viral on BookTok. But the most important thing is every product must solve a real problem.

We never try to be trendy or exclusive. We want everyone to feel welcome. That means focusing on product innovation—press-ons that don’t chip, polish that lasts—so people change their manicure because they’re tired of the color, not because it failed them.

We also never call our colors “nudes.” There is no universal nude. We want everyone to find their perfect neutral, red, pink—whatever makes them feel confident.

G: What’s your approach to trendspotting and staying relevant?

SGT: We follow the consumer and serve them. Velvets, cat-eye nails, special effects—these are huge right now. About a third to half of our press-on portfolio is effects, which wasn’t the case two years ago. But we pay attention, and we show up for our community.

It’s not about us saying, “this is what’s cool.” It’s about listening to what they think is cool and building on that.

G: What keeps you grounded as a leader?

SGT: Honestly, I take a lot of walks. And I make a gratitude list every day. That’s the thing that resets me. You’re never going to have everything at once—there’s always going to be something that’s hard. So, I focus on what I do have.

Sometimes I’d even email my best friend our lists just to stay accountable. Now I do it in my Notes app first thing in the morning so I’m not on TikTok right away.

And my team reminds me to celebrate the wins. It’s so easy to jump to the next goalpost but you have to pause and appreciate what you’ve built. Gratitude is a huge mood booster. It’s like giving myself a pep talk every day.