Kate Morris
Hall of Fame Alumni
Adore Beauty
- CEO
About Me - My Biography
Beauty junkie Kate Morris, CEO and founder of Adorebeauty.com.au, had her inspiration to start the business in 1999 at the age of 21. Having grown up in Launceston, Tasmania, she had always bemoaned the fact that all the hottest beauty products mentioned in the magazines were only available to those who lived in the big cities.
After studying a Bachelor of Business at Monash University while working on the cosmetic counters part-time, Kate was inspired to create an online beauty boutique that would allow women to access the products they loved and wanted – no matter where they lived.
Kate set out to make her vision a reality. But back in 1999, e-commerce was in its infancy and many brands were reluctant to allow a start-up to sell their products on an undeveloped website. It was a Catch 22: without products, the site could not launch. Another challenge was finance: banks were not prepared to lend to a 21-year-old woman wanting to start a dot-com business with no collateral.
Not to be deterred, Kate managed to scrape, beg and borrow $12 000 seed money, and launched Adorebeauty.com.au in 2000 with two little-known brands.
“I started adorebeauty.com.au in a garage, with next to no money and no business experience. When I look back on those early days it amazes me that I managed to get where I am today,” laughs Kate.
“Back then, online shopping was extremely uncommon. There was no such thing as broadband – I had to disconnect my phone line and then dial up the Internet to check the site and get orders.”
When it launched, adorebeauty.com.au made one sale a week. Today, the site attracts millions of visitors and offers free shipping on over 8000 products on its virtual shelves – from hard-to-find niche and cult brands, through to the beauty industry’s big players like Clarins, Benefit, Kérastase, SK-II and Lancôme. Recently Adore Beauty announced that it is the first and only online pure-play in Australia to be approved as an agent for Estée Lauder Companies – and one of the first in the world.
Kate was recently awarded the Business Innovation Award for Victoria at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards in 2014. Adore Beauty has also been scooping up accolades, making the 2014 lists for the Deloitte Asia Pacific Tech Fast 500, Deloitte Tech Fast 50 Australia, and SmartCompany Smart 50. Kate was also awarded Telstra Young Businesswoman of the Year for Victoria in 2010.
Her Story
Kate Morris is a prime example of how turning your passion into a career pays off. Growing up in Launceston, Tasmania, she lamented the fact that most of the best beauty products flaunted in magazines were only stocked in the big cities. Makeup lover Kate wasn’t content with the limited range of beauty products available and this propelled her, at the young age of 21, to start her Adore Beauty business.
Kate had a vision: to create an online beauty boutique that would give women access, regardless of where they lived, to products that until then they could only admire in the magazines.
From our perspective now, in today’s technologically driven age, it seems that Kate should be praised for her incredible foresight to develop an online beauty boutique in 1999.
‘Back then, online shopping was extremely uncommon. There was no such thing as broadband – I had to disconnect my phone line and then dial up the Internet to check the site and get orders.’
However, in those days, e-commerce was in its embryonic stage and many beauty brands were unwilling to allow a young start-up to sell their products on an undeveloped website. Additionally, banks were reluctant to lend money to a 21-year-old woman, with no collateral, who wanted to start an online beauty business.
Despite these challenges, Kate’s tenacity won out: after much begging and borrowing, she managed to scrape together $12,000 which she spent on launching Adorebeauty.com.au in 2000, with a grand total of two relatively unknown brands.
After adorebeauty.com.au was launched, it made only one sale a week. But today, the site rakes in millions of visitors and offers over 8,000 products. Some of Kate’s clients include beauty powerhouse brands such as Clarins, Benefit, Krastase, SK-II and Lancôme. Adore Beauty was recently announced as the first and only online beauty boutique in Australia to be approved as an agent for Estēe Lauder Companies.
‘I started adorebeauty.com.au in a garage, with next to no money and no business experience. When I look back on those early days it amazes me that I managed to get where I am today.’
As the recipient of the Business Innovation Award for Victoria at the Telstra Business Women’s Award in 2014, Kate’s business acumen and foresight has been recognised. Adore Beauty has also gained recognition worldwide, making the 2014 lists for the Deloitte Asia Pacific Tech Fast 500, Deloitte Tech Fast 50 Australia, and SmartCompany Smart 50.
Kate’s business story is empowering because it’s an example of how passion and persistence can result in success.
From her experience starting up Adore Beauty, Kate advises business owners to:
‘Accept that failure is an essential part of the learning process, and particularly important if you are trying to innovate; if you’re not failing, you’re not trying anything new. Failure is only a bad thing if you beat yourself up about it, rather than taking the lessons from it.’
Strategies for Success
- Tenacity. I just don’t accept no as the final answer. If you can listen properly and find out the reasons behind the answer, there’s almost always a solution that can work for everyone.
- Courage. Being scared usually means you are pushing yourself outside your comfort zone and that’s always a good thing.
- Passion. I think it’s so much easier to get through the difficult times when you love what you do and believe in it.
- Listen to your customers because they’ll tell you what you need to hear (even if you don’t really want to hear it!).
- Honesty and integrity. I do believe that what goes around comes around.
