Female Founder: Amy Liu of Tower 28
Amy Liu, founder of Tower 28 Beauty
How did you get your start in the industry?
After graduating college, I took a job in management consulting because I didn’t know what direction I wanted to take, and it felt like a “safe” choice. Two years into the job, I had a quarter-life crisis and decided to go back to school and get my MBA at USC, where I concentrated in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. At a school event, I sat next to beauty industry legend Michelle Taylor (formerly the CEO of Kate Somerville Skincare and President at Kiehl’s) and offered to be her intern. I commuted from LA to Santa Barbara twice a week and worked for free while I was still in business school. From then on, I was hooked and totally obsessed with all things beauty! I went on to work for a few incredible founder-led brands, including Smashbox, Kate Somerville, and Josie Maran – always with the intention of doing something on my own in the future. Once I learned to trust myself, that confidence helped propel me to launch Tower 28.
What advice would you give to younger women entering the industry?
I always tell people looking to get into the industry to practice collaboration over competition. Beauty has always been full of women but lacked equal representation at the executive level. These days, I look around and see so many female founders and leaders in beauty – it’s amazing! I truly believe we’re stronger together and changing the future of the industry. Also, be kind and work hard!
What are you doing to help lift other women?
We love partnering up with fellow female-founded brands for a good cause and are always looking for new ways to uplift our communities. This month, in honor of Women's Day, we teamed up with our friends at L’Appartement 4F, Táche, OffLimits, and HBFIT to raise awareness around the pay inequity women still face today. As part of the collaboration, a donation was made to the Lower Eastside Girls Club, which provides free programming in art, science, leadership, entrepreneurship, and wellness for girls and gender-diverse youth in New York City. We hope to continue to do more things like this in the future!
If you had to name one person, can you please share who inspires you?
My daughter plays lacrosse, and her middle school has a boys’ team but not a girls’ team. She petitioned the school to create a girls’ team and was rejected, but instead of giving up, she rallied her friend, and the two of them tried out for the boys’ team! They made the team! I’m inspired by her bravado and that she took action.
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