Vicky Tsai
{{Short description|American business executive (born 1978)}}
{{essay|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Victoria Tsai
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1978}}
| birth_place = Missouri, U.S.
| education = Wellesley College (BA)
Harvard University (MBA)
| known_for = Tatcha Co-Founder
| awards = WWD Beauty Inc Founder's Award (2019)
Cosmetic Executive Women Female Founder Award (2019)
}}
Vicky Tsai (born 1978{{Cite news |last=Strauss |first=Alix |date=2019-11-13 |title='I Dream, He Executes' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/fashion/weddings/Tatcha-founders-Vicky-Tsai-and-Eric-Bevan-spill-secrets-of-their-marriage.html |access-date=2023-03-17 |issn=0362-4331}}) is an American businesswoman who is a co-founder of Tatcha,{{cite web | url=https://www.tatcha.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_MqgBhAGEiwAnYOAegxge1Y-yxQ7FreLD-wOPdt8r0ECpCSRECZRonbohuFPa1ng1vk7phoCSE8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds | title=Japanese Beauty & Skincare Products | Tatcha }} a skincare company based on Japanese beauty rituals.{{Cite web |last=Tatcha |title=Our Story |url=https://www.tatcha.com/our-story.html |website=Tatcha}}
Early life and education
As a young infant, Tsai's parents moved to the United States from Taiwan, settling in Houston, Texas. From a young age, Tsai became aware of seemingly unattainable Western beauty standards and was one of the only Asian students at her school.{{Cite web |last=Vora |first=Shivani |date=April 8, 2021 |title=What Helped Her Build a $500 Million Asian-Beauty Brand Also Held Her Back. Not Anymore |url=https://www.inc.com/shivani-vora/tatcha-vicky-tsai-taiwan-asian-beauty-bias.html |website=Inc}} She struggled with her identity as a result of feeling underrepresented and isolated as a minority in the early '90s in Texas.{{Cite web |title=An interview with Tatcha founder Victoria Tsai {{!}} The Memo {{!}} MECCA |url=https://www.mecca.com.au/on/demandware.store/Sites-MeccaAU-Site/default/Page-Show?cid=tatcha-rituals-victoria-tsai-interview |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=MECCA AU |language=en}}
Tsai studied at Wellesley College, where she received a B.A. in economics,{{Cite web |title=[POSTPONED] AAPI Women in Business: Conversation With Tatcha Founder Vicky Tsai |url=https://asiasociety.org/texas/events/postponed-aapi-women-business-conversation-tatcha-founder-vicky-tsai |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Asia Society |date=30 November 2022 |language=en}} and Harvard Business School, where she received a M.B.A. and later led research on the state of AAPI women in business.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-20 |title=Tatcha's Vicky Tsai in Conversation With Selfmade's Stephanie Lee |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/tatcha-vicky-tsai-selfmade-stephanie-lee |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Glamour |language=en-US}} She found her first corporate job working for Starbucks in Shanghai, which focused on its expansion into the China market. Her team pitched and executed a strategy to launch consumer products in China in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which housed the bottled Starbucks Frappuccino.{{Cite web |last=Liu |first=Jennifer |title=This Harvard MBA grad worked at a Starbucks after graduation—then she founded a company worth millions |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/10/tatchas-vicky-tsai-worked-at-starbucks-after-harvard-business-school.html |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=CNBC |date=13 January 2020 |language=en}} Tsai worked in corporate America as a financier for a decade and spent her twenties traveling globally for work.{{Cite web |title=Victoria Tsai Biography {{!}} Booking Info for Speaking Engagements |url=https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/celebritytalentbios/Victoria+Tsai/440854#:~:text=Victoria%20Tsai%20is%20the%20founder,and%20authenticity%20in%20her%20life |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=www.allamericanspeakers.com}}
Tatcha
Tsai traveled to Kyoto, Japan, in 2008. There, she met with a modern geisha who introduced her to time-tested ingredients based on a Japanese diet. She not only discovered cultural remedies for her skin, but also felt the experience begin to heal her spirit. When she returned to San Francisco, she created Tatcha, an entrepreneurial endeavor she described as a "necessity".
In 2009, Tsai approached retail partners for the business, but was told Tatcha was "too niche" and "too exotic" for the Western woman. After struggling to secure funding, Tsai sold her engagement ring, car, and furniture, then worked from her mother's garage. She spent 9 years without a salary. In 2017, she received funding from private equity firm Castanea Partners.{{Cite web |title=Tatcha's founder Vicky Tsai reveals why she first stepped down as CEO: 'It felt like a threat' |url=https://cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/Tatchas_founder_Vicky_Tsai_reveals_why_she_first_stepped_down_as_CEO_It_felt_like_a_threat/200944 |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=cosmeticsbusiness.com |language=en}}
After Tatcha
Despite many years at the company, the business was sold to Unilever in 2019 for $500 million, and Tsai stepped down shortly afterward.
Personal life
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsai, Vicky}}
Category:Taiwanese business executives
Category:American business executives
Category:Wellesley College alumni
Category:Harvard Business School alumni
Category:American people of Taiwanese descent
Category:Businesspeople from Houston