Phoebe Simmonds, Founder of The BLOW and Co-Founder of The Memo, knows all about identifying a need and developing a business to meet that need from the ground up! The BLOW was delivered Australian women a fast and effortless Blow Dry experience that they deserve; a beautiful, welcoming space in a convenient location, friendly consistent service at a competitive price. The Memo, which Phoebe is Co-Founder of, along with Kate Casey, is a brand that sells the best and brightest baby products and provides customers with a premium-feel good retail experience. The idea for the business was the brainchild of Kate Casey and is another example of addressing a need identified in the market, providing a seamless experience for the customer.

Phoebe has had strong experience in the beauty sphere, as well as a qualification in commerce majoring in management and marketing. After working at Mecca during university, she made the move to London to work for Nude Skincare (LVMH) for four years, followed by an 18-month period at Benefit Cosmetics. It was here that Phoebe was responsible for successfully expanding and establishing Benefit’s presence across Sephora stores in Southeast Asia. After these roles, she moved to Sydney to work as the Marketing Director for Benefit for a further three years. As a business owner Phoebe claims it’s important for her to approach things with openness and agility. To this extent, she doesn’t tend to look beyond six to twelve months. For The Memo, the real focus is on the community that they have created and nurturing that community by constantly finding new ways to reinforce credibility and building a place where expectant parents can connect and be inspired to feel good. They are also looking at improving the user experience by introducing a loyalty program for their community.

Days for Phoebe normally consist of team meetings, media appointments, content creation, catching up with a business friend for lunch, heading to The Memo’s warehouse in Moorabbin, Victoria and usually an event at night. In her spare time, Phoebe loves ‘reading, yoga, swimming in the ocean, long runs, wine with friends, going to the footy, movies, all the usual stuff. I’m a pretty focused person so when I work, I work, but on weekends I try to switch off and recharge.’