Answer extracted from the How I Built This with Guy Raz podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How did growing up on a farm influence early interest in cosmetic formulation and chemistry?
Karissa Bodnar started formulating makeup in her parents' kitchen at age 10, grinding sunflower seeds to make butter and steaming rose petals for pigment. She discovered that blackberries could stain hands and realized this natural pigment could become lipstick or blush—early experiments that taught her chemistry through pure imagination and play.
Learning Chemistry Through Garden Ingredients
Growing up on a small farm in Stanwood, Washington, Bodnar had direct access to raw materials that most children don't. Instead of theoretical textbooks, she used what surrounded her: flowers, seeds, and berries became her laboratory. Her parents actively fostered this curiosity by providing her with reference books like the Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary—invaluable resources before the internet era made information freely available.
This hands-on approach meant Bodnar learned chemistry not through formulas on a blackboard, but through cause-and-effect experimentation. When she discovered that blackberry juice stained her skin, the leap to "this could work in makeup" came naturally. She wasn't following a curriculum; she was following her own questions.
The Foundation for a Career
These early experiments in her parents' kitchen became the blueprint for her entire career trajectory. By the time she was a makeup artist at Sephora during college, and later when she was hired by L'Oreal for product development work, she already understood formulation intuitively. She had spent years thinking about how ingredients behave, how they mix, and what they create.
As discussed in the episode, that farm-kitchen foundation continued to matter when she eventually left L'Oreal in 2013 to start Thrive Causemetics. Formulation wasn't a job skill she had acquired—it was a language she had spoken since childhood.
"I love this industry. I love what I get to do every day. And I also have this bigger calling to honor her life."
Karissa Bodnar — Founder and CEO of Thrive Causemetics. After working as a makeup artist at Sephora and studying marketing communications at the University of Washington, Bodnar was hired by L'Oreal for product development following the company's acquisition of Clarisonic. In 2013, after her close friend Christy Lamond died of cancer at age 24, she left L'Oreal to create Thrive Causemetics, channeling her passion for beauty formulation into a mission-driven brand dedicated to giving back to people in need.
The specific detail of how Bodnar built Thrive Causemetics from zero to millions in revenue reveals how that early chemistry foundation intersected with her business instincts and personal mission.
See also
How did a manufacturer try to force excess inventory on a founder, and what was her response?
When a manufacturer attempted to require excess inventory orders to make room in their factory, the founder navigated supplier pressure through careful negotiation—balancing production needs with her own cash flow and business constraints.
What financial sacrifices did bootstrapping a manufacturing business require from a working family?
To afford the patent process—which cost between five and twenty-five thousand dollars or more—she negotiated the best rates with a boutique patent attorney, managing every expense carefully during the early stages of growth.
How did a single mother navigate manufacturing logistics and supplier relationships without prior experience?
She asked her Chinese neighbor if he knew a manufacturer, and he connected her with a friend whose parents owned a factory in China—providing critical early access to production partners and turning a personal network into a business asset.