I’m Nataliia, maker of Formulator online. Ask me anything!

@benjaminthomasclark Thank you for your kind words! The transition from cosmetic chemist to entrepreneur was definitely challenging but incredibly rewarding. One of the key challenges I faced was learning the business side of things. As a chemist, I was used to focusing purely on formulation and science, but running a business meant learning about marketing, product development, and financial management, which was quite a shift. Building a team was also a learning experience, especially since Formulator Online is a tech product, and my background is more in chemistry. I had to find the right people to help with development and design, which took time but was crucial. As of now, we’re still a lean team, but it’s been exciting to see the product come together with their help. Funding has been another challenge, especially in the early stages. Initially, Formulator Online was bootstrapped, and we focused on maximizing our resources and gathering early feedback from users to improve the product. One of the key lessons I learned here is that building relationships and gathering customer feedback early on are essential. It helped me better understand what my target audience — mainly small and medium-sized cosmetic businesses and professional formulators — truly needs. Another lesson was about scaling. After launching the ingredients database with over 14,000 ingredients, I realized how important it is to keep evolving based on customer demands. This constant adaptation has been critical to keeping the product relevant and valuable. Overall, the journey has taught me that while the technical expertise I have as a cosmetic chemist is important, building a product and running a business requires constant learning and flexibility. It’s been a mix of learning new skills, delegating tasks I’m not an expert in, and listening closely to what my customers need. Thanks for the great question — I hope my journey can offer some insights for other founders! 😊

@finnmccarthy My journey from cosmetic chemist to entrepreneur was driven by a desire to create something unique. Initially, I developed Formulation Online to address my own challenges in the formulation process. As a cosmetic chemist, I often found myself writing formulas on paper and manually recalculating them, which was both time-consuming and cumbersome. I wasn't a fan of using Excel, and I couldn't find any specialized software that met my needs. It wasn't until I realized that many others in the industry faced similar hurdles that I decided to share my solution with the world. After about a year of using the platform for my own projects, I began adapting it to make it accessible to others. The transition wasn't without its challenges. Since there were no existing templates or straightforward programs to model after, I had to design everything from scratch. This meant experimenting with different processes, optimizing the program, and refining the workflow—all of which was quite demanding. However, overcoming these obstacles has been incredibly rewarding, as it allowed me to create a tool that genuinely simplifies the lives of cosmetic chemists and brands alike.