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Drybar cofounder shares the dark side of building her $255 million blow-drying empire

By
Alexa Mikhail
Alexa Mikhail
and
Joey Abrams
Joey Abrams
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By
Alexa Mikhail
Alexa Mikhail
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Joey Abrams
Joey Abrams
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November 30, 2023, 8:35 AM ET
Drybar cofounder Alli Webb
In her newly released memoir, The Messy Truth, Drybar founder Alli Webb details the story behind her $255 million blowout company, which she sold in 2019.Courtesy of Alli Webb
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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Las Vegas big-shot Miriam Adelson buys the Dallas Mavericks, GM CEO Mary Barra sets out new plans to recoup company losses, and Drybar’s founder speaks with Fortune reporter Alexa Mikhail about prioritizing mental health and the dark side of immediate success. Have a splendid Thursday!

– Blowout, burnout. She’s known as the woman behind the multi-million-dollar blow-drying empire, but in a new book, Drybar founder Alli Webb shares the toll her extraordinary rise took on her personal life.  

When Webb founded Drybar in 2010, she didn’t anticipate her passion for hair styling would grow into a beauty staple with over 150 storefronts nationwide. With its distinct yellow and gray logo and brightly branded products, the company capitalized on an unmet consumer need—a simple blowout, no cuts nor colors. 

“We were on such a rocket ship with Drybar, and the trajectory of the business was so fast and amazing,” Webb told me in a recent interview. She sold the company for $255 million to Helen of Troy, a major acquirer of consumer brands, in 2019. 

But there was a darker side to Webb’s story. She reveals her journey with depression and burnout in her newly released memoir, The Messy Truth. 

“I am a living, breathing example of just how high one can climb and how fast one can fall,” she writes in the book. 

As her business took off, Webb suffered a series of emotional setbacks—a failed marriage with a husband whom she worked with and her mother’s death from cancer. Seven years after launching Drybar, her eldest son began to struggle with his own mental health and went to rehab. She concealed most of this along the way and coped by hustling at work. “Drybar was all the rage, and it was intoxicating, and I loved it,” she says. 

But she wasn’t taking care of herself physically or mentally. “You’re giving so much of yourself to the cause, and you can easily lose yourself,” she says. “My life kind of imploded along the way.” 

Since then, Webb has gone to therapy and her son has received the help he needed. Webb says she’s learned to take care of herself by admitting when things aren’t as good as they seem instead of turning to work as an avoidance mechanism. She now works as a creative consultant for self-care consumer brands and continues to brainstorm new concepts, a job that suits her innovative and hands-on skillset. And she now recognizes that the high of entrepreneurial success has a steep comedown. 

“It’s a little bit of a drug…it’s like an addiction,” she says. 

Webb’s candor fits into a larger trend of founders and business leaders opening up about their mental health, from Depop founder Simon Beckerman admitting to crying episodes to the founders who shared how Silicon Valley Bank’s crash stoked deep anxiety. According to research from Deloitte, about 70% of C-suite executives say they are “seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being.” At the same time, employees yearn for “human-centered” leaders who are not afraid to prioritize their own health and show the not-so-glamorous side of success. 

Beyond chronicling Drybar’s rise, Webb hopes her story serves as a reminder to approach success more neutrally—not getting sucked into the short-term highs—while knowing when to let go and care for your mental health. “You’re not letting the great things that are happening be this crazy high, and then not allowing the bad things that happen to take you down,” she says. 

You can read my full story on Webb here.

Alexa Mikhail
Alexa.Mikhail@fortune.com

@MikhailAlexa

The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- In her court. Casino tycoon Miriam Adelson is set to scoop up a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks NBA team from billionaire Mark Cuban for $2 billion. Adelson, the world's fifth-richest woman, was a successful physician who founded two substance abuse research centers before inheriting a Vegas empire from her late husband Sheldon. The Athletic

- Barra in reverse. GM stock shot up 10% Wednesday morning after CEO Mary Barra announced that the automaker would buy back up to $10 billion worth of shares in response to slow electric vehicle sales and safety concerns related to its Cruise robotaxi investment. Barra also said GM could offset the more than $1 billion it lost to the United Auto Worker strike by cost-cutting efforts that will likely include decreased spending on Cruise. New York Times

- Fast foodie. As CEO of Yum China, Joey Wat is in charge of thousands of Chinese Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and other fast food locations that are falling victim to a sluggish Chinese economy and frugal consumer base. At the Fortune Global Forum in Abu Dhabi this week, she blamed the country’s strict stay-at-home COVID orders and the lack of a Western-style stimulus for Chinese citizens' hesitancy to spend. Fortune

- Safety first. A number of prominent women in AI are prime candidates for the six seats currently vacant on OpenAI’s new board of directors, but many of them told Wired that they’d refuse the opportunity if asked. Former Google AI researcher and responsible AI proponent Timnit Gebru and Sasha Luccioni, who researches AI ethics at HuggingFace, said they wouldn't join because OpenAI appears hostile towards responsible AI practices. WIRED

- Wish fulfilled. After a despondent first year in medical school, a young Fawn Veerasunthorn pivoted to a career in animation. She persevered through multiple rejections from Disney before landing a job. She's now co-director of the recently released animated feature Wish. New York Times

ON MY RADAR

Don’t you dare eat popcorn next to Lesley Manville The Cut

No laws protect people from deepfake porn. These victims fought back Bloomberg

Maggie Rogers, Sara Bareilles, and more honored the fight for gender equity at the 2023 UNICEF Gala Elle

PARTING WORDS

"Everyone else looks like a trophy and they're gorgeous, but I can just be myself, and I don't feel bad about it"

—LoveSeen founder and former J. Crew President Jenna Lyons on bringing her unique style to the Real Housewives of New York

This is the web version of The Broadsheet, a daily newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.

About the Authors
By Alexa MikhailSenior Reporter, Fortune Well
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Alexa Mikhail is a former senior health and wellness reporter for Fortune Well, covering longevity, aging, caregiving, workplace wellness, and mental health.

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By Joey AbramsAssociate Production Editor

Joey Abrams is the associate production editor at Fortune.

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