#309: Annelise Hillmann, Co-Founder and CEO of FRONTMAN, on Reimagining The Men’s Grooming Industry, Cultivating Authenticity in Brand Building, and Designing for Behavior Change

Dec 6, 2021

Annelise Hillmann is the co-founder of FRONTMAN, the Gen Z self-care brand for men creating a new grooming category. A story teller at heart, Annelise is an art director and designer focusing on brand identity and marketing strategy for early stage companies. She has a Harvard degree in economics and psychology and lives in Brooklyn. She co-founded FRONTMAN with Nick Bunn in 2018, and also does freelance for companies still in stealth and others post-IPO.

Topics Covered by Annelise Hillmann in this Episode

• What FRONTMAN is and how Annelise and her co-founder Nick Bunn came up with the idea
• Developing the product itself and how they navigated contract manufacturing for cosmetics
• Using a product consultant
• Designing for behavior change and creating the brand for FRONTMAN
• Utilizing nostalgia to cultivate authenticity in brand building
• FRONTMAN’s go to market strategy, and what has and hasn’t worked to target Gen Z
• How they’ve kept their team small so far
• Raising a $150K pre-seed and working with Recharge Capital
• FRONTMAN’s fundraising journey and Annelise’s advice on raising capital
• How Annelise invests in her own health and wellbeing as a founder

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