This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.   Alex McIntosh, co-founder and CEO of Thrive Natural Care, has three big pieces of advice for fellow entrepreneurs pursuing their dreams.   The first is to know yourself and what makes you tick.   "It's beneficial as an entrepreneur and a leader if you have a good idea of what is important to you," Alex says. "I think at the end of the day, if you're going to take the risk of building a company, it needs to be something in a space that you care about beyond just an intellectual thing or even a financial opportunity because it is so hard."   His second suggestion is to find and invest in good people.   "I think one of the things I've learned is as good as my ideas might be or as hard as I'm willing to work or as lucky as I might be on something, my success in large part is determined by how passionate the people are around me and how much they believe that what they're doing is meaningful for their purposes and to their ends," he says.   Lastly, Alex says don't do anything without a vision that can inspire others.   "I think doing something on a scale that matters is very compelling to people for meaning in their lives," he says. "If you can give them something to plug into, it does make a difference."   The common thread through Thrive's products is the super plant ingredients. Alex worked with ecologists, botanists, and skincare experts for several years to choose from thousands of plants in Costa Rica. Ultimately, Alex wanted the ingredients to have an oil or extract that was good for skin but also comes from a plant not widely known to avoid clutter in the competitive skincare business. But just as important, the plant needed to be native and play a critical role in the health of the place where it's grown.   "Our model was to go places that were eroded and degraded or smallholder farmers had land and to replant these native plants and then to grow them in an extraordinary way that we would now call regenerative farming," he says. "This makes them much more potent and pure."   Despite all the hard work and thought toward regenerative farming, the product's price point is reasonable - between $12 and $30.   Ultimately, the goals of Thrive are to provide super plant skin care for better skin health and to grow those product ingredients in a way that consumers will be proud to support.   In Part 2, Alex talks about:   * Words of wisdom and advice for fellow entrepreneurs. * A look at the brand's products. * How the products were developed and the mission behind the development. * Why shaving oil gives you a better shave than foam. * The danger of chemical sunscreens. * Where consumers can buy Thrive's products.   Join Ramon Vela and Alex McIntosh as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.   For more on Thrive Natural Care, visit: https://thrivecare.co/    Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.   *   This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.   Rising acquisition costs and the return to in-store shopping have eCommerce marketers double-clicking on their retention strategy.   Now more than ever, brands need to focus on lifetime value. Yotpo is proud to announce Yotpo Subscriptions on Shopify, making retention easy and affordable for growing brands.   Take 8 minutes, or less, to add a recurring revenue channel to your business.   Download Yotpo Subscriptions from the Shopify App Store today https://apps.shopify.com/yotpo-subscription