This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leah Cohen-Shohet, chief business officer at GlossGenius. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Growing up as a twin, one thing is for certain: you have a constant mirror in front of you. Because of that, I was able to see parts of myself clearly from an early age.
The world was intrigued by how my identical twin and I were so alike, yet I noticed how Danielle and I were different. She was my partner in everything we experienced, but we were drawn to different things. Danielle was artistic and creative, whereas I was more analytical and interested in systems. If Danielle was drawing, I was usually making a list.
Today, those differences have helped us propel our business, GlossGenius, into a multimillion-dollar company.
We went to college together, but lived separately
Danielle and I didn’t necessarily plan to go to college together, but we each independently decided Princeton was the best choice for us. We roomed together freshman year, but after that we lived apart. We had our own friends and unique interests, but our lives always intertwined.
We first started a business together in college. We created a digital receipts platform and ran a tutoring business. The digital receipts platform paved the way for what we now do at GlossGenius, which is an all-in-one booking, payment, and business management system for the beauty and wellness space. We’re building a financial infrastructure for the service-based economy — a sector that’s been underserved for a long time.
Working with Danielle felt natural
After college, we both worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. A few years later, Danielle founded GlossGenius. We were both still at our day jobs (though I had moved to a different company), so we spent many nights and weekends getting the business off the ground.
By the time I left my job and officially started working at GlossGenius in 2021, it was more of a formality. I had been involved from the beginning, with everything from launching social media campaigns to helping Danielle with marketing.
Working with Danielle felt natural. Our parents were entrepreneurs — my dad was a cosmetic surgeon, and my mom ran his practice. Dinner conversations often trickled down to talk about the office, but that wasn’t a drag.
My dad lit up when he talked about his work. He loved that his practice brought out the best in people; many of the service providers who use GlossGenius feel the same way. By creating a product that empowers beauty professionals, Danielle and I are helping other people feel their best, just like our parents did.
I’m a twin, and even I am intrigued by twins
Business partners are always working toward deep trust and understanding. Danielle and I have been building those qualities with each other for more than 30 years. We can work together very closely, communicate, and disagree effectively, which is a huge strength for our company.
Our old differences still hold true. Danielle is super design-centric. She obsesses over every pixel. I’m more focused on our go-to-market strategy. When we flex those strengths together, it gives GlossGenius a really good product and a really good way to deliver that product to customers.
Everyone is intrigued by the idea of identical twins. I continue to be intrigued, and I am one! Being identical twins has given Danielle and me a lifetime of practicing the things that make a startup successful. Now, we’re excited to use those qualities to build a meaningful business.
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