Episode 75

Building Aiona Alive: Lisa Strong on Clean Beauty, Founder Resilience & Skin Wellness

44 min

Portrait of Lisa Strong

Lisa Strong

44 min
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Episode summary

In this episode of The People-Driven CEO Podcast, Shane sits down with Lisa Strong, Founder and CEO of Aiona Alive, to talk about what it really takes to build an independent beauty brand in one of the world’s most competitive industries. Lisa shares the realities behind more than a decade of product development and entrepreneurship, from testing early formulations on working actors to finding white space in an increasingly crowded skincare market.

She and Shane discuss Aiona Alive’s expansion into skincare-infused colour products, its recent launch with Wolf & Badger in Los Angeles, and the ongoing challenge of turning a strong product into a recognizable global brand.

The conversation also explores marketing, founder fatigue, customer relationships and how AI is changing what small businesses can accomplish. Through it all, Lisa remains focused on creating products that perform while staying connected to the real people using them, and on continuing to learn, experiment and evolve as both a founder and a human being.

Meet the guest

Lisa Strong

Lisa Strong is the Founder and CEO of Aiona Alive, a Vancouver-based skincare company combining nature-inspired ingredients with high-performance formulations.

With 35 years of experience as a professional makeup artist in film and television, Lisa has spent her career working closely with actors and performers and developing a deep understanding of skin, beauty and how demanding makeup routines can affect skin health. That experience became the professional foundation behind Aiona Alive.

Lisa spent years developing and testing her formulations in real film-set environments before bringing them to market. Today, Aiona Alive continues to expand its skincare and colour offerings while Lisa remains closely involved in product development, customer education and the brand’s mission to help people restore, replenish and balance their skin.

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