Brianna Arps

I am the Founder, Owner, and CEO at MOODEAUX®. Rooted in scent science, we transform the act of accessorizing your mood into a ritual of boundless self-expression with easy-to-love, hard-to-forget unisex perfumes. By shifting fragrance from a tool of vanity into a powerful, meaningful statement of emotion, identity, and personal style, we foster self-confidence, creativity, and well-being in every spritz.

A quirky, opinionated accidental entrepreneur/beauty rebel creating a world where everyone feels empowered to boldly express (and/or reinvent) their true selves — whenever, wherever. 

The best founders I’ve had the privilege to learn from can be described as true visionaries who possess the talent, grit, resilience, and tenacity to turn their dreams into reality. Having patience when working with others and practicing discernment when making decisions are key to being a great leader, too. 

This feels like such a loaded question, since I consider myself an accidental entrepreneur. The fact that MOODEAUX® is a living, breathing “thing” still astonishes me, and we’re three years in! But if I had to choose, I’d say bringing a multi-award-winning product line to multiple, big-name retailers — nationwide!!! — is an accomplishment our team pats ourselves on the back for often. 

As a newly appointed Committee Member of The Fragrance Foundation, I’m extremely passionate about making this industry more accessible and equitable for Black and brown entrepreneurs. It baffles me that Black and brown consumers over-index in terms of spend on fragrances, nearly buying double and sometimes triple the amount YoY, yet we’re often nowhere to be seen within marketing campaigns — let alone represented by brands with founders/owners who look like us. I hope that having a seat at the proverbial table, while also showing others how to build their own, will help catalyze meaningful and lasting change.

I think one of the biggest challenges of eCommerce brands today is visibility (a.k.a. standing out from amongst the crowd) and attracting new customers without cannibalizing margins. The initial barriers to launching an online storefront from ground zero still exist, but they’re nowhere as plentiful as back in the early 2000s-2010s. If you have a product/service, access to the Internet, and basic digital marketing skills, now selling can be as simple as clicking a button. Despite the ease of getting started, some argue the “Golden Age” of eCommerce is over – and gone are the days of quickly reaching Billion-dollar valuation status without significant capital investment or, at the very least, a highly differentiated brand strategy. Going forward, success in eCommerce will belong to those who can seamlessly integrate personalized experiences, leverage cutting-edge technology like AI, and build purposeful brands that tap into the cultural zeitgeist — rallying strong digital and in-person communities around a shared mission and meaningful solutions.