Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Jessica Alba (July 2022)

Episode Date: March 19, 2023

If it feels like you haven't seen as much of Jessica Alba on screen in the last decade or so, that's because she's been busy growing a business. For more than a decade, "The Honest Company" she founded has been a pioneer for clean products for babies, beauty and the home. In this week's "Sunday Sitdown," Willie Geist gets together with the actor and entrepreneur to discuss how she found her confidence in Hollywood and the business world. (Original broadcast date: July 10, 2022) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Got another great one for you this week, if I do say so myself, with actor turned entrepreneur Jessica Alba. Man, does she have a fascinating story? Of course, you know, she had a big, famous career in movie and TVs, was one of the best known actors in all the world, and then a decade ago decided to do something pretty bold, which is to create, start her own company called Honest. They make home care products. They make baby products and diapers and all kinds of things that take care of your family. And the idea behind it was that they would be chemical free, that they'd be all natural, that they'd be clean. She, you'll hear in the interview, Jessica,

as a child, had severe asthma and allergies and responded badly to a lot of the things that were put on her body and put on her clothes and everything else. And she wanted better for her three children. So when she had a child, she thought, I need to do something about this and launched Honest. Still acts on and off, but really her day-to-day focus is on Honest, which grew exponentially in its early years, has had its ups and downs as all startups do, but when public, a year ago, May of 2021, with a valuation of $1.4 billion. Now, that was inflated, according to many analysts, and indeed, the stock has dipped since then. But she's been added a decade now, digging in her Heels, helping the company grow, play in a giant sandbox that includes behemists like Johnson and Johnson

and Procter and Gamble. So we'll hear about why she did it, what it takes to be a founder. There's so much in here not just for fans of her work, but for people who are running small businesses, running small businesses that have become much bigger businesses. There's just a lot to this conversation. And we got together at Honest Headquarters in Plyasda, California, right in Los Angeles, for really a fascinating person who sort of jumped off the ledge, so to speak, when she left a pretty safe acting career, a very successful acting career,

to try this new thing that has had its challenges but been a success in its own right. So I will get out of the way, sit back so you can enjoy a conversation right now with Jessica Alba on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Thanks for doing this, Jess. Good to see you. Yeah, thanks for making it all the way out here. I appreciate it. Thank you for having us.

Ten years. That's no joke. Happy 10th birthday. Thank you. Thank you. When I say 10 years, what does that sound like to you? It sounds like not very long when you have children, right? Because you think of that like 10-year-old kid or yourself as a 10-year-old.

But when you're an entrepreneur, 10 feels like 100 years. It's like dog days, man. You're like, oh, every day feels so long. Yeah. It's cool, though. I think I really learned a lot about perseverance. I learned a lot about myself in this process, on this journey. I think why it felt or feels so long than, you know, most things that feel like they just fly by is there's,

Every day is different. Every day I'm learning. Every day I'm uncomfortable. Every day is different than yesterday. I mean, nothing is predictable. There's no real pattern. So time doesn't really fly. It's like, yeah, it's interesting.

That could have gone either way. You could have said it's been a blink. You're like, no, actually. No, it really hasn't been. But I love it. I've gone through so many different waves of ups and downs, but I do love where we are today and what we've been able to accomplish. And, you know, when we started 10 years ago, consumers, everyday people didn't know that they could take their health into their own hands. They didn't know that they could demand more from companies.

They didn't know that, you know, there can be ethics and standards that they live by applied to businesses that they decide to spend their hard-earned money on. And that is something that I'm really proud of. It was very niche, our value proposition, the way they would position me and investors, how they would talk about me. And now it's table stakes that you have to care about the place. planet and you have to think about how your ingredients or your products affect human health. And I'm just really proud of that. Well, that leads me to the inspiration for the company, which maybe not everybody knows. But there were some very specific things you saw in products that we all look at as iconic

and that we grew up on that you said, wait a minute, this isn't right. So what were you seeing out there that made you think we've got to change this? Well, when I became a mom, now 14 years ago, congratulations. Thank you. 14 year old. Yeah, she is so tall and so adorable and all the things. So when I became a mom and I was pregnant, I used products that my mother recommended for me to use,

and I had an allergic reaction myself, and it just really made me think through health and wellness differently. I grew up very sick as a kid. I think it's why I became an actor when I was young because I spent a lot of time alone and in hospital rooms and I had complications with asthma and allergies terrible. And I was on lots of steroids and breathing treatments and I was hospitalized a lot. I had many surgeries as well. And so I was just thinking about as I was becoming a new mom. And I was I got to keep this little person alive and I just want her to be happy and healthy. Like there's really nothing else that matters. And I was afraid that she could have an allergic reaction.

What could I do for her? What if her throat was closing and she's an infant? She couldn't even tell me because she's a baby. And I was, you know, terrified about that possibility. And so I did research and I learned about, harmful chemicals, toxic chemicals that are in everyday products, that are in beauty products, that are in detergents, that are in clothing, furnishings, and just how there's such a disconnect between human health and the regulations that chemical companies have or really don't have.

And so I lobbied on Capitol Hill for chemical reform a couple of times. And I just realized that human health was really politicized in this country. And so I was like, all right, well, I guess I can create the solution. And I spent, you know, so much of my life selling movies and, you know, different products for different companies. And so I felt I knew how to reach the consumer in a genuine way. And I was like, okay, I can apply this to giving people a better option and showing companies that they can raise their standards and they don't need to potentially harm people and make them sick in order to make a buck.

And if that's all they care about, they need to think differently because if people knew, they would choose differently. And so that's really where my mission and purpose came from to create a company that has safety at the heart of it around health and wellness and thinks about the planet and people. And so I didn't have a business degree. I was super insecure. I was like, oh my gosh, I had to really like believe in myself first. And that's been a journey. I've had imposter syndrome and I've felt unworthy and all those things.

But at the end of the day, what keeps me moving is when people say, you know, by having honest in our home, you've made my life better. And if I could do that for anyone that's what gets me up in the morning and allows me to kind of persevere through my insecurities or tough times. It's such a leap to say, okay. There's something wrong here. A lot of us have that somewhere in our lives and say, I'm going to be the one to do something about it. And to go into a business that I've never done before, any business like this.

How did you have the guts to make that leap and to say, yeah, I'm going to be the one? I think, two things. One, no one, like, there's no nepotism for me in entertainment. So no one was rolling out the red carpet for me to be a successful actress. In fact, everyone was like, yeah, right. Good luck with that one. And so I think the fact that I figured out how to make a career for myself in entertainment when there was nobody that looked like me.

And frankly, I didn't really ever play into the stigmas or the stereotypes and play into any of that stuff as far as like how Hollywood depicted Latinas or at that time or even now, frankly. So I didn't sign up for that. And I also just wasn't really into the way most women were portrayed. And so I was really kind of rebellious in my spirit and how I wanted to show up as an actress. And I think that same rebellious spirit is what I brought to the table

when I was thinking about how I was going to get this done and create this company. It just made sense. You know, it just felt like, I can't believe there isn't a company that that's called the honest company and that stands for these values. And so, yeah, I guess that's how that happened. Was it a hard decision, though, to walk away, at least temporarily. Of course, you're still acting, but to say this is going to be my focus now?

It was my focus. You know, what's interesting is, like, first of all, I think because I didn't grow up with a lot, I never, I guess I sort of like never, I was never really that flashing. I didn't over, I wasn't overspending. I was really quite conservative. So I felt comfortable with my financial situation. And I was pretty like kind of conservative. So I felt comfortable to pursue what I believed was my purpose.

I was like, you know, I, When I had my baby, she really shifted the context of my life and my priorities. And I really just thought about my life choices and purpose and legacy differently. And I almost, I couldn't do anything else. I guess that drive was so intense and so real. Here you talk about your insecurities and your imposter syndrome, which we all have all the time, of course. But you know that there are people who are like, oh, she's a movie star, what does she know about this? How is she going to run a company?

Yeah, there's a lot of that. All of those things. All of those things. And you heard all those things. Yeah, I did. Did it get to you at any point, or were you so focused on this that you just shut it out? Of course it does. I think a lot of the naysayers in life for me over time, maybe they drove me in a way.

or it was almost like putting fuel on the fire. It gave me even more determination to make it happen. And also, like, when you come from people having zero expectations of who you could be, there's a fearlessness. You can only kind of go up from there, you know, and people think so little of you. Never bothered you, though. Sure. But, I mean, I think that's that chip on the shoulder that drove me.

Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Jessica Alba right after the break. Welcome back now more of my conversation with Jessica Alba. Talk about being a mentor to other women and Latino women who were starting companies. Who were those people for you on the front side in 2011? And when all this was incubating, did you have a group of people? You said, how do I do this? I am.

I am, it's interesting because my husband is, he has no problem like calling people up and asking them for advice, but I'm not someone who speaks to strangers in the elevator. Like, I'm a naturally kind of shy person, and I have learned how to be a public facing person. I play characters because I like to be somebody else, not to be myself. And so it's just like, ah! And so I've had to, yeah, I had to learn how to get out of my comfort zone and reach out to people. And I did. So I would reach out to pretty much any woman I would meet, even like when I would do sales meetings and meet executives in retail and in other places, go to conferences. And if I connected with someone, I would just say, can I call you?

And then I would. And I would say, have you ever dealt with this? or that because no one really like, I guess no one really tells you what you're going to end up facing and where the challenges are really going to lie. And, you know, you can have a great idea. Getting people behind that idea is the hard part, getting that focus. And then you have to, you know, there's so many people's life experiences that they're bringing to the table. So then it's like their emotional state, their ego. there's just a lot at play.

Were there crazy pinch me moments along the way? I'm thinking of, for example, and you were on the cover of Forbes magazine, where you're like, wow, look what I've done, look where I am. It was pretty wild. Yeah, it's still wild. Inc. as well.

Yep. I think, you know, getting people to be aware of something, that was so important to me that this message is spread and that people know that they can, more importantly, companies have to do better and that people can demand more. That was sort of like the validation, that this idea is really for everyone. You went public a year ago. Happy one-year anniversary of that.

Thank you. How amazing was that to stand at the NASDAQ that day? It was wild. It's very surreal. It's still surreal to think about that. And so few women ever even get a chance that, you know, being there and being in that space and in that environment. There's some crazy stat that like a fraction of businesses where the female founder or CEO still, it was like 18 out of 2000. over five years or something. What? It's crazy. Just having women and then even less when you think of women of color. Yeah.

Yeah, it's just there's so few of us. So it is wild when you get a chance to be there. And then I think for me, it makes me feel, I guess, have even more conviction around just how necessary it is to make space for others. and just to make sure that that door that you pushed open never closes. So with those numbers in mind, what would you say to a woman who's thinking about, she's got an idea like you had? She's like, maybe I jump in, maybe I try this. I know there are risks on the other side of that.

What would you say to somebody who wants to chase the idea of it is trying to kind of summon the courage to do it? I mean, I think you just have to, and I think instead of being discouraged by feedback, I think where I see a lot of ideas fall apart as the second it isn't all buttoned up in a pretty bow and delivered, whether it's a man or a woman, they get very discouraged and think like, maybe this isn't for me. You have to be relentless, and you're only going through that challenge

to make you better so that you can hone in on your idea So it can be, you can be smarter, you can be more strategic when you do enter the marketplace. So it's really only, I think all that feedback and all those challenges are really just to make you better. Stick around for more of my conversation with Jessica Alba right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Jessica Alba. You were talking about your childhood and I didn't realize until I was reading more deeply about you before this. like everything you went through as a kid that kind of colors your perception of what you do here. Not only were you moving around a bunch because your dad was in the military, but as you said,

you were in the hospital all the time. I don't think most people fully appreciate what that was like for you. I was lonely. It was very lonely and isolating. Yeah, I guess I never really felt connected to anyone my age. I was a loner. I related more to and had more interactions with adults just because, you know, the nurses or whatever. Yeah, I was probably kind of precocious as well, just because I didn't have the same ideas about myself or my place in the world

as other kids because I didn't have a conventional kind of upbringing. So, yeah, I felt very alien in many environments. And I think that's why when I did make it on a set when I was 12,

it was like the circus. It was like all these like freaks and weirdos like me. And we all like found each other. And we were all eccentric and, you know, everyone was sort of like diagonal. No one was on the straight and narrow. And no one cared about fitting in.

And so I think that's what I was really drawn to in entertainment. You found your people. I found my people. Yeah. But your family entertainers as well, right? I mean... They were artists and creative. Performers, I guess.

Yeah, they were performers. performers, but my grandfather was, you know, a bookkeeper, accountant for a big corporation. I guess he was ahead at the end, so it would be like a CFO now is the title. But, you know, so he had a pretty traditional sort of job, but he played beautiful Spanish classical guitar. And he sang and danced and on stage and with my grandmother. So yeah, we have a very, like, artistic family, but no one had done it as a career. Well, that's what I was going to ask you. How do you make that step from this is a thing we do as a family, and I'm pretty good at it, actually, and I like doing it, too.

I wasn't good at it. No, I was the least talented. Oh, really? Oh, yeah? No. I was shy, too. Yeah, I wouldn't even put myself out there. I think, yeah, and they're very, like, theater and very loud.

Yeah, yeah. I know, like that kind of thing. And so I don't know. So then when did you step into a space that I can do this for a living? Or maybe this is going to be my life? Yeah, I mean, I kind of, I dreamt about it a lot. Like I said, when I spent a lot of time alone in hospital rooms and stuff. And I loved movies, and I would play out as if I were each character, all the characters.

And I would put myself in their shoes. and repeat the line since I was small. So, and I loved just the adventures that I could go on and escape from my life, you know? And so there was something just so magical about that. And once you got going, you really got going, when James Cameron puts you front and center in a network series at 17 years old.

These guys, they think they're gonna, you're gonna have your ass handed to you, that you're not gonna be able to like deal with the pressure, deal with the long hours, do your own stunts. He's like, what do you say to that? And I was like, tell him to go, screw themselves. I can do this. And he was like, that's right.

I believe in you, Ace. And he would always call me Ace. That was his motivational speech. Yeah, I think also, like, they were probably, like, the 17-year-old girl came from who, came from where. Like, what if she, like, falls apart? Like, there's a lot writing on this. And it was a big show at the time.

And it was expensive. I mean, I wasn't allowed to have a sick day, and I was working over 80 hours a week, like 83 or four hours a week. I would go from main unit to second unit, work nights in the cold, and I remember I had pneumonia or the flu or something. Something they gave, made me so sick that I couldn't get out of bed, and the producer came over, and he was like, God, I came to get you. because insurance, you know, they won't allow. And I was in every scene, and I puked on his feet. I crawled to the door. I opened the door and I barped on his feet.

And I was like, I can't. And he was like, oh, you're really sick. And he was like, we're going to bring the doctor here. And I was like, okay. It took you barfing at his feet to really believe that you were sick. Yeah, and Jim wasn't there for that. He would have just, he would have, you know. But it was, yeah, I mean,

I mean, that's how tough it was. I was in every scene, and it was long days, and long hours. And I was a kid. And I don't know any kid that would, had that work ethic. And so it taught me actually a lot. It was one of my greatest lessons just on, like, showing up and hard work, and what does that mean? And being a leader. And I was, like, the first to get there and the last to lead.

leave. So what's the role where your life really changes? Is it honey? Is it, like, what's the one where it's like, Dark Angel did really change my life. And then, and then I would say, like, maybe the Fantastic Four series, because, first of all, there weren't very many female superheroes.

And I was Latina. And playing an iconic character. And Stanley says that was his favorite character. Oh, really? Yeah, he loved her. And so, yeah, I think that was a, that's probably a turning point for me, because I got to sort of, like, capitalize on the global audience that I had built with Dark Angel and lean in on that for the big screen. And so really kind of, like, took it to get to that next level. As you say, as someone who didn't grow up in, like, a showbiz family, how did you handle the fame side of it, that now everyone knows who you are, you're on the cover of all the magic? magazines, people are talking about your love life, all those kind of things. How did you cope with that? It was hard. I think it's hard. I don't know if anyone could ever really be prepared for it, living in a fishbowl. I almost had to like, when I had my kids, I didn't want them to carry the anxiety

that comes with that. And so I just, I mean, I lied to them. And I told them that everybody gets followed by strangers. And I said, just don't talk to them or look at them. And it wasn't until my daughter was in second grade that she realized that it. She was like, Mom, why are you on the cover of a magazine? She was like, it was so embarrassing. Someone brought it to school. And I was like, yeah.

And she was like, why, why? Why are you doing this? And I was like, oh. Cats out of the bag. Yeah. And I was like, you know how people follow us or whatever? Like, that's not so normal. And she was like, I know that by now.

You know? I was like, oh, okay. But she wasn't, I don't think she really realized that honest wasn't my only job. Right. Because I never exposed them to it. I don't, like, have pictures of myself around and I don't talk about it. And so they lived a pretty kind of, like, sheltered-ish life about it. And I ignored them when we were out the paparazzi or whatever.

And you guys, you and Cash, it seems like, have worked hard to sort of keep that as normal as it can be. As normal as it can be. It's not normal. It's weird. And it's bizarre. But also there's a, and I try to talk to my kids about, like, how fortunate we are. And there are so many people who, you know, are struggling. and how grateful they need to be for their life.

And, you know, I do try to also, like, really instill those values. So then they don't get too caught up in any of it, either feeling sorry for themselves because they live in a fishbowl or, you know, trying to shield them from whatever that anxiety could hold. I just didn't want them to care. that weight. And then on the flip side, just being grateful for their life so they can just be kind and generous people. I know they're proud of you for honest, but you did say they conceal their honest hand sanitizer. They're really embarrassed. Like I am, they literally hide their hands like

in a backpack or in the lunch bag and don't show anyone when they're like sanitizing with the honest hands. Because they don't want to signal. Yep. My mom is just. Yeah, they don't want to, they said they don't want to show off or show people. But you taught it, that's humility, right? They do. Or it's just being embarrassed of mom. I think they're embarrassed of mom. I'm like, dude, like, come on, aren't you?

Like, it's okay. It's cool. And you should get your friends to use it too. And they're like, no way, that's worse. I'm like, whatever. They're not going to be on the sales force yet. Well, I'm like, you don't want them to, you know, be exposed to talk to the chemicals.

They're like, oh my gosh, mom, that's a most embarrassed. thing you'd ever say. I'm like, okay, fine. You're going to have to move on making these sales without them, at least for the time being. Well, I just, I know, I'm like, aren't you proud? They are, they are. They just can't say that out loud. They're more embarrassed now. But maybe later in life, they'll be more proud. So as you move forward, how are you going to look at this balance that you've struck the last 10 years of honest and your acting career? You've got some stuff booked that's coming up, also executive producer of series on Netflix. How are you looking at that? You know, I think producing is something that I've

always wanted to do, and I'm able to do a lot more of that. And to me, that's an exciting space. I think doing more behind the camera is really exciting as well, just what that can look like and what that can mean. And then, you know, I feel like I just barely scratched the surface from a creative standpoint for myself as an actress. I kind of just wanted the check to clear, to be honest. It wasn't really swimming in the deep end before I started honest with acting. I was pretty transactional with Hollywood.

I was like, will it pay? Is it going to be a global thing? Does it, you know, is it going to keep me in this? sort of like relevant space for a global audience, because that's when you can kind of harness the most power to stay relevant to Hollywood and to the audience. It was very kind of calculated in that way, and it wasn't really like, oh, I'm obsessed with this character, and I can't wait to work with this director. Not that, you know, I actually have lifelong friends with people that I got to work with, but it wasn't, you know, me fulfilling my creative kind of, you know,

needs. So now I'm like, I have a lot more confidence as well. I was really insecure. And I think I kept it pretty surface because I was like, you know, I'm just going to hit my mark and I'm going to show up on time and I'm going to be professional and it's going to fulfill this purpose, you know. And even deep into your career, you felt that way. Like, I don't want to blow this. I don't want to lose this job. Yeah. That's amazing. But now I'm, you know, I'm excited about exploring more in Hollywood and entertainment and telling stories. And there's so many different platforms now. So there's a lot less, I think, weight on your opening weekend like it used to be. Right. You know, that was like, would make or break your movie. And if half the country was frozen over

because of an ice storm, good luck. Your weekends. Done. on to the next one. And so, yeah, I just, I love how many women get to be, you know, behind the camera, in front of the camera, telling stories, and the diversity of the streamers and where content can be made. And it's awesome and also consumed. It's interesting. You almost can kind of like relaunch yourself.

Like you've been doing this for 10 years. And here she comes back to Hollywood and she's directing or producing. taking on new kinds of roles. Yeah, it's exciting. I mean, after COVID, man, I'm very grateful to be here. Yeah. And not like it's gone away. But I think just reflecting on the last couple of years,

if we get to wake up and be here, then let's do everything we can to make it joy, just pure joy and fun and happiness. Sure, hard work. but it should be good. Amen to that. Well, thank you for hosting us. Congrats on 10 years.

Thank you. There's to many, many more. Thank you so much. My big thanks again to Jessica for a great conversation and for hosting us there at Honest Headquarters. And my thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you'd like to hear more of these conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode.

And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend. NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.