The Marketing Bestie Podcast with zoeunlimited - lucky girl syndrome is not a business plan

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

👉🏻CHOOSE future topics through free email list https://tapthe.link/WDLnjLJy1 A case study on digital marketing, branding, and business growth from a Gen Z perspectiveWHY is Kylie Jenner launching 3 brands and selling her house? 👀 Need new frames like me? Click the links below & enjoy an exclusive offer at GlassesUSA: https://shorturl.at/auqaz$10 off on top of all other discounts using code, INF10, only for 24HRS starting NOW✨Frames worn:Saint Laurent SL324T in Gold: https://glassesusa.me/ZoeUnlimited_SaintLaurent The Parrot Beaked: https://glassesusa.me/ZoeUnlimited_ParrotBeaked Amelia E. Camila in Gray Clear Silver: https://glassesusa.me/ZoeUnlimited_AmeliaE 👇🏼Check out over thousands of styles at GlassesUSA.com Eyeglasses: https://shorturl.at/auqazSunglasses: https://shorturl.at/HPwrQThank you Glasses USA for sponsoring this video!Learn & Grow with me.💖 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeunlimited/💜 TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@zoeunlimited🪭 All my outfits https://www.shopltk.com/explore/zoeunlimited👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/zoeunlimited🛒 Essentials https://www.amazon.com/shop/zoeunlimited📧 Business inquiries: [e-mail]

Square knows that in hospitality, efficiency is everything. That's why their system lets you take payments. Track sales, handle inventory, manage staff, send invoices, and keep up with finances all in one place. Apply through orders with zero mistakes. Get the data you need and keep everything working together. So you're ready for whatever's next. Learn more about their customizable plans at squareup.com. How much does looking rich cost you?

Kylie Jenner, the youngest self-made billionaire in history, is selling her house, doing not just one, but three-side hustles, and has the whole internet counting down on her going broke. Could it be, the price of being a rich-looking influencer is over one billion? Kylie Jenner. This is just so exciting. The youngest self-sale billionaires. I think it's true, and I think low-key, she's broke, allegedly. Kylie Jenner is broke. Going broke.

Absolutely broke. Who's buying everything that she's coming out with, allegedly? I think she's just trying to get money to, like, afford these houses because none of her other businesses are succeeding, allegedly. I'm not really a gamer. Now I'm hooked. It's a match and merge game. I'm going to find things to match.

If there was one person destined to be a billionaire at 21, it must be Kylie Jenner. Because of her incredible business acumen, charming personality, and not at all related to her being the youngest of the privileged and wealthy Kardashian-Gener family. Uh, who are they? Never heard of them. Indeed, Kylie Jenner was named by Forbes as the world's youngest self-made billionaire,

citing her network to be at $1.2 billion in 2020. But only one month later, Forbes released the statement accusing Kylie of forging her tax documents to appear a billionaire, and strip the title, away from her. By no means was Kylie Jenner broke at this point, $900 million is still very impressive. So how did the internet's favorite Nebula baby, born in DuFame, fortune, mansions, couture, race cars, screw up almost $1 billion worth of Lucky and Pretty Girl Syndrome? That's exactly the mystery we will uncover today. But not only that, as you're marketing bestie, who graduated top 1% UCLA business economics, with a backer.

ground in marketing. We're going to explore how an inauthentic brand and deceptive marketing will not only deplete your bank account, no matter if you have $100 or $1 billion, but also ruin your future ability to make a fortune. And by brand, I don't just mean putting your name on an existing product. Branding is about how your future college, future job, future boyfriend sees you. And I'm creating the series to analyze pop culture girl icons from a marketing perspective. because many of whom do not recognize the power of influence they have over a generation of young girls. And this episode is especially important for young women because even as someone with a finest background and an ex-CPA, talking about money can still sometimes feel uncomfortable.

But money should not be a scary or taboo topic. And financial conversations should start young, especially for girls. Because as perfectly set in Kylie's case, even being, billions are bulletproof. And despite how the Kylie Jenner brand is going on the downhill, we'll also talk about a few potential branding fixes to prevent Kylie Jenner from being the youngest ex-billioner to go broke. Before we dive in, have you noticed my new glasses? Our sponsor, GlassesUSA.com, one of the biggest eyewear retailers in the US has thousands of quality brands like Rayban, Gucci, and affordable options that start at only $39, up to 70% of retail.

And because I have a high screen time researching for the Marketing Bestie series and you are watching high quality content on a screen, we need to protect our eyes from all that blue light, which is why I got this ultra chic pair of YSL blue light glasses and this cute pair of Sonys for the summer that I loved from my virtual try-on. They're offering exclusive discounts only available for 24 hours. Just click the link in the description for all the details.

Thank you Glassususu.com for sponsoring this portion. Now let's continue the King Kylie investigation. That's a look at the day. Now I gotta choose a purse. Choose a purse. First, how did Kylie Jenner become a billionaire? Okay, let's go family. It's showtime!

It's fine. If you were born into a family of inhumanly hot, rich, and dramatic women who take up the entertainment headlines every 48 hours, you'd also have a somewhat bizarre childhood exposed to millions of strangers on TV. The family mention doesn't pay itself. And being overshadowed by her tall or extra curvy sisters, Kylie Jenner was always the quote unquote ugly sister people were rooting for.

Honestly, you guys always. Your day will come. Until a magical little glow up occurred and an inspiring underdog story was about to unveil. For anyone who has lived through the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge era, you know that every teenage girl around the time was aware of Kylie's iconic lips. Okay, when I sell my business, I want the best tax and investment advice.

I want to help my kids, and I want to give back to the community. Ooh, then it's the vacation of a lifetime. I wonder if my out of office has a forever setting. An IG private wealth advisor creates the clarity you need with plans that harmonize your business, your family, and your dreams.

Get financial advice that puts you at the center. Find your advisor at IGPrivatewealth.com. Rosen lasagna, medium power, 15 minutes. Sounds like Ojo time. Let's play. Feel the fun with Play-O-Jo. The online casino with all the latest slot and live casino games. What you win is yours to keep with no wagering requirements, instant payouts, and no minimum withdraws.

Hey, I just won. Woo-hoo! Feel the fun. Play-O-Joe. Honey, forget about the lasagna. Let's celebrate! 19 plus Ontario only, please play responsibly. Concern about your gambling or that if someone close to you, call 16-531-2600 or visit Connexontera.

This episode is brought to you by Tellus Online Security. Oh, tax season is the worst. You mean hack season? Sorry, what? Yeah, cybercriminals love tax forms. But I've got Tellus Online Security. It helps protect against identity theft and financial fraud, so I can stress less during tax season, or any season.

Plan started just $12 a month. Learn more at tellus.com slash online security. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. Conditions apply. No matter if you loved it or hated it. And Chris Jenner being a true momtrepreneur, with the relentless spirit of innovation, with the flop-after-flop business ventures

on the other Kardashian sisters, began turning her capitalist mind on the youngest daughter, Pili. And it was a smart business move. But it wasn't done through their most honest marketing and that will backfire. First of all, Kylie attributed her iconic lips just to makeup. You're gonna look like a liar.

I'm not ever gonna deny. While many could tell the filler that was oozing out, it still elevated the peel to anything Kylie puts on her lips. Everyone thinks I use like one certain color. I use like six different colors all the time. Second, they use scarcity marketing to create an illusion that there was was way more demand for her lip kit than there actually was. Kylie Cosmetics was launched on November 30th, 2015,

with the $29 Kylie Lip Kit, which sold out in just minutes. This is just so exciting. Dolce is the first to go. Candy is the second to go. Oh, 100,000. 100,000. Hey! Posey sold out.

Hozy. True Brown and Mary Joan. Super impressive. But how many units were available in the first place. 15,000. Is that little? No.

But how many followers did Kylie Jenner have at the time? At least 46 million, if not closer to 80 million, on Instagram alone. While also being the top viewed person on Snapchat at the time. And Snapchat had 107 million active users in 2015. Using a very modest estimation of total 50 million followers across platforms, thousand units is 0.03% of Kylie's following. Only selling a small quantity and selling out immediately is not a non-common practice in marketing, but this begins a trend of how things are always a little more exaggerated than reality in Kylie's universe, as we shall see soon.

The third element that threw a lot of people off, including myself being a marketing Kiley Cosmetics was private labeling. Now, Kylie Cosmetics did not steal Colorpop's formulas, but they were essentially the same products. Except one sells for $29 and the other for six. Private labeling is when a product manufactured by one company is sold under another company's brand name. For example, Trader Joe's Pita chips are exactly the same as those in Stacey's Pita Chips. Although there are different shades and different packaging, the difference in price between Kylie Cosmetics and Color Pop shows the value of branding. And up to this point, although there were scandals here and there,

Kylie Cosmetics was a successful brand. Why? Because unlike the Demelio's selling mattress, Kylie Jenner was known for her lips. They were all the rage all over the internet. No matter if they contain filler or not, her lip kits authentically represented who she was as a person. So how did it all go downhill from here?

The ultra success from 68.7. million dollars in 2017 to 36.2 million dollars in 2022 to 29 million dollars in 2024 and mind you this is sales it does not account for the cost of labor production well the richest to rag story began when kiley decided to sell her 51 percent majority stake in the company to kati for 600 million dollars in 2019 the curse of having a successful personal brand is the value it carries with any additional product launches and brands associated with that person. This is known as a key men risk. When a company faces a big loss of value, performance, or reputation due to the departure, disability, or death of a key employee. The brand is literally called Kylie Cosmetics for a reason.

That's what makes the same gloss $29 rather than six. It did not matter if Kylie Jenner still had over 40% shares in the company. It matters with the public perception of what Kylie Cosmetics was, a shell company sold by its owner no longer with a soul. And this is not a dilemma just faced by Kylie, but an intrinsic risk to all celebrity and influencer-found brands. Road beauty, rare beauty, so on. The level of involvement of the key person will impact the brand value. And not surprisingly, the perception of the key person will also increase or decrease the brand value. With Kylie, selling shares of Kylie Cosmetics did push her net worth over the billion dollar mark, but the following scandals

not only decreased her value as a celebrity, but also her entire makeup line. The first was being exposed by Forbes and Kadi that Kylie Cosmetics was actually much smaller and less profitable than previously reported, and that she was forging tax documents so she would appear to be a billionaire. But immediately after the decrease in valuation, Kylie launched not just one, but two businesses that were that further damage not just her, but also her existing brands. Kylie Swim. $80.

Well, it's going terribly. I can't even figure out how to put it on right. I don't understand. It's probably the most unflattering thing I've ever put on in my life. Disaster will be an understatement. Seems like fabric was not part of the design. She pointed out that the material is so thin, you can actually see the Kylie Swim tag from the outside of the suit.

Then Kylie Baby was born. which thankfully didn't have quality issues. But it's just not very memorable. Because sure, the product this time had no problem. But what's so special about this compared to the Johnson baby lotion that's less than one-tenth of its price? The baby concept just doesn't make much sense because although known to be a mom, Kylie's image does not fit the relatable mom or potential buyers,

aka new moms. The misfit in branding just creates an overpriced product that nobody wants with her name on it. And with no more groundbreaking successes like Kylie cosmetics while still living an outlandishly glam lifestyle, since 2022, Kylie has been trying to sell her $21.9 million, seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom, 10-bathroom estate for $18 million. TikTok user Michelle Talk mentioned that her multiple homes in Southern California are worth $80 million. That comes with maintenance costs, property tax, and potentially mortgage, not to be. to mention her $73 million private jet. I've been wanting to go to Aspen this year.

People think they have us all figured out, but things are not always how they seem. Last season was really hard. By no means is Kylie broke, as each star was allegedly paid approximately $900,000 per episode with keeping up with the Kardashians. But the rate by which Kylie Cosmetics revenue is going down, her selling her house at a discount, plus how she long

three back-to-back-to-back businesses in the span of six months got the whole internet wondering. Is King Kylie short of money? Not that Kylie Jenner is like struggling or anything. I don't think she's like close to being homeless, but I think that she lives well beyond her means and that's why she has a new business vendor every three to five days. Before we talk about the three new brand launches, it is necessary to ask who are Kylie Jenner's audiences? Well, certainly not 399 million jet owners. Sure. Kylie might not be going the relatable route by doing everything in her means to be living the rich

lifestyle. But what is the point of looking rich? Just to look rich. Not only is it costing her a fortune from her declining businesses, but it might actually make her less likable, if seen as a leader of flex culture and consumerism, which many are now against. And since her brands depend on her likability for sales, no wonder they struggle. What are her new brands you may ask?

a clothing line, a fragrance line, and a cocktail line, all launched in less than six months. It's like telling an infant to run after being born for three days. Before any had a chance to mature into a brand, the next one is already public and the previous one is already forgotten. It just decreases the trust her followers have in her, not sure how much she had to begin with, but that trust is essential for people to keep on pulling money out of their pocket to spend on her. Even worse, her clothing line, Kai, has allegations of design theft. And the immediate reactions weren't as half-enthusiastic compared to Kim's skims, all as flashing warning signs of the decline in appeal of Kylie and her rents,

as the aftermath of the decline of trust over the years in her personal and the countless brands she launched. And if you're not earning but still spending like a billionaire, selling one house won't save you. So what are some things that could help Kylie reverse this? First, she has way too many unrelated brands. If you're known for everything, you're known for nothing. It's much better to have one noteworthy brand than have 10 very mid-consumer products left on the shelf, which ties into second.

The only truly successful brand for Kylie Jenner thus far has been Kylie Cosmetics, which really lost its edge by having no focus. There has not been any round-breaking launches by Kylie Cosmetics for years. While competitor brands like Road has its iconic lip glosses, Fenty Beauty that has its diverse shades that solve a problem. It does not matter who launched it first. Just taking a look at Kylie Cosmetics and seeing something called lip glaze reminds me of Haley Bieber's strawberry glaze line,

which makes Kylie Cosmetics look like it's just copying. And third, it's not just product innovation, but also product. quality. So much trust has already been lost after rounds and rounds of just another celebrity brand as a cash grab to sustain the mansions and private jets. Each launch needs to be extremely strategic and the customers that still remain need to have an exceptional experience. Otherwise in this day and age, there are just too many good quality competitor products to switch to. In the age that a large following is no longer equivalent to influence, trust is what makes a brand come alive and needs to be

invested in rather than cashed out on. Of course, Kylie Jenner is still extremely wealthy compared to the average American without the same level of Lucky or Pretty Girl syndrome, but whether you have hundreds or billions, living above your means only creates a weak brand of wealth that will crash any moment. True wealth is not shown but owned. Let me know your thoughts on if you think the Kylie Jenner brands were flops or not, and comment below which pub culture girl icon we should analyze next through the marketing perspective. This is your marketing bestie, Zoe Unlimited.

Share this video for Impact and I will see you next week.