The Game Changer – Interview with Lucy Goff, Co-Founder of LYMA

The Game Changer

We spoke to Lucy Goff, Co-Founder of LYMA on building a wellness brand that works and the new launch of a pioneering laser that’s changing the aesthetics game

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

Known for creating a wellness supplement that really delivers, LYMA in conjunction with doctors and scientists has developed a revolutionary medical grade 500mW laser that is safe and easy to use at home, with no downtime and no pain.

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? I’m not a morning person and I refuse to set my alarm before 7am. So, this gives me 30 minutes to get the family fed, dressed and out of the door, if we have any chance of making the school gates on time. Before I do anything, I take five deep belly breaths, which seems to set me off on the right track – I was introduced to diaphragmatic breathing during my first pregnancy to help with high blood pressure. It creates such a wonderful, relaxed state. Breakfast for me is non-negotiable, so I’ll either have some sourdough toast with salted butter, or if I’m feeling like a brain boost, I’ll add sliced avocado. My first drink is always boiling water with lemon and a tiny dusting of baking soda. I was diagnosed with acid reflux when I was in my 20s, and my grandmother was convinced this was the best way forward – I’ve stuck with it ever since, although it’s probably more of a way of keeping her memory alive rather than anything medicinal. months, I saw several leading physicians, each of them prescribing a convoluted cocktail of different drugs. I was taking a multitude of what I thought were effective supplements, but I was still suffering. In 2013 I met Professor Paul Clayton, a world authority on preventative degenerative disease. He educated me and I learnt that almost all the supplements sold today deliver no provable benefits yet are still perfectly legal for sale. This seemed morally and ethically a million miles away from what I had been led to believe. Paul prescribed me a new protocol using peerreviewed, patented ingredients, each dosed at active levels and had a rigorous sourcing procedure. Within one month I was back at work, full of energy and feeling better than ever. I felt myself again and from that came the idea of LYMA. How does your new revolutionary laser work and what results can we expect to see? The LYMA Laser works using cold near infra-red 500mW laser technology – a world first for at-home beauty devices – this is unlike every other at-home cosmetic device and is 100 times more powerful than LED. It’s a technology born from the medical industry called low level laser therapy (LLLT), which has been used for decades to treat a host of medical issues as diverse as rebuilding cartilage and healing tendons. The LYMA Laser penetrates to the deepest layers of the skin (through the subcutaneous layer to the base layers) to completely remodel and rebuild it without causing any damage to a single cell in the process. Traditional laser devices work through the stress/damHow did your previous roles support you be- age response, inflicting injury to the skin in ing able to launch your own brand and how order to stimulate collagen. The LYMA Ladid you know it was the right time? My career ser’s near-infrared laser beam is a coherent as a journalist in fashion made me appre- light but is dispersed so many times – more ciate the power of innovation. During this than 25,000 times – it removes all the heat time, I learned the importance of creating from the laser, making it completely cold, something really new, how vital it is to cel- because we’re not relying on the laser’s heat ebrate movements which challenge people’s to damage skin, we’re relying on the nearpreconceived ideas and make them re- infrared cold technology to regenerate and evaluate how they think. Around this time, renew skin. This means that the laser is I saw what Jo Malone was doing, taking a completely safe to be used on darker melafunctional item, the candle, and elevating it nin rich skin tones. by making it the best it could be in terms of How often should we be using this? Conhow it worked and how it looked. These two sistency is key with the Laser and we recthings, along with my personal experience ommend using it daily, for a minimum of of how effective a nutraceutical could be, 15-minutes. It is important to remember sowed the seed that grew into LYMA. that everyone’s results are different and What was the catalyst for launching LYMA? more mature skin can take longer to see sigIn 2012 I spent six weeks in hospital battling nificant transformation. septicemia, riddled with toxins and with How challenging was refining the manufacno real hope for recovery. Over the next few turing process and ensuring consistency?

IMAGES: SUPPLIED about that side of the business, whether it’s our latest marketing campaign, creative shoot, or working with our global team of experts and scientists on the new product pipeline – watch this space. How do you balance wholesale with retail and why did you decide to extend your brand to ecommerce platforms? LYMA is a DTC (Direct to Consumer) ecommerce business, and this continues to be our priority. We work with retail and wholesale partners that we carefully select for brand awareness and brand alignment. These retail partners include the cutting-edge wellness retailer GOOP, Hong Kong’s luxury beauty destination JOYCE, Harrods, Saks 5th Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. The biggest challenge with the Laser was How many people are in your team now and that we were trying to do something that did you start out alone? We started as a team had never been done before. We succeeded of one (me!), but my entrepreneur husband in harnessing the power of LLLT – a medi- became excited about the opportunity we cal grade laser – and putting it into a safe, had to do something transformational for handheld, portable device, that is complete- the industry, so we quickly became a team ly pain free. Despite the fact the device is a of two. Fast-forward four years and we’re laser, it is completely cold and is so safe it now a team of 20. can used around the eyes without the need What would be your advice to other entreprefor safety goggles. The consistency with the neurs regarding taking on investment from quality of our products is non-negotiable. external parties? Is it necessary? My advice How has the brand scaled since it launched would be to explore your options and only and what have been the biggest challenges work with an investment company you really as part of that process to date? feel understands your brand and your vision. Within the first year we were shipping the When I first had the idea for LYMA so many LYMA Supplement to over 70 countries. investment companies refused us based on The biggest challenge we’ve experienced to- our price point. They saw no place in the date with our growth is launching the LYMA market for a medical-grade supplement and Laser into the US. We finally received FDA refused to believe people would invest this clearance in May this year, but the process much in their health. After much deliberatook almost two years. We created a new tion, my husband and I took a huge risk and category in the FDA and the LYMA Laser is decided to seed fund LYMA ourselves. We the first FDA surgical-grade cosmetic laser launched and sold out in two weeks and all cleared for use at home. the investment companies that had turned How do you balance the creative and com- me down, contacted me again wanting to mercial sides of the business, and do you change their minds. We did receive external feel more drawn to one than the other? It’s investment from Pembroke VCT in late 2018 exactly that, a balance. We need to be cre- who absolutely believed in our mission. ative to stand out, but equally if it doesn’t How have you found social media in terms of make commercial sense it isn’t going to supporting brand growth? Mind-blowing. work. I am, however, a creative person, so When we first launched LYMA, we sold out naturally I’m drawn to and I’m most excited of the supplement within a week and this demand was driven by PR and power of social media. I’m always amazed at the power of a post from Kim Kardashian, Cara Delevingne or Hailey Bieber – an influencer or industry-leading expert can resonate with an audience more than any other form of promotion can.

It continues to be a powerful tool, but equally changeable in terms of what the audience wants to consume on these channels – more than ever we need to communicate the right message, at the right time and on the right channel to reach the right customer. How do you approach scaling without compromising on quality? Quality is part of our DNA, so we would never comprise on it. Our approach is to be agile and fast. Whether it’s the launch of a new product, a new market entry or a new awareness campaign, we meticulously plan and forecast but ensure we can act quickly should something change from what was originally set out. Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what knowledge did they impart? My husband Simon has been my mentor. He has a talent for leveraging technology, innovation and insight to target pockets of opportunity left unexplored by confines of traditional verticals, which in part is testament to LYMA’s success. This journey has and continues to be even more special because we’re in it together. What advice would you give to your younger self? Try anything at least once, only then are you allowed to have an opinion on said thing. This is The Pioneer Issue – what does this mean to you? Incredibly humbling. When LYMA launched, we set out to change people’s lives – it came from a place of necessity and frustration with lack of efficacy in the wellness industry. Being asked to be a part of The Pioneer Issue, in light of the work we’ve done to reshape an entire industry for the better is something I could have only dreamed of when we started out. Thank you.