Gazing out her window as a college freshman living at The Statesider, Lauren Frank dreamed of a “candy shop with makeup” catering to college students and young professionals. Ten years later, she is on the other side of the street — literally — as the co-founder, and now creative director, of Prep Cosmetics, a chain of specialty cosmetics boutiques with a flagship store at 553 State Street in Madison.
“As a younger woman focused on experimenting and finding my look, I was really surprised by the lack of options in high-end cosmetics in Madison,” Frank says.
Initially lacking the finances to back her dream, Frank worked in public relations and marketing in Las Vegas after graduating from UW-Madison with a communications degree in 2002. After four years, she had scraped together enough capital to open her first store in Madison, aided by a fortuitous real estate sale and a matching investment from her mother and then partner, Meryl Jacobson.
Returning to Madison was a natural choice for the entrepreneur, who “loves the culture” and wanted to pursue her idea in a familiar market. Working with a family friend — a “phenomenal makeup artist in New York” — Frank selected an array of luxurious cosmetic brands suited for the college town demographic, and Prep Cosmetics opened for business in April of 2006.
Describing the boutique’s atmosphere as “more intimate than a large store or mall,” Frank credits informed personal service and a low-key sales approach for building the loyal customer base that drives her business. She says she was surprised by the “amount of energy and commitment it takes” to found a company as well as the “need to work to get people’s attention,” despite the high-visibility of the State Street location.
In January of 2008, Frank sold the majority of the business to Emoire, LLC, which is gearing up for national expansion with a goal of 12 stores by 2010. Two additional stores have already opened in Amherst, Mass. and Newport, R.I., and Prep Cosmetics is also available online at shopprep.com.
“Looking across the street at The Statesider where I first had the idea is exciting,” Frank says from her State Street storefront. “My college friends were really excited about my idea — the fact that it resonated with other females gave me a lot of confidence that it was an idea that could work.”
