Author: Iveta Dzērve
“I do not know how to plant one tree. I immediately plant 30 of them,” says the co-owner of Ltd Madara Cosmetics, Lotte Tisenkopfa-Iltnere.
How did the idea of Madara Cosmetics appear? Was there first an idea, with those who support it merging together as co-owners, or did you find one another and then came up with the idea?
Let’s say that it was a need, not an idea. I used my personal prism to diagnose a hole in the market. Synthetic cosmetics caused an allergy for me, and so I looked at what was available in the market, concluding that this was an empty niche. It was because of my personal lack that caused me to think that I needed something new and that perhaps someone else would need it.
A seemingly egotistical need sparked my idea. Only then did we meet – my sister, Liene Drāzniece (a designer), others and me. As soon as I understood that I was not the only one with this problem, we started to think how to satisfy needs in this very specific cosmetics niche.
How do you deal with several co-founders? Does it mean more frequent quarrels, disagreements or searches for compromise?
It has been very easy, because one person cannot do everything. One person does not see things, while someone else has his or her viewpoint. True magic occurs when we quarrel and debate so as to help one another. One person is just one person. One person has specific personality elements and abilities, while the other person is completely different and supplements the first one. That is the magic of teamwork.