SEATTLE — Karissa Bodnar grew up in a small Snohomish County town and doesn’t have a business degree – and she believes that’s exactly why she’s the successful CEO of her own company.
She launched Thrive Causemetics, a luxury clean beauty brand, less than a decade ago. It now produces more than 100 products and has donated $135 million in funds and products to charities around the country.
"You don't have to go to Harvard to be able to build a large company, or to do anything in life,” Bodnar said. “And that is one of the reasons why I'm so proud to have gone to Bellevue Community College, the fact that I can sit here and say I didn't get into University of Washington the first time I tried, I had to pivot. And I think those challenges ultimately allowed me to become who I am today."
She also believes her childhood in Stanwood lent itself to entrepreneurial skill sets.
"Growing up in Stanwood taught me hard work, it taught me to support those around you, and really the idea of being around an entrepreneur was born from being around so many entrepreneurs. It may look different, maybe it's a farmer, maybe it's a hair salon you're supporting,” Bodnar said. “I love Stanwood because that spirit is literally in me."
She started working in the beauty industry at age 16 and by 25, Bodnar launched Thrive out of her Queen Anne apartment. It started with one product: faux lashes. For every set sold, one was donated to a woman going through cancer treatment (in honor of Bodnar’s friend Kristy LeMond, who died from the disease.)
"I had a vision of creating a company that was about more than selling makeup and skincare," Bodnar said.
Within a couple of years, one product had grown to dozens, orders were pouring from a growing online fanbase, and Good Housekeeping named Bodnar one of the nation's top young entrepreneurs.
She began expanding the company’s philanthropic efforts to include survivors of domestic abuse, unhoused communities and LGBTQ organizations.
In 2021, she was named to the Forbes "America's Self-Made Women" list.
By 2023, Bodnar was running offices in Bellevue and Los Angeles. Thrive launched a sister skin care line called Bigger Than Beauty. The company also counts more than 500 non-profit partners, including 42 in Washington State.
"We are all here to make an impact, and we get to choose what that looks like,” Bodnar said. "I do need to give. Our philanthropy is why I choose to do this job every day. I hope that everybody out there who has a dream knows that they are never too young and they are never too old to be who they always wanted to be."
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