Georgiana Molloy Anglican School graduate Iris Smit has landed her invention, The Quick Flick, a shark in the business world.
Ms Smit appeared on Network Ten’s Shark Tank on Tuesday, where viewers around Australia saw her pitch her clever beauty hack to potential investors.
Ms Smit wanted $300,000 for 10 per cent of her self-inked eyeliner stamp creation.
Initially, the male Sharks were confused by the concept of the product, but Ms Smit’s eye-catching sales figures had Janine Allis and Andrew Banks seeing potential dollar signs.
Eventually, Mr Banks was successful to partner with Ms Smits for $300,000 for 27.5 per cent of The Quick Flick.
Now based in Perth, the Dunsborough-raised beauty entrepreneur told the Mail she, like many young females, loved make-up and would watch YouTube tutorials to try and achieve the perfect winged eyeliner look.
While studying Interior Architecture at Curtin University, she came up with the time saving hack.
“Every single day I wore a winged eyeliner and it took so bloody long – I was always late,” she said.
“Design is all about fixing problems so I decided I’d come up with my own little design project to help me in the morning.
“I figured, surely there were other women who have this problem and thought it was a sweet business idea and went from there.”
This process only began for Ms Smit in her mid-semester break last year.
She started with the 10 millimetre stamp patent, and has now expanded to include an 8mm and 12mm stamp in the range.
The former Our Lady of the Cape student said the hardest part of the process was the formula of the eyeliner.
Ms Smit took her time to ensure the consistency was right, the result – an intense black, smudge proof liner.
Aware that the product could come off gimmicky, the Curtin graduate said The Quick Flick took time to build customer trust.
The business skyrocketed when it featured on The Daily Mail in December.
Soon, it was picked up by beauty bloggers and social media influencers.
Even though she was confident in the product and business she had established, Ms Smit said appearing on Shark Tank in front of an elite group of investors was daunting.
“Never in a million years did I think I’d be on the show,” she said.
“There are a lot of older businesses that have been established for several years, with years of financial backing – I had a solid three months prior to the show.
“It was next level nerve wracking. My whole body went numb. It was a fight or flight moment.”
Ms Smit’s decision to go with Banks was influenced by his worldly business knowledge and her gut feeling.
“Andrew’s international knowledge was a big factor,” she said.
“Taking it to an international market is what we want. There ware women all over the world who love the winger eyeliner look. Our product is huge in the UAE. It is where most of our customers are.
“I’ve watched a lot of Shark Tank in the past and just really liked Andrew’s persona. He is always positive. He was all about how good we’ve done so far and where we can go.”
The Quick Flick is just the beginning for the 23-year-old, who said she hoped to create more time-saving user-friendly beauty products.
“I guess for me I’ve sort of seen the cosmetics industry slightly differently,” she said.
“It is beauty meets design, and how do we utilise design to make something quicker and easier.
“I know it took me a lot of time every morning and for some people that can be a real chore. I’m sure they’d much rather have an extra half hour or hour of sleep.”
With future success in the cosmetic industry firmly in her sights, Ms Smit hasn’t forgotten her formative education years in Dunsborough and Busselton.
“My Year 12 high school English teacher Brigid Terry was a very strong influence,” she said.
“Our essays always looked at female empowerment and I feel it turned me into a stronger woman.
“It opened my eyes to lots of things, it gave me more confidence in myself and that translated a bit into university and really influenced me so I’m very thankful for that.”
Shark Tank airs on the WIN network on Tuesdays at 8.45pm.
For more on The Quick Flick, click here.