“We’re known for our Stories”: How Tribe Skincare founder Kayla Houlihan created a community of devotees and a multimillion-dollar e-commerce brand

Tribe Skincare founder Kayla Houlihan is the creator of a multimillion-dollar brand, but she still makes a point of carving out time in her busy schedule to go live on Instagram Stories every day. 

“Brands need to be doing Stories,” she tells SmartCompany from Torquay, on Victoria’s surf coast.

“And it’s good to have a face to the brand, or someone jumping on every day … A familiar face helps build brand trust.”

It’s not only a trust-building exercise for Houlihan, who founded her skincare brand a little over two years ago. On days when she hasn’t had time to talk directly to the brand’s 57,000 Instagram followers, there is a clear effect on sales — they are much lower than on days when she does post. 

“We’re known for our Stories,” she says. 

“We have a really good following on our Stories and we post every day — a lot of behind-the-scenes, photos shoots, I’ll jump on once a day.