CEO, YOYO Lipgloss
Former St. John's University Peter J. Tobin College of Business
MBA student Angie
Onassis Parlionas is the inventor and CEO of YOYO Lipgloss—lipgloss
that is attached to a retractable reel that clips onto your jeans,
belt or handbag, making it easily accessible. The birth of YOYO
Lipgloss came to Angie when she was a young child. “I was
obsessed with lipgloss and lipstick so much so that my parents
would punish me by taking it away from me. So one day I
thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great if I could actually have my
lipgloss semi-permanently attached to me?’” That is when YOYO
Lipgloss was born.
The groundwork of her invention began with a search to confirm
no other similar product was currently on the market. When no exact
matches were found, Angie proceeded to build a business plan, based
on what she had learned in Professor Larry Boone’s Entrepreneurship
class in 2003. This plan helped her to determine profit
potential, industry and target consumer information, and growth
potential within the US cosmetics industry. From that point
she got online and researched manufacturers around the world,
choosing three in Zhejiang, China because of their excellent
pricing and communication skills. Angie and her mother, who is also
an investor in YOYO Lipgloss, traveled to Guangzhou, China to
attend The Canton Fair and to meet her manufacturers of choice.
YOYO Lipgloss is now sold in over 75 locations nationwide and
has already sold over 1,980 replacement tubes and 24,000 YOYO Lip
Glosses since its inception in December of 2007. Angie attributes
the new-found success of her product to professors such as
Larry Boone and Leon Schiffman who she feels truly fostered her
educational experience at the Tobin College. “Many teachers
don’t realize that it takes one person to say the right words or
teach in a certain style that sparks interest in a student.
These professors did exactly that for me,” says Angie. “Having had
my own business when I began graduate school (an online DJ bookings
company) helped me to better apply the techniques I was learning
about in the classroom, so I was immediately able to use what I was
learning about in real life,” Angie adds.
Because of the Entrepreneurship Class offered at the Tobin
College, Angie quickly realized her online DJ bookings company
would not be profitable or marketable and scratched that idea for
YOYO Lipgloss. Angie also feels that her Tobin education also
taught her how to properly conduct research, discover credible
sources of information and develop discipline and character.
The Executive-in-Residence
program, another successful course offered at the Tobin College
of Business, was also attended by Parlionas. “During this
class, we created a business model for KeySpan Corporation and at
the end of the semester, we presented our final project to
KeySpan’s board. It was an amazing experience that also aided
in my being able to build an effective business model for my own
company.”
Employing over 50 sales people, and four in-house employees,
YOYO Lip Gloss will be featured in Joyce Leslie this spring and
they are currently in negotiations with several large retailers as
well as distributors for product placement. Angie also has
plans to expand internationally, and hopes to build a foundation
that would permit some of the company's profits to go towards
social causes. Sales are progressing as projected within
their business model. “I live YOYO Lip Gloss. It is all I think
about and there is no doubt in my mind that this product will
continue to be profitable,” says Parlionas.
To learn more about YOYO Lipgloss, logon to www.yoyolipgloss.com.