When Birchbox founders Katia and Hayley first met, they had wildly different approaches to beauty. Hayley was a self-proclaimed novice, while Katia was a connoisseur. But they agreed on one thing: Shopping for products was frustrating, inefficient, and confusing. How were customers supposed to navigate the vast range of options? And in the growing online market, how could they try products without buying them all (and going bankrupt in the process)? That’s when Birchbox was born: the brainchild of two friends with a love of the internet and an itch to create a better way to shop for beauty products.