Indie Lee Skincare with Indie Lee

Redefining Beauty, Business & “Wellth” with Indie Lee

What happens when a life-threatening diagnosis becomes the catalyst for building a pioneering beauty brand?

In this powerful episode of the Redefine Business Podcast, Brittni Schroeder sits down with Indie Lee, founder of the award-winning clean beauty brand Indie Lee Skincare. From CPA to clean beauty trailblazer, Indie’s journey is one of resilience, reinvention, and redefining what success truly means.

Her story is not just about skincare. It’s about purpose. It’s about clarity. It’s about building a business that aligns with your values—even when the road is long, uncertain, and filled with unexpected detours.

From Corporate CPA to Conscious Creator

Indie’s path into beauty wasn’t conventional. She began her career as a public and private CPA, even running HBO’s International Finance Division. She traveled the world, built a successful career, and checked all the traditional boxes of achievement.

But deep down, something was missing.

After leaving corporate life to spend more time with her children, Indie immersed herself in the farm-to-table movement. She built a 750-square-foot greenhouse in her backyard, grew her own botanicals, and became deeply connected to clean living.

Then her health took a turn.

After being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, she could no longer work in the greenhouse she had built with her own hands. Around the same time, her sister announced she was pregnant. Wanting to create safe, gentle products for her future nephew, Indie began crafting botanical-based baby products from her calendula and lavender harvest.

At the time, this was simply a heartfelt gift. She had no idea it was the beginning of something much bigger.

A Brain Tumor That Changed Everything

In November 2008, Indie began losing peripheral vision in her left eye. Within hours of undergoing a scan, she was told she had a brain tumor.

That 15-minute drive to the doctor’s office became one of the most transformational moments of her life.

Indie realized that for 37 years, she had been a passenger—not the driver—of her life. And whatever time she had left, she would live it with what she calls the “three P’s”:

• Purpose

• Passion

• Being fully present

Doctors initially told her she had six months to live. But Indie refused to accept that as her ending.

While searching for answers, a neuroendocrinologist asked her a life-altering question: What are you putting on your skin?

That moment connected everything. Indie understood toxic load. She understood transdermal absorption. She realized that what we put on our bodies can be just as impactful as what we put in them.

And with that realization, her mission was born.

The Birth of a Clean Beauty Pioneer

After finding a surgeon willing to operate, Indie underwent brain surgery on Earth Day. Eight hours later, she woke up able to see clearly. The tumor was successfully removed.

Two months later, she launched her website.

Like many entrepreneurs, she assumed turning on a website meant customers would automatically show up. Instead, she quickly learned a foundational truth:

There is no easy button.

Marketing is work. Building a brand is work. Scaling a business is work.

Sixteen years later, Indie Lee Skincare is carried by major retailers and respected clean beauty destinations across the country, including:

• Nordstrom

• Ulta Beauty

• Bluemercury

• Credo Beauty

• The Detox Market

• Whole Foods Market

What began as a personal health crisis became a brand that helped pioneer the clean beauty movement.

The Myth of Overnight Success

One of the most powerful conversations in this episode centers around the illusion of overnight success.

Indie shares a truth that every entrepreneur needs to hear:

“It takes 10 years to be an overnight success.”

We live in a world of clickbait headlines and flashy revenue screenshots. But what we don’t see are the years of trial and error, failures, pivots, and persistence behind the scenes.

Indie reframes luck in a powerful way:

Luck is when hard work and timing coincide.

Yes, timing matters. Yes, opportunity matters. But neither replaces consistency, clarity, and hustle.

For Indie, success wasn’t just about revenue or retail expansion. It was about creating change in a largely unregulated industry. It was about educating and empowering consumers to read labels and make informed decisions.

That deeper mission is what sustained her through the long game.

Clean Beauty Meets Accessibility

One of the most exciting developments Indie shares in this episode is her expansion into Whole Foods with a four-product capsule collection called Indie Lee Botanicals.

This launch represents more than shelf space.

It’s about democratizing clean beauty—making effective, thoughtfully formulated products accessible in everyday spaces. As consumers become more aware of ingredient transparency, Indie believes we should read the labels of what we put on our bodies just as carefully as we read the labels of what we put in them.

Her return to botanical roots also nods back to her greenhouse beginnings. Full circle moments like this remind us that sometimes the original spark holds the most power.

Clarity, Core Values & Sustainable Hustle

Beyond skincare, this episode dives deep into entrepreneurship.

Brittni and Indie talk about:

• The burnout that comes from constant hustle

• The danger of comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle

• Why mentorship matters

• The importance of defining success for yourself

Indie emphasizes clarity as a superpower.

Many entrepreneurs say they want to be “successful,” but few define what that actually means. Revenue? Impact? Freedom? Flexibility? Industry disruption?

Without clarity, you can’t build a roadmap.

Indie also shares how perspective—especially after a health crisis—changes everything. She is intentional about how she spends her time, what she prioritizes, and how she builds her brand.

Success, for her, is rooted in “wellth”—the abundance of wellness, health, and intention.

Redefining Beauty Through Purpose

Indie’s story is ultimately about choosing purpose over perfection.

It’s about understanding that setbacks can be catalysts.

It’s about recognizing that failure teaches more than success.

It’s about building something aligned with your values—even when it takes longer than you expected.

For entrepreneurs listening, her message is clear:

• There is no shortcut.

• There is no easy button.

• There is no copy-and-paste success formula.

But there is alignment.
There is clarity.
There is purpose.

And those things create longevity.

Connect with Indie Lee

You can explore Indie Lee’s products and learn more about her mission at:

🌿 Website: www.indielee.com
🌿 Instagram: @indielee

About Indie Lee

Indie Lee is the founder of the award-winning clean beauty brand Indie Lee Skincare, a company born from her personal health crisis and mission to create safe, effective products that empower conscious living. After surviving three brain surgeries and navigating life with autoimmune disease, Indie has become a passionate advocate for clean beauty, longevity, and redefining wellness.

Through her work and storytelling, she encourages women to embrace a life of “wellth”—the abundance of wellness, health, and intention—while balancing the realities of business, family, and healing. She continues to inspire a growing community to pursue purpose over perfection and beauty rooted in wellness.