After years of injecting, Dafna and I kept seeing the same thing: an industry chasing short-term results. Natural results were promised everywhere and delivered inconsistently. There are many good practices out there, but most of them focus on an older demographic or all demographics, and we wanted to build the place that we, as young professionals, actually wanted to be guests at.

We wanted somewhere that treats aging both above and below the skin, focuses on minimal- downtime enhancements that look good now and even better in ten years, and treats every regimen as individual. CONTŌR was our answer to that gap.

The hardest part was the very beginning. We actually started as a pop-up in a closet of a friend's office space. It was tough to get new people to come to us when they could walk around the corner to a beautiful, fully built-out practice, so we invested heavily in building out a beautiful first space of our own. We had a loyal early group from friends and family, but it took about a year and a half to truly gain traction. That stretch taught us the most important lesson we have: a beautiful buildout means nothing without the reputation to match it. We earned our reputation by treating every guest as if they were the only person on the schedule that day, because in those early days, sometimes they were. We never let go of that. Even now, with a full schedule and a daily waitlist, treating every appointment like we're caring for our own family or friend is a non-negotiable.

I'd build out the hospitality and guest-care side of the business much sooner. Our treatments are rarely one-and-done; results are maintained over time, and every guest and every plan is different. People need ongoing support that's specific to them, whether that's a quick text, a call, or an in-person follow-up, and that infrastructure is what keeps results and relationships strong. Where I'd spend less: in the early days we offered a much wider menu of add-ons, including a complimentary mini-facial with every treatment. We eventually realized our guests care about two things above all else, top-tier results and a team that genuinely cares about them. The extras added time to the visit when some guests simply wanted great results and to be on their way.

Their people and their support. So many practices pour money into the newest device or the next ad campaign and underinvest in developing their providers and supporting guests between visits. In this industry, short-term sales aren't what drive growth; building trust over the long term is. Your services are the product, and the relationship doesn't end when a guest leaves the chair. The practices that underinvest there cap how far they can go.

Our standard is everything. We would rather grow slowly and consistently over-deliver than grow rapidly and only meet, or fall short of, what our guests expect. When you hold an exceptionally high standard for every guest, the growth happens naturally. The non-negotiable of treating every guest like family doesn't bend as we scale. If an opportunity threatens that, it isn't an opportunity for us.

As a founder-led, self-funded business, our deepest core value is long-term over short-term, and we've built the entire company around it. In practice, that means we'll turn a guest down from a treatment they ask for if it doesn't serve their natural, long-term aesthetic. It also shapes how we hire: we're committed to a team made up of the best injectors in New York, and unlike a lot of growth-focused brands, we're in no rush to grow headcount with average talent. A guest may never see those decisions being made, but they feel them in their results every single time.

We hire against our core values: long-term over short-term, collaboration with our guests, and hospitality. Employees who thrive at CONTŌR are the ones who put a guest's long-term results ahead of the quick win and who build every plan with the guest, not for them. A guest comes in with things they'd like to improve, so we start there and build from it. At the end of the day, our job is to help the guest feel more confident in their own skin, and the only opinion that matters is their own. When our employees live those values, the guest experience takes care of itself.

We hold everything to one test: does it deliver natural, long-lasting results with minimal downtime, and is it backed by real evidence? We're not interested in being first to a trend; we're interested in being right. Plenty of treatments that look exciting on social media don't hold up clinically or don't fit our philosophy, and we're comfortable passing on those. When something genuinely earns its place, we add it. Until then, a curated menu beats a crowded one.

Honestly, our own experience as injectors has shaped CONTŌR more than anything else. We're biased, but we believe a great business in this industry is built around fully supporting providers to do what they do best, so our number one goal is simply to be the best place in the city for a provider to work and grow. Beyond that, I pursued an Executive MBA to sharpen the business side, and I've had a handful of mentors along the way who were instrumental in teaching me how to actually run and scale a company. I'm also part of EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization), where
learning from other founders has been invaluable.

The shift from "fixing" toward prevention and longevity. Guests are getting smarter and starting earlier, and the conversation is moving from chasing a look to investing in how you age over decades. I think we'll see far more focus on combining aesthetic treatments with overall health, so that aging gracefully happens above and below the skin at the same time. The overdone look will keep falling out of favor, and education and personalization will matter more than ever. The practices that win will treat this as a long-term investment in how you look and feel, not a quick transaction.

Earn your reputation before you chase growth. Master your craft, put the guest's long-term results ahead of the short-term sale, and treat every single person like they're your only appointment of the day. Your best marketing is an exceptional service that speaks for itself. Do that consistently and the business takes care of itself; the space, the ads, the expansion, none of it matters if the work and the care behind it aren't exceptional first.