My path first crossed with Annie Robertson Hockey when she was a Stanford GSB student. Little did either of us know our paths would cross again years later through the MedSpa industry. Cut to present, Annie is the President at Skytale, a boutique investment bank and consulting firm with clients in many industries, including MedSpas. I had the pleasure of being Annie’s first speaker on the podcast series she recently launched entitled, “Skytale Insights“. You can watch the podcast below or watch it here.

As a bonus, I was able to interview her in exchange for #hacksthenewsletter, which you can find below.
 

Q: What made you join Skytale?
 
A: I was really intentional about the time I took between my last role and joining Skytale. As part of that process I spoke with many people, and after each conversation, I paused to ask myself how I actually felt—which had never really been part of my decision-making before. From my first conversation with Ben, I had a gut sense that Skytale was not only a business I’d be excited to help scale, but also a place that could feel like a true professional home.
The professional side, I was drawn to the firm’s positioning. It’s rare to find a business with such clear product–market fit in a space that’s actively growing. Even as a small firm, Skytale has outsized name recognition and a stellar reputation. Ultimately… it’s on us not to mess that up!
 
Q: What lessons learned from your life in Silicon Valley have you imported to the medical aesthetic space?
 
A: Two mantras I live by:

• Most things worth doing are a little scary at first — work (and life!) is way more fun when it doesn’t come with a pre-built roadmap
• Get things to “good enough” and move on — perfect is the enemy of DONE

Q: What’s the most exciting trend you’ve seen in the last year while you’ve been working with clients throughout the category?
 
A: Medical aesthetics is an exciting space in general, as both the pace of innovation and openness to change are incredibly high. Over the past year, I’ve been especially inspired by the growing emphasis on the connection between inner and outer health. Whether that falls under the banner of functional health, wellness, or longevity, I fully ascribe to the theory that beauty is largely a reflection of both physical and holistic well-being.

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