Rowan piercing founder quit Wall Street job to start business—now it brings in $70 million a year
Louisa Serene Schneider has never been short about business ideas.
He once founded a company -dressed company (“Lululemon said long before it existed)) and tried to start a language lesson at another point. Neither of them was stuck, but the ideas continued to come.
Then, in 2017, Schneider found an idea that he felt accelerated. He left his high -profile business at the Wall Street with what he calls “competitive C salary” to bet on him and start a ear of ears.
“I haven’t had a full -time job for the first time in my life,” Schneider CNBC said to Make. “Actually, I was horrified and I was working between the ceiling.”
Seven years later, the business, now known as Rowan, is the only ear train work with its own health committee and registered nurses to pierce the ears. Rowan has 90 studio and approximately 800 employees in the US, more than half of them nurse.
Louisa Serene Schneider is the founder and CEO of Rowan, a ear runway with 90 locations throughout the USA.
Make cnbc
Schneider’s journey to Rowan’s founder and CEO was not easy. “There were many days I wanted to give up, and there were days I thought I didn’t know if I could make a payroll and look at the bank account.” I just had to continue. “
How did he build Rowan in a profitable business that made over $ 70 million in a profitable business last year.
A solution to its own problem
Like the story of many company origin, Rowan Fikri came from Schneider’s own needs.
At that time, he was looking for places to pierce his daughter’s ears. He had his own bad piercing experiences and did not like the options to take his daughter to a shopping center or jewel store.
“Our child doctor did not pierce the ears and I didn’t want to take it to any of the existing ear promotional options.”
Louisa Serene Schneider saw a gap in the market for ear promotional services that provide “security and the medical aspect of Piercing”.
Make cnbc
As a Risk Protection Fund Manager, it involved the assessment of patient shopping centers and saw a gap for the earliest equipment services that “Piercing’s security and medical aspect and a deliberate service”.
“My family, both of them knew that Ear Piercing was a medical procedure for our doctor and family, and I wanted to be done really safely,” he says. “And the idea of Rowan was born here.”
Smallest
In 2017, Schneider worked between the ceiling in Larchmont in New York.
In 2017, Louisa Serene Schneider began Rowan from the ceiling of his house in New York.
With the permission of Rowan
He didn’t have money to build a real store, so he started with a concern-style piercing service where a nurse could call and send e-mail to a nurse to come to them for a Piercing appointment. Schneider said that the company built the original Piercer network thanks to a friend who teaches nursing at Columbia University.
The company also sold the monthly subscription hypoallergenic earring earrings boxes for $ 20 – this idea, the idea that Piercing customers will buy a subscription model for new jewels every month.
People tell you that you are a fool over and over again and then take yourself and take yourself ‘Okay, I? No, I know it’s right. I know I can do that.
Louisa Serene Schneider
Rowan’s founder and CEO
Schneider, Sarah Fraser, a finance manager who is no longer at work, says he boots the first operations with his own savings.
“It was an experience that I had before, where people have been able to say what I have done in a heardable way when I told me what I was doing, or he says. “A lot of people looked at me like I’m crazy, and they didn’t see ear piercing, earrings or jewels as a real job.”
However, Schneider saw the potential of the market: to provide one once a good piercing experience, and they and their families can be their lifetime customers.
‘Donation collection is terrible’
In December 2018, Schneider paid a digital creative Beth Chappo to promote Subscription jewels on time for vacation.
A few minutes after the post was published, Schneider said the company started selling “hundreds and hundreds of hundreds” subscription boxes.
It was much more than they expected and was worried about completing gift orders on time. “We didn’t have the ability to fulfill these orders,” he says, “Then I called the only person I could do, by bringing the boxes together to work between the ceiling that lasted six hours and the next 48 hours.”
Rowan is currently employing more than 550 nurses trained in ear drilling techniques.
Make cnbc
After the viral pole of the influence, Schneider launched an official seed financing tour. While Rowan received positive feedback from customers, it was a different story to buy investors on the ship.
“Donation is terrible,” says Schneider. “People tell you that you are a fool over and over again, and then take yourself, ‘Okay, I? No, I know it is true. I know I can do it.’
Especially for a low moment, Schneider said that California had the opportunity to hold investor meetings during a family trip, and that only an opportunity was offered to be said “many times”: “I just didn’t miss my family holiday, but the idea of business was not large enough for them.
He didn’t get lost on him Investors, mostly menFirst of all, I did not see the potential to appeal to women. “Male investors are typically allocators of capital, and I felt that there was a obvious gap in this market because they did not typically pierce their ears, Sch says Schneider. Other ear promotional companies have existed for decades, but “experience has not changed or developed to the present day.”
Nevertheless, the momentum lasts long enough and says, “You finally meet someone who believes you.”
The company collected $ 5 million seed capital between 2018-2021. In the spring of 2021, he continued to collect A series and collected $ 20 million in the B series financing in that autumn.
“We’ve never gathered any money since then, because we haven’t collected any money, fortunately and very profitable with very hard work,” he says. The company became profitable in 2023.
Expand their access
In 2019, Target reached Rowan for a partnership, which resulted in more than 300 piercing pop-up locations in the retailers’ stores.
In 2020, when the world was closed due to the Covid-19 pandem, Rowan continued to work by sending nurses to people’s homes to drill their ears.
“Families did not have to give up this milestone for a really sad time for many people,” Schneider said.
The company finally opened the first brick and mortar store in which people can pierce their ears and get earrings. Later in that year, in New York, he ended the piercing service and subscription boxes at home.
Rowan has 90 studio and has 100 locations until the end of 2025.
Make cnbc
Rowan continued to open new bricks and mortars. Until 2022, Schneider decided to end their target partnerships because their studios became more profitable, and they can provide customers and nurses a better experience in their fields.
Rowan is currently employing more than 550 nurses and the company’s medical team has created its own curriculum to train nurses in ear -piercing techniques.
Schneider says Rowan usually provides a good opportunity for nurses working in a hospital 12 hours or four 10 hours per week, but may want to get additional jobs on indoor days.
According to the company’s latest business lists, nurses are paid $ 23 to $ 30 per hour and rowan Studio.
Rowan opened his first studio in New York in 2020 and was able to pierce the customers’ ears by a nurse and shop earrings.
Make cnbc
Daniela, a nurse at a NYC hospital, works part time in Rowan twice a week. Orum I love it here because of the creative side of nursing, or he says. “We can work with our customers, pierce their ears, excite them, whereas a more stressful job in the hospital.”
Schneider is on the road to offer these opportunities to more nurses and customers and customers, and the company is expected to reach 100 studio at the end of 2025 and will bring $ 150 million in revenue.
“Then I know we’re successful every time I see a piercing and smile and the applause and joy of the family.” It’s really about the joy we bring. “
Do you want to be your own boss? Sign up for SMARTER by CNBC, the new online course, How to start a job: for the first founders. Find step -by -step guidance to start your first job from testing your opinion to growing your income. For a 30% promotional discount from $ 127 (plus tax) regular course price, register with Eardbird today. The proposal is valid on September 16 – September 30, 2025.
Plus, Sign up to CNBC Make It Bulletin Here are tips and tips for money and success in life and Request to participate in our private community in LinkedIn To connect with experts and peers.
