Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger is a serial entrepreneur, internationally acclaimed violinist, and co-founder of biotech skincare brand Mother Science. As a rock violinist, Simpson-Einziger has collaborated with artists including The Dave Matthews Band, Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Pharrell Williams, Jethro Tull, and A.R. Rahman. She has also worked with renowned composer Hans Zimmer on numerous film scores, including 12 Years a Slave and Sherlock Holmes. A passion for science parallels her love of music. She studied biology at The University of Virginia and was a high school physics and chemistry teacher before her music career.

In 2016, while on tour, Simpson-Einziger experienced a harmless skin condition that led her to discover the power of Malassezin, a naturally occurring molecule with dramatic dark spot reduction benefits. After six years of research and development alongside leading scientists to determine if Ann Marie’s hypothesis was correct, they together uncovered the power of Malassezin. She and her husband Mike Einziger launched Mother Science in May 2023 with a revolutionary product for hyperpigmentation, Molecular Hero Serum. It is the first and only skincare product to be formulated with the breakthrough, patented ingredient Malassezin.

Under her leadership, Mother Science became the first and only brand to introduce and commercialize the active ingredient Malassezin. Mother Science owns the exclusive worldwide patent to use Malassezin, and by owning this technology, has an innovative business model that sets it apart. The patent was granted after Mother Science completed six years of research studying Malassezin on ex vivo human skin analyzing the expression of 22,000+ genes per sample, giving a deep knowledge of how Malassezin works. The brand performed two clinical trials with results published in two leading peer reviewed journals.

Prior to launching Mother Science, Ann Marie had never worked in the beauty industry. She was a highly successful Grammy-nominated musician. It was her curious nature, innovative thinking, and challenger approach that led her to the creation of the brand, all stemming from a discovery hidden in plain sight. Her entrepreneurial endeavors also include co-founding Mixhalo, an ultra-low latency networking technology company, in 2017, alongside her husband, where the two now serve as co-chairs.

BeautyMatter caught up with Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger, Co-Founder, Mother Science and BeautyMatter NEXT 2024 Innovator of the Year Finalist.

What does innovation mean to you?

Innovation is what happens when science meets curiosity. It happens when you are privileged with discovering something new and when you are passionate at seeing your discovery reach its highest purpose. It happens when you are the first to solve a hard problem.

Innovation is at the core of Mother Science. We are introducing Malassezin, a new, landscape-changing molecule to the beauty ecosystem, and we appreciate how rare and powerful it is to harness a new molecule that can deliver dramatic results for skin health and beauty. We are writing the playbook for how to bring novel and highly efficacious molecules to the skin care market, and we are doing it with the intention of bringing up a community of citizen scientists who delight in learning and sharing. We want our innovation to be contagious and to inspire continuous curiosity.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

I do a little happy dance with each positive review that I read about our products. When you complete the arc of having an idea to actually transforming someone’s skin, it is validation that your discovery is reaching its highest purpose. Delighting and serving the people who trusted us with their skin will always make me the most proud. This is not a small accomplishment because connecting with consumers creates culture and community. We get to change the world together, one new molecule at a time.

Innovation is about trying new things and taking risks, making failure inextricably tied to the process. Everyone wants to be innovative, but they fear the consequences of failure. What is your relationship with "failure”?

I tend to operate from a position of aggressive optimism … I trust that science can do what it says it can do even if I have to be the first person to prove it. Failure can show you where some of the hidden boundaries or limitations are, and being able to operate all the way to edge of a boundary and even to push on those boundaries is a very powerful thing.

True innovation often spurs imitation. How do you ensure you maintain the competitive edge your innovation provided?

We always take great care to protect our intellectual property to the greatest extent, which includes patenting it globally, and we don’t stop there. We continue innovating, and we have molecular innovation that goes beyond Malassezin in our pipeline.

It is easy to be disruptive in the early stages of a business, but organizational culture often resists change and innovation. How have you built a culture that will continue to support innovation as you scale?

Start-up culture is special for the agility that it engenders. It also does not escape us that culture is created early in the life of a company, that the founding team needs to exemplify that culture. We talk openly about how teamwork, continuous improvement, and passion, which are tenants of innovation. These values are at the heart of what we do. We build and grow our team by these values that support an innovative culture.

What advice would you give to the next generation of innovators?

The next generation of innovators needs to be brave. There are so many people with bold ideas, but they are worried about the risks and never get out of their comfort zone to build things. Bravery is something that really matters.

I also advise the next generation of innovators to find mentors. The value of a good mentor cannot be understated. I’ve had the privilege of mentorship by some of the best innovators in the beauty industry, and they have absolutely inspired and educated me. The gift of mentorship helped birth Mother Science, and it is also a gift I hope to pay back to the next generation of innovators.

What excites you about the future of the industry?

The future is so bright … innovation always shines a light, and there is a beautiful cultural shift towards understanding the intersection of health and beauty in a way that is more transparent and scientific. Data happens to be my love language, and Mother Science delivers with multiple clinical trials and authentic innovation. I look forward to the next generation of citizen scientists and the rich dialogue and learning that will come.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I’m inspired by the intersection of ancient technology and cutting-edge science. I love that Malassezin has co-evolved with the human skin microbiome for hundreds of thousands of years, yet it has only recently been characterized and synthesized to scale to meet a consumer need.