The Daily Journal out of PA reports on another up and comer ignoring the economy and making in happen!
Vincent Spinnato Jr. is either psychic or driven.
In 1992, he was the
quirky Vineland High School junior with a passion for designing perfume bottles.
"That kid's got gumption," said his former guidance counselor Pat Phillips, recalling the earnest teen selling his plans to launch a beauty line under the trade name "Vincenzo" to anyone who would listen.
Now, 16 years later, he's on the cusp of turning his vision into reality. He's hired an Atlanta-based public relations firm to start spreading the news about the spring '09 launch of his two unisex product lines.
V.S. Vincenzo, priced from $34 to $150, will include 25 high-end skin, bath and body products. His Aegean Skin Care line, targeting the mass market, offers 35 items, ranging from $9.99 to $40.
To reach this point, Spinnato had to learn the cosmetics/fragrance business inside and out, build up a bankable reputation and then convince financial backers to invest millions in his vision.
"I'm very aggressive when I want something," Spinnato said. "I haven't slept since 1982."
Growing up near Atlantic City fine-tuned his gambling instincts.
"I'm a hard-core dice roller," he said. "I don't get nervous -- it's exciting more than anything."
The pending launch is no surprise to Phillips, who plans to be first in line -- cash in hand -- for Spinnato's products.
"I knew he was going to make it," she said, well acquainted with his fierce self-motivation. "It's rare -- you don't see it too often."
When he made up his mind to apply for admission to Dickinson College, Spinnato would leave VHS at the 2:10 p.m. dismissal and drive three hours to the campus in Carlisle, Pa. He'd sit in on classes and hang out at the registrar's office, introducing himself to everyone.
"He had professors pulling for him to get in," she said.
And he did.
But once on campus, Spinnato still wasn't happy.
"I felt stifled, it was so frustrating," he said.
Instead of wasting time, he picked up and moved on.
"I had no money, I didn't even know where I was going -- Beverly Hills, Atlanta or Miami -- I got in my car and stopped when I hit the Pacific Ocean. I slept on the beach that first night."
Some predicted Spinnato would be home in six months.
But his mother, Henrietta Spinnato, knew better.
"I told them, 'I don't think so,'" she said. "He's just so determined."
When he was 13, Spinnato would tag along with his mother when she went shopping at Macy's, gravitating to the skin care counters.
"He would check out what was new," said Henrietta, a Vineland resident. "We would come home and I'd see him with a sketch pad. He really has never wanted to do anything but this."
Starting from scratch, Spinnato got to know the right people and always managed to be in the right place at the right time.
On his drive west, Spinnato picked up a Harper's Bazaar magazine that featured Riquette Hofstein, a pioneer in the kitchen cosmetics industry, which uses organic ingredients in skin care products.
"I called her," Spinnato said. "I said, 'You don't know me, (but) I want to work for you.'"
Hofstein hired the 20-year-old as an apprentice. He immersed himself in the industry, learning everything from product development to marketing strategies.
"I starved," he said. "I worked for free."
Spinnato got a little apartment and pieced together his rent with a hodgepodge of side jobs.
"I would do anything to keep a roof over my head," he said. "I wanted to work for this woman -- no major cosmetics company would take me on with no experience."
Eventually, he worked with wealthy clientele who commissioned personalized skin care products.
Spinnato's resume includes work for Estee Lauder, L'Oreal, Chanel, Procter & Gamble and Victoria's Secret.
"Now I have my foot in the door," he said.
It's taken 15 years to build up the professional reputation and financial backing to greenlight his personal line of products.
It's not makeup.
"Women, in general, are naturally beautiful," he said. "I'm trying to educate and encourage women to learn how to treat and correct their skin or skin conditions rather than cover these areas up with makeup -- in other words, how to bring out their natural beauty."
And in this teetering economy, he remains optimistic about his entrepreneurial success.
"Historically, the cosmetic industry seems to grow in spite of down time," Spinnato said. "The need for women and men to always clean and take care of their skin, or wash or condition their hair, or brush their teeth never goes away."
These days, Spinnato is down to the wire -- selecting brand colors and that all-important package design. He'd also like to woo a celebrity endorsement.
Life is good.
He's doesn't sleep on California's sandy shore. He has a trendy Laguna Beach address.
There are two Mercedes in the driveway -- a G Wagon and a convertible.
No longer an unpaid intern, Spinnato holds the top spot in his own business. Those letters that appear after his name in the company directory show how far he's risen.
"CEO," he said, with a chuckle.
Bracing for a new era, Spinnato is grateful to the people who invested both time and money to help make this lifelong dream come true.
"I want to pay them off in full," he said. "They don't expect to see it. They will get it.
"My parents have been phenomenal, remortgaging their home," he said. "They believe in me."
Next up?
He'll focus on generating some product buzz in major fashion magazines.
His fingers are crossed for a Vincenzo shout-out in Vogue.
"That would be the holy grail," he said.
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