Spurred by worries about looking older, Trinidad native hits it big with skin care line
Andres Roban noticed wrinkles starting to form on his face. He bought 12 anti-aging products and tried them all, with no results. He dumped them all into a beaker and forgot about it. “A month later, I dipped into the muck, put it on my forehead and almost jumped out of my skin with joy about the results.”
“Once you’re an entrepreneur, you’re always an entrepreneur … the drive never disappears. It’s always there.”
BY ALYSON DUTCH
Days before 2020 arrived, a front-page Wall Street Journal story examined the power of the “negativity effect” as a fundamental aspect of our psychology. The article said that our brains’ “bad-news bias” is a built-in survival mechanism that evolved from our days as hunter-gatherers.
Though the story made resolution recommendations for a “low-bad diet,” this news was very validating for inventors—who, despite every adversity, are often motivated by fear nipping at their heels.
Most inventors bring things to life to solve a personal problem— whether it’s a fireman who needs a life-saving door wedge that doesn’t melt or an aging actress who created a bra that smooths back fat. In the case of Andres Roban, his fear of aging sprouted a revolutionary skincare line called Ounce of Nature. His all-natural, essential oils serum ignited a wellspring of fandom in Brooklyn in late 2019.
Paying his dues
The beauty line wasn’t his first stab at inventordom. Earlier, he brought to market a pillow that made breathing easier, a locker key/credit card-holding gym towel and a dating social site for Boomers. His wildly creative idea to attract people to his trade show booth by spritzing irresistible fragrances grew into a fifth invention—an air freshener line.
“I’ve never seen limits to what I can achieve, because I grew up in a place where everyone from political leaders to bankers looked like me,” the native Trinidadian entrepreneur explains. “So, when I got to New York and started bringing my ideas to life, it never occurred to me that I could be anything but successful.”
Roban’s immigration from the Caribbean to the largest, most competitive city in the United States was no cakewalk. Discouragement and even eviction from his home didn’t keep him down.
In Los Angeles, it’s no surprise that restaurant waitstaff are really budding actors in disguise holding down the fort with a steady job. Likewise, while bringing his dreams to reality in the Big Apple, Roban kept his bills paid for more than 20 years by working in the culinary industry.
This was more than a blessing for him: He met some of his most influential investors while on a restaurant floor. He learned the meaning of supreme tenacity and physical hard work, skills he uses every day now as a full-time entrepreneur.
“I can always right my wrongs,” the cheery Roban explains, “get up, dust myself off and keep grinding.”
True grit, and fortune
His greatest sensation is really the chart-topping skincare line, which he’s now rolled all his attention toward as it moves into the national landscape.
As every inventor knows, serendipity is one’s friend. Moreso than someone with a high-level education would understand, success rolls out precisely in the way it does.
Not many would have the audacity to consciously plan a move from a Caribbean island to one of the most sharky environments in the largest country in the world. It was a combination of a little luck and a lot of grit that spurred the young Roban to unpack his dreams in Brooklyn.
Now almost 40 (and looking younger, thanks to his skincare line), he runs his business with an open fist, accepting mind and kind heart. He admits that even today, scary things happen—from investors who have sudden changes of heart to his own heart palpitations about meeting payroll and rent obligations.
But it’s times like late at night when he sits in his artisan batch clean room—ensuring that his serums, hydrators, masques and cleansers are packaged perfectly—that calmness overcomes him.
“Fear is momentary,” he explains. “When it subsides and you realize that you’re OK, your employees have shown up, the shipping has gone out and the bills are paid, the elation is worth it all.”
Accidental formula
The inventor community knows the agony and the ecstasy of creation. Each member has muddled through personal journeys; the ones with the most tenacity, the ability to overcome obstacles, are often the ones who win.
Roban spent all those years toiling in a restaurant to make it happen, but it’s that quality that makes learning possible. His own great story about his fears, which hatched his skincare line, should serve as an inspiration to future inventors.
“I noticed wrinkles starting to form on my face,” he says with a laugh. “I went to the store and purchased 12 anti-aging products and tried them all. I followed the instructions. Nothing happened.
“Exasperated, I dumped them all into a beaker and forgot about it. A month later, I dipped into the muck, put it on my forehead and almost jumped out of my skin with joy about the results. It worked!
“I then went about the process of deconstructing all the natural ingredients in those products, which together numbered about 110. I sourced the best of each and put them together into my own formula.
“Quite by accident, I then came across a new blending technology that activated the mélange of essential oils to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in only 30 minutes”—something that natural products usually don’t do.
In addition to the anti-aging serum, the skincare line includes these products available at ounceofnature.com: the Antioxidant Hydrating Cleansing Mousse; Green Tea Facial Toner; Wildflower Honey, Aloe and Oatmeal Anti-aging Face Mask; Hyaluronic Acid Facial Hydrator with Retinol, and Activated Charcoal Bar Soap.
Customers flow in
Another fluke, and a seeming state of commonality among inventors: What began as a need for Roban to find a formulating, packaging and fulfillment center turned into an anti-aging spa.
“I never expected to be in the service business,” he says with a shrug.
But when he went to sign lease papers, he discovered that the square footage and lease price included a street-level retail space that begged to be used. Today, he cannot stop the flow of Brooklyn beauty seekers at his door for treatments—and now his line of products.
Even more ironically, the spa attracted three famous hip-hop performers who sing the praises of his product. This started with a loitering patron in his foyer who turned out to be well connected in the entertainment business.
Roban says that “Once you’re an entrepreneur, you’re always an entrepreneur … the drive never disappears. It’s always there.
“When you go through real hardships, rock-bottom difficulties, any other troubles become insignificant. You realize you are unstoppable, and that any seeming calamity will be short-lived.”
Trademarked production process encourages reading, writing for at-risk kids
Accomplished TV veterans Terry Thoren and Ryan Cannon are using their talents to turn the magic of animation into a powerful EdTech tool. Governors, educators and STEM centers throughout the United States are jostling to find funds to get Wonder Media Story Maker® into their schools.
“Research shows that lessons taught to children by an animated character are retained 80 percent more than a lesson delivered by an adult.”
—Terry Thoren
BY ALYSON DUTCH
Primary school students from across the United States fidgeted, giggled and chatted nervously with teachers and parents as they sat inside a historic California site, preparing to witness some history of their own.
Inside the revered Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, the kids awaited the premiere of the first all-student-produced, animated, feature-length film in early August. It was their interpretation of perhaps the most popular movie of all time: “The Wizard of Oz,” which premiered at Grauman’s 80 years ago that month.
Most of the students had never set foot in Los Angeles, least of all this hallowed ground of American cinema.
Before the lights went down, Hollywood animation icon Terry Thoren and his partner in Wonder Media, LLC, Ryan Cannon, took the microphone.
The crowd cheered.
Thoren, the former CEO of Klasky Csupo, Inc.—the studio that incubated “The Simpsons” and produced “Rugrats” and “The Wild Thornberrys”—was elated and inspired. Cannon, an American Film Institute movie maker and content producer for “Sesame Street” and Dr. Seuss’s “The Cat in the Hat,” beamed.
The two who transformed the magic of animation into a powerful EdTech tool spoke to the students whose contributions had been stitched together into this national premiere. To make the movie a reality, students used Wonder Media Story Maker®, the production process created by Thoren and Cannon.
After the partners spoke, the “WonderGrove Wizard of Oz,” a collaboration of 24 schools across the United States, flickered onto the screen. As it rolled, various sections of the audience exploded into squeals of delight when their schools were recognized. They heard their own voices, saw their drawings, animation moves and witnessed—on the big screen—something that bonded them into a tight-knit community of storytellers.
This fraternity of kids, those who often don’t know how to express themselves, might not be doing so well with traditional classroom curriculum. But they are flourishing with this tool, used in 172 school districts in 24 states.
Governors, educators and STEM centers throughout the United States are jostling to find funds to get Story Maker into their schools because of the profound effect it’s having on student reading and writing skills. Students are learning to collaborate and complete authentic filmmaking tasks as a classroom antidote to the enormous amount of free time they spend on electronic devices outside of school.
Los Angeles-based Wonder Media—which says it offers “the best edutainment solutions for children”—is building a global team of storytellers to connect with children at risk. The company uses animated stories to address teen suicide, hunger, sex abuse prevention, emergency preparedness, social emotional learning, critical thinking, autism, nutrition, children with disabilities and those living in a home with an addicted adult.
At a time when the word influencer has become a hair-brained notion of self-celebrity, Thoren and Cannon have compelling influence under their wings: The Institute for Habits of Mind, the Betty Ford Center Children’s Program, the Hero in You Foundation, and Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts USA.
The Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center is also included; its animated lessons to teach sexual abuse prevention have been viewed by more than 150 million students worldwide. The lessons have been adopted by Education for Justice, an initiative of the United Nations; and The Boys Scouts of America, to name some of the prestigious global partners. The Sinatra center’s “Protect Yourself Rules” educational videos and lessons plans are now required viewing for every Cub Scout in the world!
This bountiful marriage of animation and education began when Thoren walked away from the red carpets of the entertainment industry to dedicate his life to a more meaningful purpose. One of his first projects was the application of animation for children with autism.
He underscores the importance of animation as an EdTech tool by explaining: “We discovered long ago how animation is a powerful teaching tool for young children.
“When children believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, they also believe that animated characters are real. As such, they form an emotional bond with animated characters and will mimic their behavior.
“Research shows that lessons taught to children by an animated character are retained 80 percent more than a lesson delivered by an adult.”
As often happens with the best ideas, Story Maker in schools happened by accident. Thoren said that after a school superintendent from Columbus, Mississippi, visited the Wonder Media studio, the school began experimenting with implementing an animation studio back home. The superintendent discovered that teaching at-risk students to make animated stories had a profound effect on their reading and writing skills, and dramatically decreased absenteeism.
People tend to say that Thoren is the brains of the company, Cannon the heart.
The film-loving Cannon was a childhood fan of “Star Wars,” “Batman” and “Rugrats.” He was overwhelmed by the emotion that Pixar was able to express through the first piece of digital computer animation called Luxor, Jr.
The father of two young daughters notes: “If you think about the stories that have been burned into your memory, they are full of strong emotions. Memory is directly tied to intense feelings, which is why I infuse each project I work on with both humor and heart—two strong, positive sensations.”
Cannon is inspired working with Thoren. The two are on a mission to effect change.
With more than 100 million views of their WonderGrove lessons on YouTube and on their subscription website, they are building a legacy around the idea of providing social-emotional learning and critical thinking skills to children before third grade.
Cannon says that creating true change is a formula: “care + confidence + contributions = change.”
“When kids care about a cause, are confident they can do something about it and are given a chance to contribute, change is bound to happen. Children are our future, so it’s fitting that Story Maker shows them how to start affecting their future now by teaching communication, teamwork and compromise.”
Cannon speaks of Thoren as a “gardener for good” as they spend each day planting seeds of hope for a better future for children.
When asked the standard but compelling question, “If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?”, Thoren unequivocally says: the late John Wooden, legendary coach of the UCLA men’s basketball team. Wooden’s Pyramid of Success is a roadmap for excellence that he has followed religiously throughout his life.
The son of a hard-nosed, ultra-conservative father who was a Cornell Hall of Fame baseball coach, Thoren says he was tossed out of the family home at age 16. Feeling discouraged as a “free thinker” laid the foundation for who he is today. For 40 years, he has pushed the boundaries of animation, continually innovating its use to bring positive change on a large scale.
Thoren is tenacity to the 10th power. Unlike the not-so-healthy family experience he had, he rates the time with his three grown and incredibly adventuresome sons at the top of his list of happiness factors.
He makes the cozy town of Snohomish, Washington, his home, where he and his wife have nurtured a storybook farm into existence. He commutes to Los Angeles and steers the Wonder Media ship with staggering vigor, his ideas fueled by the grandeur of the Northwest.
Cannon is an Angeleno, where he and his wife are raising their daughters amid the hustle and bustle of the big city. He has his own family in mind when trying to tackle the toughest issues facing families today.
Cannon is an Angeleno, where he and his wife are raising their daughters amid the hustle and bustle of the big city. As a father trying to guide and protect his family in today’s world, he strives to equip families everywhere with better tools to combat the potential issues before us.
Together, the dynamic duo are fueling the intellect and hearts of youths everywhere, keen to pierce the veil of trauma that any child might experience—via a safety net of age-appropriate animated stories.