Celebrate Female Beauty Founders
Lisa & Alexa of Good Juju: Building a Force for Good
This March, we continue celebrating Canadian female founders who are reshaping the beauty industry with purpose, performance, and partnership.
Female co-founders Lisa Karandat and Alexa Monahan are entrepreneurs, single mothers, and advocates for sustainable beauty.
Here is their journey, the values that ground them, and what it means to build a brand that supports women—in every sense of the word.
What inspired you to create Good Juju and what were you determined to bring into the world?
"We wanted to create a performance-based, sustainable brand that supported women in their daily rituals. We were both using shampoo & conditioner bars because we wanted to reduce our plastic use, but we couldn't find one that performed well. We knew we could do better, so we spent 9 months formulating our bars so they work as well as salon-grade products. We have a vision for a world where all women feel confident in themselves and feel good about the products they use, and where our business can be a force for good in the world."
As female founders, what has been the most challenging and the most empowering part of your journey?
"As female founders, we face challenges every single day. Women inherently receive less investment dollars than men do, and we also carry the burden of being primary caregivers most of the time. Lisa and I are both single moms, and balancing that and building a business can be a lot. The most empowering thing is seeing our creative vision come to life and our products loved by our customers. There's nothing better than receiving comments from customers that our products have literally changed their lives and given them their confidence back. Those reviews are what keep us going when it's tough."
What core values guide the way you build and lead your company?
"We have a number of core values that guide us. We want to do things differently, to create better options while always considering our impact on the customer, the greater community, and the planet. We lead with kindness and create belonging, warmth, and welcome. Our products have to perform, so we formulate and test rigorously until we have a product we're proud of and that we personally want to use."
Choose one hero Good Juju product. Why is it special to you, and what does it represent about your brand?
"Our hero product is our Volumizing Shampoo Bar. It's special to us because so many women have told us how it's been the one thing that's worked to restore thickness, stop shedding, and just make them look and feel more like themselves again. Our brand is all about supporting women, so this feels like it's close to our hearts and purpose."
What advice would you offer to women who feel the pull to start something of their own?
"We always say - find a partner! I know it doesn't work for everyone, but the friendship I have with Lisa has been one of the greatest joys of building Good Juju. We lean on each other when it's hard, or when one of us is having an off day, there's someone to pick up the slack. Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint, and it's nice to have someone you care about to share the journey with."
What does International Women's Day mean to you personally?
"I feel so strongly about supporting and uplifting women. For me, International Women's Day is a time to celebrate women, but also to reflect on the fact that women have historically had fewer opportunities and faced more barriers to success in business. Real progress comes from noticing these challenges, speaking up, and supporting each other to break them down. Women's voices have been underrepresented for far too long — today reminds me that every step toward equality matters, and that we all have a role in creating real change."