Elyse Dickerson knew she wanted to start her own business. Four years later, her idea to develop a drop to dissolve earwax is now sold in CVS stores across the country.
Women's History Month highlights the contribution of women and celebrates our role in American history.
The 2018 theme of Nevertheless She Persisted can also be the story of a business owner in Fort Worth.
Elyse Dickerson is the CEO and co-founder of a very successful start up. Her journey started four years ago when she was laid off. The woman who focused on entrepreneurship in school went on to start her own business. She developed a drop to dissolve earwax.
"Really, the idea came from the market," said Dickerson. "We spent a month talking to different doctors from all kinds of specialties, and ear wax impaction was something that plagued both young and old people. And we felt like there had to be a better way to resolve the problem."
The search for a better way put Dickerson and her team in the lab for nine months.
"We harvested human ear wax from doctors around the DFW area and figured out how to resolve it," she said. "And once we had a prototype in the test tubes, then we tried to figure out how to scale it up and market it to the consumers."
Three years later, Dickerson's company Eosera Inc. was selling its ear wax removal product, Ear Wax MD, in CVS stores across the country.
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Dickerson has a degree in design, worked in fashion then got an MBA before turning to pharmaceuticals by chance. It was in that arena, where she discovered she wanted to improve the lives of people with health care challenges around the world.
The path to Esora, Inc. meant conquering a challenge that faces many women.
"I had to first figure out how to get over my fear of failure and not having a steady salary," she said. "Once I got over that fear and broke through and took one step at a time to start the company, now I feel like I can empower other women to do the exact same thing."
And how does she do that?
"Part of it is spending time with them. I mentor other women who are in start ups. I help invest in their companies and really, just a sounding board for them; always open for a phone call for friendly advice and just support them on their journey," she told nbc5. "No one can do it alone. I certainly did not."
