Molly Sims Lectures at Harvard Business School

The actress and YISE Beauty founder spoke with students about her brand during a campus visit in Cambridge, Mass.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Beauty

Red-brick academic building with an arched doorway and empty wooden benches inside, on a tree-lined campus path in autumn light.
Actress and YISE Beauty founder Molly Sims spoke to Harvard Business School students about her brand during a guest lecture in Cambridge, Mass. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Molly Sims served as a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, where she spoke with students about YISE Beauty, the brand she launched in 2023 and which is carried in Sephora stores. She also recorded an episode of the Founder Mindset Podcast with host Reza Satchu on the Harvard campus.

Why it matters

The visit highlights a celebrity-founded beauty brand engaging directly with business education, offering students a firsthand look at building a product line. It also reflects the growing role of personal-brand founders in the beauty industry.

YISE Beauty launched in 2023 and is sold through Sephora stores. The stub does not include product pricing, sales volume, or distribution beyond Sephora.

The players

Molly Sims

Molly Sims is an American actress and model who made her SI Swimsuit debut in 2000 and later founded the beauty brand YISE Beauty.

Reza Satchu

Reza Satchu is the host of the Founder Mindset Podcast, which features conversations with entrepreneurs about building businesses.

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University, located in Boston's Allston neighborhood and known for its case-method teaching.

The details

During the guest lecture, Sims spoke with students about her brand and her path as a founder. Following the lecture she attended a dinner event with students and faculty, and she recorded a podcast episode with Reza Satchu while on the Cambridge, Mass. campus.

Timeline

  1. 2000: Sims made her SI Swimsuit debut, photographed in Hawai'i.

  2. 2023: Sims launched YISE Beauty.

  3. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026: Sims visited Harvard Business School and recorded the podcast.

Industry Dynamics

Celebrity-founded beauty lines have become a common path to retail through major chains like Sephora, and Sims's visit to Harvard Business School places one such founder in front of future business leaders. Her appearance signals how personal-brand companies are increasingly being studied as business case material.

For shoppers, YISE Beauty is available at Sephora stores, offering a point of purchase for readers interested in the brand. The stub does not describe any changes to pricing or availability tied to the visit.

The takeaway

Founders who build brands from a personal following often face the same operational questions as any entrepreneur, from distribution to scaling. Readers interested in starting a product line can learn from how these founders discuss their decisions in public forums like academic lectures and podcasts.

Further reading

Explore more Beauty coverage for context on how founder-led brands are reshaping the industry.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.