She was asking people if they wanted Botox before most New Zealanders knew what it was, and they were asking her if their face was going to fall off.

Dr. Catherine Stone pioneered cosmetic medicine in New Zealand in 2001, set up her first clinic in Vulcan Lane for $13,500, and built one of the country's most recognised aesthetic brands from scratch. In this episode of 2 Commas, I sit down with Dr. Cat to unpack what it looks like to front-run a trend before anyone believes in it, build a high-end boutique in a space that didn't exist, and scale it through TV deals, London clinics, and a few very well-timed pivots.

We also get into the stuff nobody talks about - buying 23 properties in 24 months right before the GFC, the burnout that nearly ended everything, and three separate cancer diagnoses that ultimately forced the question: what  ...