From the Forty Acres to the Beauty Industry

When Joanna Austin arrived at The University of Texas at Austin, she already had a hunch she was meant for communications. What she didn't know was that her path would take her from Houston to New York City, through global giants like Procter & Gamble and Maybelline, all the way to the corner office of her own startup. Today, as CEO of 31st State, a personal care brand for Gen Z and Gen Alpha young men, Joanna is proof that the most interesting careers rarely travel in a straight line. 

Finding Her Footing at UT 

Joanna earned her Bachelor of Journalism from UT Austin in 1994, concentrating in public relations. She came to campus already knowing she had a knack for communications, having completed internships before college that gave her a taste of media relations. Still, the path wasn't immediately obvious. 

"I did actually think for a second about broadcast journalism," she recalls. "But one of my first classes was at 8 AM, and I showed up in a baseball cap, and everyone else showed up in full hair and makeup, and I was like, oof I don't think I'm cut out for this one." 

She found her footing in the strategy behind PR. One of her most memorable moments at UT, though, came not from a win but from a wake-up call. Her lecturer Dave Garlock pulled her aside during her senior year with some pointed feedback. 

"He basically said, if you don't buckle down, you're not going to graduate. He knew I wasn't applying myself to what he thought I could do." 

The tough love landed. Joanna reworked her project and recommitted, and it's a lesson she still carries. 

"Anyone can do the bare minimum and get by. But when you truly dive in, the work becomes more meaningful, it becomes a source of pride. That mindset of going all in, instead of coasting, has shaped how I show up for my career, my team, and my colleagues." 

Outside the classroom, Joanna was a member of Pi Beta Phi during her time on the Forty Acres. 

Landing in New York and Learning the Ropes 

After graduating, Joanna moved back to Houston, where the PR industry was far less established than in major media markets. She scoured the Houston Chronicle classifieds and landed a role as a PR coordinator at a consumer packaged goods company, a job that eventually opened a door to New York City. 

"I really feel like the beginning of my career in New York was networking. It was asking who my dad knew, who his friends knew, and then setting up informational interviews and just talking to anyone and everyone who would talk to me." 

That hustle led her to Edelman Public Relations, where her career truly began to take shape. She quickly learned that tax and finance PR wasn't her calling, and pivoted toward consumer work… building campaigns, launching products, and shaping brand narratives at companies including Maybelline and Procter & Gamble. At P&G, she witnessed a pivotal shift in how the industry valued PR. 

"It was the first time in my career where PR had a place at the table. We were the ones talking to the editors writing for the consumers who were buying these brands and we had real time consumer insight that could positively influence strategy." 

Throughout her climb, some of the most formative lessons came from the bosses who taught her what not to do. 

"You do not need to put a thumbprint on everything that passes your desk. As I manage people now, I want to give the people who have earned the reins the reins to do their job. When you do that, it gives that person the room to grow, that extra bump and confidence to say, I can do this." 

Her advice to her own teams has always been generous: gun for my job, go for it. "If I'm still here when you're ready," she says, "then I've stopped learning. I've stopped growing. Great leaders create room for others." 

Taking the Leap into Entrepreneurship 

Joanna's first venture into entrepreneurship wasn't exactly a grand plan. She was consulting on a project with two colleagues when their client decided to retire and step away. The three of them looked at each other and decided to start their own brand. 

"I said it with 50-50 confidence, let's do it. I had a full-time job. I was a managing director running the 

New York office of an agency. But we looked around and said, we could do it." 

That venture became Le Metier de Beaute, a luxury beauty brand that launched in all 42 Neiman Marcus locations, plus Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Net-a-Porter. The moment it became real? A cold call. 

"I did the research, found the head of beauty for Neiman Marcus. I called the Head of Beauty. Got her assistant. The assistant patched me through. I was not ready to pitch at all. But I stumbled through it, and she said, send me some information. She called me back and said, I love it, come down to Dallas." 

When people later asked how she landed Neiman Marcus, she told them simply: she called. "They said, 'you don't do that.' And I said, well, no one gave me a roadmap. And if someone did, we may not have gotten where we were, as fast as we did." 

Building 31st State 

Today, Joanna serves as CEO of 31st State, a natural, vegan, personal care brand for young men aged 12 to 24, centered around healthy habits, confidence, and positive mental well-being. The brand was founded by her business partner Stephanie Capuano, who created it after watching her own teenage sons struggle with their skin and confidence during puberty, and finding that no products on the market truly spoke to them. 

"She saw when puberty hit, they withdrew. She saw that confidence dissipate. And the products that were out there had parabens, had known toxins or they just weren't made for boys. Nothing that really resonated with them." 

31st State is EU-compliant, holding itself to a standard that bans over 1,500 ingredients compared to roughly 300 in the U.S. But the brand's north star isn't just clear skin, it's something bigger. 

"A lot of people are like, 'oh, the beauty industry is all about vanity.' For me, if I can make someone smile, if I can change someone's day that is so gratifying. It wasn't about being beautiful. It was about feeling beautiful." 

When Joanna first met Stephanie, she wasn't planning to come on full-time. But the vision clicked immediately, especially as a mother of three boys in the exact age range the brand serves. 

"I got it. I was seeing this happen in my own house. Adolescence is tough enough. Acne can make you not feel confident, it can make you want to shrink. That impacts your mental health. And having three boys, seeing what society expects of young men, these young men have feelings, and feelings are okay." 

Advice for the Next Generation 

For students at UT's Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, Joanna's message is simple: say yes. 

"Raise your hand early. Take on more responsibility. Nobody is going to call on you if you don't raise your hand. It really is about being self-propelled, self-starting, and self-motivating." And for those anxious about mapping out every step of their career? 

"Where you start will not be where you end. Just because you start in one career or one industry doesn't mean you have to stay there. You can pivot, you can grow, you can change and it doesn't require another degree." 

She's also a believer in asking questions, even when it feels risky. "The worst case scenario is they say no. It might hurt the ego but it's not gonna hurt you." 

If there’s one theme that runs through Joanna’s journey, it’s momentum. From raising her hand in class to making cold calls that launched companies, she’s built a career by stepping forward before she felt fully ready. For students standing on the Forty Acres today, her story is a reminder that the path doesn’t have to be linear… it just has to be yours.