Jessica Alba on Trading Bikinis for Billions With Honest Company: "I'm Not the Smartest, But I Try"

Jessica Alba has an incredible body--so incredible, in fact, that it seemed to almost be a bit of a distraction when she was first getting the Honest Company off the ground.

"People just saw me as this girl in a bikini in movies kicking butt--maybe not the brightest bulb," she recalled at Forbes' third annual Women's Summit. "It took three and a half years of condescending nods and pats on the back...They were just like 'You idiot, how are you going to do this? Go back to like endorsing things. Go do a perfume.'"

But Alba, 34, "needed people telling me no," she said. "I needed people to not get it and look at me cross-eyed for me to really figure out exactly what I was going to do and how I was going to do it."


It took the mother of two three years to find the right team, and in 2011, she launched the Honest Company with Brian Leo, Sean Kane and Christopher Gavigan. Per Forbes, the household products startup went from $10 million in revenues in 2012 to $150 million in 2014; it's now worth an estimated $1 billion.

"One billion feels like a small number for the opportunity of what's possible," Alba said. "For me, as a person at home with my kids? It's crazy. It's awesome."

Her best advice for other women in business? "Ask for help, and [don't] be afraid of criticism," she said. "When you don't know what to do, to be OK with not knowing but learning and also to not be defined by your mistakes...You just have to be malleable, you have to surround yourself with really smart people, and I didn't think I was smart for a really long time."

So, billion dollar question, does Alba think she's smart now? "Yeah, I think I'm, um, you know, I'm not the smartest, but I try," she said with a laugh. "I'm here at the Forbes summit, I'm talking to you guys--I was on the cover of Forbes. That's so cool!"

Alba, don't downplay your intelligence for modesty's sake: You are one natural, eco-friendly and smart cookie!