The Profile: The entrepreneur building the future of humanity & the Botox maker in crisis mode

This edition of The Profile features Max Hodak, Hilary Duff, Alpha School, Allergan, and more.

Good morning, friends!

The trailer for Netflix’s real estate reality show “Owning Manhattan” came out this week. The description is: “Ryan Serhant aims to break into the posh uptown housing market, but will team rivalries, egos, gossip and betrayals stand in the way of success?”

I wrote the first, in-depth profile of Ryan, and I’m really curious to see how the show portrays him, especially after spending months reporting, interviewing, and shadowing him.

When you work on a profile for that long, certain moments stay with you. For me, it was the instant he dropped the performance and let the real person surface. After hours together and dozens of interviews with people in his orbit, something finally cracked open.

He admitted the personal cost of ambition, the loneliness that sometimes shadows success, and the fear of letting people down. At one point he asked, “How do I stop caring about what other people think, and just live my life?”

And then came the quote I still think about today: “I’m definitely the kind of person who needs the adrenaline so I can use it as fuel. But if you’re not careful, that fuel will also burn your house down.”

That’s the contradiction at the heart of so many high achievers — the same force that propels you is the one that can consume you.

I’m now deep into reporting my next longform profile, which will be out in January. If you know someone who would enjoy these kinds of stories, I’d be grateful if you shared The Profile with them or encouraged them to subscribe.

And if you haven’t already, check out the Ryan Serhant profile below:

PROFILES.

— The entrepreneur building the future of humanity [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The performer making music again
— The ‘two-hour learning’ school under fire
— The Botox maker in crisis mode
— The $11-billion beauty company

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The entrepreneur building the future of humanity: Max Hodak built Science Corp. by fusing biology and technology. After cofounding Neuralink, he launched his own company to develop Prima, a retinal implant that restored partial sight to patients blinded by macular degeneration. Now he’s pioneering biohybrid brain chips seeded with stem cells, designed to merge with neurons and translate thoughts into words, movement, and memory. Hodak’s mission is nothing short of rewriting the boundary between human and machine and turning the brain itself into living hardware. (TIME)

The performer making music again: Hilary Duff is back with “Mature,” her first new music in a decade — a sharp, shimmering pop track that lets her present self talk to the girl she used to be. After years of acting and raising four kids, she finally feels ready to say something real. The song bridges early-2000s Duff with a modern edge, marking the start of a true comeback. A docu-series and live performances are next, as she reintroduces herself on her own terms. (Vogue)

“I always knew I would come back whenever the timing felt right.”

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

The ‘two-hour learning’ school under fire: Alpha School promises “2 Hour Learning” with AI tutors, no traditional teachers, and relentless metrics, but in its Brownsville campus, families say that meant surveillance, pressure, and kids pushed to tears. Backed by billionaires and political leaders, Alpha showcases Brownsville as proof its model can uplift low-income communities, even as former students and parents describe educational gaps and emotional fallout. Critics argue the school treats children like data points in a tech experiment, using their struggles to market an unproven system. (WIRED)

“It switched from being about the kids to the metrics and the data and the numbers.”

The Botox maker in crisis mode: Anxious about looking “overdone,” beauty consumers are backing away from fillers and even Botox, which is forcing Allergan (the maker of Juvéderm and Botox) into crisis mode. Once the unrivaled giant of injectables, the company is now fighting falling sales, rising competitors, and horror stories of swollen lips, lingering filler, and counterfeit products. Allergan’s answer is a full-on rebrand, from “natural”-leaning campaigns to a new fast-fading “baby Botox” meant to lure hesitant newbies. Whether this reinvention works remains to be seen. (Bloomberg; alternate link)

“I had lumps and bumps that just would not go away. I looked insane.”

The $11-billion beauty company: Ulta is the unflashy giant of beauty retail, quietly conquering America from strip malls and suburban parking lots. Part Home Depot, part candy store, its 10,000-square-foot boxes mash drugstore staples with $500 hair dryers and prestige lipstick, all under one fluorescent roof. Led by former store worker–turned–CEO Kecia Steelman, Ulta is leaning into loyalty data, rural expansion, and a new online marketplace to stay ahead in a crowded, TikTok-fueled beauty boom. (Bloomberg; alternate link)

“America has a lot going on. But it all loves beauty.”

✨ The rest of this newsletter is only available for premium members of The Profile, whose support makes this work possible. If you’re not already a premium member, consider upgrading your subscription below for access to an additional section of weekly audio + video recommendations. ✨