Given their marketing prowess, it’s no surprise the pair first met as fresh graduates at a creative agency. “Ethan joined about six months after me. I thought he was older because he seemed very serious and mature,” recalled Erin.
“He’d just come in, put on his headphones and work. I thought, whoa why is this guy so arrogant?” She later discovered he was “very nice to work with – just scary when he’s serious”.
Meanwhile, Wong described Erin as “happy-go-lucky”. “She’s the kind of person who can just form a bond with everyone,” he said. “I think people’s impression of us is still the same now. She’s the friendly, outgoing one and I’m more of the serious, behind-the-scenes guy.”
Their jobs involved building campaigns for luxury property clients, which got Erin thinking: If they could grow brands for others, why not start one of their own?
Her mind returned to an old idea: Decorative pimple patches. As a teenager with acne-prone skin, she used to stick cute stickers over plain patches to feel better about her breakouts.
Back then, the Malaysian market offered little beyond plain hydrocolloid options, which often turned white after absorbing pus.
Though Wong joked that he wasn’t Erin’s “first pick” as co-founder, he was the first to get genuinely excited about the idea. He, too, had dealt with breakouts growing up, and understood how much it could affect your self-esteem and social life.
In late 2021, while still holding down their full-time jobs, they pooled together RM15,000 (S$4,467) of their savings to launch Dododots, with Erin leading the brand’s marketing and Wong overseeing operations. Strategic decisions, to this day, are made as a team.
