Industry: Skincare, CPG, Future Medical Applications
MBA Founding Student Name(s): Sean Finney, UT McCombs, 2024
Brief Description of Solution: Tano Skincare is a high-end skincare brand powered by a unique, natural hero ingredient—banana sap. Used for centuries in indigenous cultures, banana sap delivers four times the increase in collagen production of traditional ingredients like retinol, providing a natural, effective solution for aging skin. Tano combines nature and science to create potent anti-aging, moisturizing, and rejuvenating results without compromising on purity.
Funding Dollars: $300K
What led you to launch this venture? Tano Skincare was born from a life-changing experience I had at nine-years-old. After a serious injury on a coral reef in Brazil, a local healer used banana sap to stop the bleeding and save my leg—a moment that has stayed with me ever since. I witnessed the incredible healing power of this natural ingredient and later used it for various skin-related issues. Realizing its untapped potential, I launched Tano to bring this highly effective, natural solution to skincare, knowing that its benefits could extend far beyond its traditional medicinal uses.
What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? One of my proudest accomplishments has been discovering banana sap’s remarkable efficacy on healthy skin. While its medicinal properties—such as stopping bleeding, antibacterial effects, and accelerating wound healing—are well known, its benefits for skincare were previously untapped. Over 18 months of R&D, I proved its ability to rejuvenate and nourish the skin, which has led to patents for my formulations and use cases. I am incredibly proud of being the first to uncover these novel skincare benefits.
What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in creating your company and how did you solve it? My biggest early challenge was sourcing banana sap, as it is a largely undiscovered ingredient not available on the open market. I needed to find a supplier with banana trees who was willing to process and ship the sap to me—a difficult task. After months of calls and emails to banana farms, I flew to Hawaii and went door-to-door until I found a farm that agreed to work with me. That relationship has since grown, and this farm is now my main supplier for all the banana sap used in Tano products. As I scale, a key ongoing challenge will be expanding the supply chain I built from scratch.
How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? My MBA experience was instrumental in incubating Tano Skincare. I had incredible access to mentors and advisors, many of whom remain involved in the company today. The biggest advantage was applying everything I was learning directly to Tano in real-time. For most students, the coursework is theoretical, but for me, every class was relevant—either immediately or within the next year or two. As a military veteran with limited business expertise, the MBA program provided the foundation I needed to launch Tano with confidence and direction.
What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? Shortly after I started at McCombs, I had the opportunity to hear Jesse Iwuji speak to our Veterans cohort. If you are not familiar, Jesse is an officer in the Navy, but also runs multiple companies including his own racing team in NASCAR. While obviously a very different industry, Jesse’s talk about how he built his companies really resonated with me. Despite not knowing the industry, being a full time Naval Officer, and not having the money, Jesse talked about a journey of learning and dedication that has propelled him through his ventures. Everyone talks about drive, but he also talked about continuously learning and not being intimidated by things you don’t know. His story of pursuing what he wanted regardless of the obstacles made me think bigger and realize that my success was only limited by my own drive to improve and become the person that can be successful. I have him to thank for the audacity of starting Tano with no industry experience.
Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? Opportunity Identification was the most valuable class for building Tano. It challenged me to take a customer-centric and scrappy approach to building a startup, which isn’t always emphasized in traditional business schools. The class was filled with case studies from diverse industries, allowing me to see common trends, pitfalls, and lessons from different founders. Learning from their experiences helped me avoid missteps and improve how I approached building Tano. The course also humanized the process, making entrepreneurship feel more achievable.
What professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? John Doggett, who taught Opportunity Identification and Entrepreneurial Growth, has been the most impactful mentor in my journey with Tano. From the moment I joined his class, he really “got” what I was trying to build and pushed me to think bigger and move faster. His no-nonsense approach, combined with his genuine interest in my success, has guided me through some tough stuck points. He has been an incredible sounding board and has always provided clear, actionable advice. His deep knowledge of business and ability to cut through the noise with practical insights have made him one of the most valuable people in my corner.
How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? Being located in Austin, TX makes McCombs an incredible place to start a venture. At first, it is almost overwhelming how many resources are available in this town. Launching in such an entrepreneurial city, combined with UT’s focus on entrepreneurship, makes it hard to imagine a better place to build. No matter what issue I’ve faced—whether legal, operational, or marketing—I have never been more than two degrees of separation from someone who could help. What I love most about Austin’s startup community is that it’s not a “sharp elbows” environment; people genuinely want to help however they can. A rising tide lifts all boats, and the Austin/UT ecosystem truly embodies that.
What is your long-term goal with your startup? My long-term vision for Tano extends beyond skincare. While we’re starting with skin health, I believe banana sap holds untapped potential in areas like wound care, battlefield medicine, and clinical treatments. As a veteran, I am particularly driven by the possibilities for life-saving applications in battlefield and humanitarian settings. My goal is to explore how this powerful natural ingredient can help not only with skincare but also in critical medical scenarios. I founded Tano with the mission to help people, and while skincare is our first step, the broader medical opportunities could make an even bigger impact in the future.
Looking back, what is the biggest lesson you wished you’d known before launching and scaling your venture? The biggest lesson I have learned is that no one cares about your company as much as you do. It sounds obvious, but I wish I had truly understood and applied this earlier. In building Tano, I often outsourced work to external contractors to speed things up, but the results were mixed. Looking back, I realize that patience and doing things myself would have saved time, reduced costs, and spared me a lot of frustration. Sometimes, it is worth slowing down to ensure the job is done right.
