Success rarely comes as a surprise. It is typically the product of years of hard work and dedication, arriving as the ultimate reward for a life well lived. Real Ingredients forSuccess But occasionally, success can arrive in a different form than was expected. This is the story of Nerium International, one of the youngest companies in the direct selling industry that is tackling one of its oldest issues—how to hold back the hands of time. The Accidental Company Nothing about Nerium International has been predictable. In fact, the genesis of the company arrived through an accidental discovery in the labs of Nerium Biotechnology Inc., an international research and development company. While researching the potential uses of the Nerium oleander plant—previously considered little more than an ornamental plant—the scientists of Nerium Biotech discovered that the plant’s extract delivered remarkable age-defying results when applied to the skin. “We had a eureka moment in our research labs when we stumbled upon what Nerium oleander could do for skin,” says Dennis Knocke, Chairman and CEO of Nerium Biotechnology Inc. Nerium scientists then developed a proprietary process to extract the beneficial ingredients from the Nerium oleander plant in a way that preserved the unique components and beneficial properties of the plant. The resulting product is now the critical ingredient in NeriumAD™, a first-of-its-kind, age-defying night cream that is being marketed as the launch product for Nerium International. However, when the extract was first being developed, the leadership of Nerium Biotech was not even considering a direct sales strategy for distributing the product. Rather, they were speaking with traditional retail channels, direct marketing channels such as infomercials and sourcing companies who would source Nerium