Jessica Alba says $1 billion "feels like a small number."

Jessica Alba at Forbes' third annual Women's Summit

Jessica Alba at Forbes' third annual Women's Summit

The 34-year-old actress, whose eco-friendly brand The Honest Company was recently valued at that amount, believes the household products line could be worth a lot more in the future.

Discussing the success of her startup at the Forbes' third annual Women's Summit in New York City, she said: "One billion feels like a small number for the opportunity of what's possible."

But the brunette beauty, who has daughters Honor, six, and Haven, three, with husband Cash Warren, added: "For me, as a person at home with my kids? It's crazy. It's awesome."

The 'Sin City' star admits it was initially difficult to convince people to take her company seriously because of her Hollywood status.

She explained: "People just saw me as this girl in a bikini in movies kicking butt -- maybe not the brightest bulb. It took three and a half years of condescending nods and pats on the back of 'good luck', or 'go back to endorsing things or go do a perfume.' "

But the 'Good Luck Chuck' star has no regrets about any of her acting roles in the past because she used some her own money to start the line in 2010.

She said: "I made a lot of money in entertainment at a very young age and I saved it. I just needed to make as much money as quickly as possible, knowing it was going to go away at some point. I was very deliberate about it."

The actress credits her parents for her work ethic as they worked three jobs to pay their bills.

She said: "They just didn't know how they were going to keep the lights on. I didn't want to live like that."


Tagged in