"You really cannot build a following without a paid social-media strategy," she said.
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She focuses on female founders with brands doing $1 million to $10 million in sales.īou-Saba looks for founders who come with a competitive advantage, such as a large social-media following. "I knew the business really well, I'm passionate about supporting female entrepreneurs, and I also had a strong understanding of how attractive from a financial perspective beauty is," Bou-Saba said.Īfter investing on her own as a strategic angel for trendy beauty brands including Kosas and Saie, Bou-Saba formed Verity in 2021. Notable investments: August, Dae, NOTO, ArraeĪ former sell-side analyst, Bou-Saba first got interested in beauty after working on the strategy team for VS Beauty, the beauty arm of Victoria's Secret, where she says she "fell in love" with the category. "We are excited by the transformational effect of clinically focused and science-backed products for both haircare and skincare and the consumer's embracing of skincare beyond the face into body care." "The world of beauty is constantly evolving to meet consumer needs of the moment, whether that be hair loss and hair thinning because of stress and COVID or efficacious skincare at an attainable price point as the world heads into uncertain economic times," he told Insider. But his investment thesis ultimately rests on founders. Gersten can tick off a long list of trends he's excited about, including clinically focused skincare and body care. Gersten's two-year-old fund focuses exclusively on beauty and wellness investments, a rarity for venture capital.īefore starting True Beauty Ventures with Cristina Nuñez, Gersten invested in brands such as DevaCurl, Lime Crime, This Works, and Nest at Tengram Capital Partners. Notable investments: Crown Affair, Moon Juice, K18, Maude From a price-point perspective, clean, high-quality, effective formulations have traditionally not been affordable for the masses." "Another key area, especially given the current macro environment, is the democratization of access to clean beauty. "We're specifically interested in companies bringing true innovation to the space with science-based formulations," Schutzbank told Insider. Willow Growth has homed in, however, on a few trends including clean beauty brands and science-backed brands. Schutzbank said she's excited about the beauty space overall. Before founding Willow Growth Capital, she was a principal at Amplify, a pre-seed venture-capital fund in Los Angeles.Īlong with her Willow Growth cofounder and managing partner, Deborah Benton, Schutzbank is on the hunt for the next generation of consumer brands. Schutzbank has spent her career focusing on seed and early-stage investments. Location: New York City and Santa Monica, California Here are the top beauty investors to put on your radar. Insider compiled a list of 13 venture capitalists who specialize in funding beauty startups, based on recommendations from other investors and a review of startups and deals in the space. "Consumers still care about taking care of themselves." "We're very actively looking at beauty despite the macroeconomic environment," said Jackie Dunklau, the founder and partner at Aria Growth, an investor in the beauty startups Hero and The Inkey List.
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Coined by the beauty-industry magnate Leonard Lauder during the 2001 recession, the phrase posits that consumers are more likely to cut back on expenses like eating out than on small luxuries like lipstick during times of economic hardship.
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Global VC funding for beauty stood at $400 million across 84 deals as of May 27, according to PitchBook.ĭespite the headwinds, VCs who are well-versed in beauty are still bullish about the category and counting on "the lipstick index" to keep fueling growth in the category. Total venture funding for the beauty space reached $2.8 billion across 290 deals in 2021, up from $600 million across 140 deals in 2016, according to PitchBook data.īut deal flow and check size seem to be tapering amid this year's economic uncertainty. Venture funding for beauty startups has more than quadrupled since 2016, the year IT Cosmetics sold to L'Oréal for $1.2 billion and Estée Lauder acquired the makeup brand Too Faced for $1.45 billion. Venture-capital interest in beauty has exploded in the past several years, as investors look to cash in on the category's feverish mergers-and-acquisitions scene.