True Beauty Ventures L.P., a Miami, FL- and NYC-based beauty- and wellness-dedicated firm, closed its debut fund, at $42M.
The fund is supported by a diverse and strategic LP base, including beauty founders and executives, financial institutions, and family offices.
Led by Rich Gersten and Cristina Nuñez, True Beauty makes $1-5m investments in beauty, wellness and personal care brands seeking a partnership anchored in strategic and operational sector expertise. The firm, which has the flexibility to invest across multiple growth stages, from Seed to Series C, has made six investments to date including:
- AQUIS and K18 Hair (science-based hair care),
- Kinship (clean Gen Z skin care),
- Feals (premium DTC CBD),
- Crown Affair (luxury ritual-based hair care),
- maude (modern intimacy brand), and
- a soon to be announced clean makeup brand
Gersten is a seasoned institutional investor who has specialized in beauty and personal care and was a former partner at private equity firms Tengram Capital, L Catterton, and North Castle Partners.
Nuñez has a combination of consumer private equity investing experience at Tengram Capital and L Catterton as well as beauty operating experience as an executive at Clark’s Botanicals and Laura Geller Beauty.
In addition to the team’s experience, True Beauty has also established a beauty advisory board consisting of experienced beauty executives to provide additional support and guidance to its partner brands. The board consists of:
- Elana Drell Szyfer, CEO of RéVive Skincare;
- Emily Dougherty, former Editor-in-Chief of NewBeauty;
- Kelly St. John, CEO & Founder of KSJ Collective;
- Janna Ronert, Founder & Chairwoman of IMAGE skincare;
- Joel Palix, Founder of Palix Unlimited; and
- John Elmer CFO & COO, RéVive Skincare.
FinSMEs
01/08/2021