True Beauty Ventures Raises Debut Fund in Excess of $42 Million, Backed by Beauty Founders and Executives, to Grow Emerging Beauty and Wellness Brands

MIAMI and NEW YORK, July 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- True Beauty Ventures L.P. ("True Beauty"), the only beauty- and wellness-dedicated fund with a combined 30 years of institutional beauty investing and operating experience, announced today that it has closed its debut fund, surpassing its initial target of $30M, and reaching in excess of $42 Million. The fund is led by Rich Gersten and Cristina Nuñez, who together offer a rare depth of beauty expertise in emerging growth investing. 

"We launched True Beauty to leverage our unique beauty-focused investing and operating experience and the extensive beauty ecosystem I had built over many years. That is our unfair advantage," said Rich Gersten, Co-Founder and Managing Partner. "We connect with our founders on a deeper level because we truly understand their businesses and can help accelerate growth, while avoiding costly mistakes along the way."

Éva Goicochea, founder and CEO of maude, said "True Beauty fundamentally understands both the art and the science to building impactful, world-changing brands. Cristina and Rich's thoughtful approach and deep expertise in beauty and personal care make them additive and unparalleled partners throughout the journey of building the business and maude is proud to have them leading the way with us." 

True Beauty is actively building a curation of category leaders and has made six investments to date: 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. True Beauty values the strong partnership it has with each founder to help influence successful outcomes. 

"Together Rich and Cristina bring a wealth of knowledge and know-how, they have unique insights and actively roll up their sleeves to help execute on critical path objectives," said Britta Cox, Co-founder of AQUIS and K18.

"Rich and Cristina make for an exceptional beauty investing combo. Their belief in purpose-led businesses and in unique insights that challenge the status quo — besides a continued focus on founders' strength versus weakness — makes them an ideal partner particularly for ego-free founders driven by impact and outcomes," said Suveen Sahib, Co-Founder of AQUIS and K18. 

Another key area of focus for True Beauty is to provide more equitable access to capital with the fundamental belief that investing in diversity delivers stronger returns. 

"As a Latinx female Co-Founder and General Partner, I am part of the 2.4% of US-based VC founding partners who are women, a staggering statistic reported by Women in VC," said Cristina Nuñez. "We need people on both sides of the table, the investment decision makers and the brand founders, to reflect the markets they serve. To date, I am proud that our firm is majority female and over 80% of our current partner brands have women or minority founders."

Partners Rich Gersten and Cristina Nuñez have known each other for eleven years and worked together several times in the past. Rich 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. Cristina 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. 

The fund is supported by a diverse and strategic LP base, including beauty founders and executives, financial institutions, and family offices.

About True Beauty Ventures

True Beauty pursues $1-5 Million investments in beauty, wellness and personal care brands seeking a partnership anchored in strategic and operational sector expertise. The partners' extensive investing and operating experience allow them to identify winning brands at an inflection point of breakout growth and help them scale and exit successfully. As sector specialists, True Beauty has the flexibility to invest across multiple growth stages, from Seed to Series C. 

To learn more about True Beauty, to be considered for investment, or become a brand partner, please find them at www.truebeautyventures.com and follow them on Instagram @truebeautyventures and LinkedIn.

Media contact: 
Caroline Weintraub
[email protected]

SOURCE True Beauty Ventures

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