What True Beauty Ventures does

True Beauty Ventures (TBV) is a New York-based venture capital firm founded in 2020 by Rich Gersten and Cristina Núñez that invests exclusively in beauty and wellness brands from Seed to Series B. The firm manages a portfolio of more than 20 brands spanning haircare (Crown Affair, Jupiter, K18), skincare (Kinship, BeautyStat, Dieux, Sofie Pavitt Face), cosmetics (Caliray, Hung Vanngo Beauty, Iris & Romeo), fragrance (The 7 Virtues, The Maker), wellness (Moon Juice, Feals, Wizard Wellness), personal care (Maude, Norms), and emerging categories including women's health (Biologica) and sleep (Sleep or Die). TBV's second fund was expanded to $75 million in 2025, and the firm has produced at least one marquee exit: K18's acquisition by Unilever in 2024. The firm is not a technology company; its "product" is capital combined with hands-on operating partnership.

The firm differentiates itself through deep sector specialization and a bench of operating partners covering retail strategy (former Sephora buyers and Tarte/Briogeo executives), digital strategy (former Estée Lauder digital lead), supply chain (former Rare Beauty and Josie Maran), Amazon (former Hero Cosmetics, which sold to Church & Dwight for $660M), and HR/talent. Distribution relationships with Sephora, Target, and Ulta Beauty are actively leveraged — Jupiter, for example, operates in 1,200+ Target stores with 1,300 projected offline points by 2026. The Bridge Mentorship program (developed with Beauty Independent) and the "Coffee with Cristina" video series institutionalize founder community-building as a sourcing channel.

TBV's revenue model is classic venture capital: it earns management fees on committed fund capital and carries a share of profits on successful exits. As a private partnership with 1–10 employees, TBV does not publicly disclose financials. Its go-to-market is relationship-driven deal sourcing — Substack publications (Rich's "Beauty Deal Junkie," Cristina's "Beauty Is My Business"), podcast appearances, industry press, and the Bridge Mentorship pipeline — rather than outbound sales.

Name

True Beauty Ventures

Legal name

True Beauty Ventures

Website

https://www.truebeautyventures.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

True Beauty Ventures is a New York-based venture capital firm founded in 2020 that invests Seed-to-Series B in beauty and wellness brands. Co-founded by Rich Gersten and Cristina Núñez, the firm manages a $75M second fund and a 20+ brand portfolio, combining capital with deep sector operating support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital - Beauty & Wellness

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Beauty brand investment
• Wellness startup funding
• Consumer brand capital
• Early-stage equity investment

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns / Capital Gains: True Beauty Ventures generates returns through equity investments in beauty and wellness brands. The firm takes ownership stakes in portfolio companies and realizes returns through exits (acquisitions, IPOs) or continued appreciation of holdings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

True Beauty Ventures is a venture capital firm that provides equity investment to early-stage beauty and wellness brands from Pre-Seed through Series B. In addition to capital, the firm delivers hands-on operational partnership, mentorship, retail relationship access, supply chain expertise, talent support, and PR/media connections to its 20+ portfolio companies. The firm also runs the Bridge Mentorship accelerator program with Beauty Independent to help emerging brands become funding-ready.

Product overview

True Beauty Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in beauty and wellness brands, operating from Pre-Seed to Series B stages. The firm provides equity investment combined with deep operational partnership, offering portfolio brands access to mentorship programs (Bridge Mentorship, Coffee with Cristina), retail relationships, supply chain expertise, talent access, and PR/media support. The portfolio spans 20+ brands across skincare, haircare, cosmetics, fragrance, wellness, personal care, and health categories, including BeautyStat, Biologica, Caliray, Cay Skin, Crown Affair, Dieux, Evolvetogether, Feals, Hung Vanngo Beauty, Iris & Romeo, Jupiter, Kinship, Maude, Moon Juice, Norms, Sofie Pavitt Face, The 7 Virtues, The Maker, Vacation, and Wizard Wellness. The firm also publishes thought leadership through Substack publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Capital (Seed to Series B) Equity investment in breakout beauty and wellness brands from Pre-Seed through Series B, with hands-on partnership, strategic guidance, and operational support. The core offering of the firm, deployed across 20+ portfolio companies.
• Bridge Mentorship Program A 6-month accelerator program developed in partnership with Beauty Independent to help emerging beauty and wellness brands become funding-ready through structured curriculum, one-on-one coaching, group sessions, and access to the TBV ecosystem of trusted service providers, industry thought leaders, and media connections.
• Coffee with Cristina A mentorship video series offering candid dialogue and industry knowledge accessibility, with a focus on supporting female founders and professionals in beauty and wellness.

Quantifiable outcome

• K18 acquired by Unilever in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Beauty IndependentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024Partnership with Beauty Independent to develop Bridge Mentorship program - a 6-month accelerator helping emerging growth brands become funding-ready. The program is based on a structured curriculum providing targeted coaching, feedback via one-on-one and group sessions, and access to the TBV ecosystem including trusted service providers, industry thought leaders, and media connections.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Forerunner Ventures: Early-stage consumer-focused VC that has backed several notable beauty and wellness brands (Glossier, Hims, Ritual). Comparable as a thesis-driven consumer/beauty investor with similar check sizes at Seed/Series A.
• Unilever Ventures: Strategic CVC arm of Unilever that co-invests in early-stage beauty brands. Comparable by sector focus and check size; also a TBV co-investment partner, making it both a peer and a collaborator.
• Silas Capital: NYC-based early-stage consumer/beauty investor with portfolio overlap in brands like Maude and Moon Juice. Closest direct competitor by sector focus, stage, and fund size.
• Lerer Hippeau: NYC-based seed-stage VC with consumer/beauty exposure (e.g., makeup and skincare brands). Comparable by stage, geography, and consumer/beauty thesis.
• Female Founders Fund: Seed-stage VC backing female-founded consumer brands with relevance to beauty/wellness. Comparable by stage and gender-lens thesis; both invest in similar founder demographics.
• Springdale Ventures: Early-stage consumer investor with portfolio overlap (co-invested in Jupiter). Comparable by stage, sector focus, and co-investor relationship.
• Willow Growth Partners: Consumer/beauty growth investor with portfolio overlap (existing investor in Jupiter alongside TBV). Comparable by sector and stage.

Broad incumbents

• L Catterton: Large consumer-focused private equity firm where both TBV founders previously worked. Directly comparable as a beauty/wellness investor, though operating at much larger fund sizes and later stages.
• Tengram Capital Partners: Consumer-focused growth equity firm where both TBV founders previously worked. Comparable by sector and stage overlap, though larger check sizes and later-stage focus.

Emerging players

• Conscience Capital: Earlier-stage consumer/beauty and wellness investor with thematic overlap in clean/sustainable brands. Comparable by sector and emerging-stage VC profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/true-beauty-ventures
• Instagraminstagram.com/truebeautyventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments28 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about True Beauty Ventures