Start Now

What Start Now does

Start Now Consulting GmbH is a privately held German investment and consulting firm founded by Judith Williams in 2019 and headquartered in Herrsching, Germany. The firm combines equity participation with hands-on coaching for early-stage consumer brands, primarily in cosmetics, natural skincare, nutrition, food supplements, and sustainable lifestyle products. Since its founding, Start Now has supported 21 startups — over half led by female founders — and 70%+ of its participations are in sustainable or organic business models. Typical equity tickets range from EUR 50,000 to EUR 300,000 for minority stakes (e.g., 20-40%), with the firm occasionally leading rounds and frequently co-investing alongside angels such as Frank Thelen and Nico Rosberg from the VOX show "Die Höhle der Löwen," on which Williams has been the only constant investor since 2014.

The firm does not develop proprietary technology; its product is a service platform. Core deliverables to portfolio companies include business plan development, brand and assortment strategy, marketing and sales concept design, contract negotiation, production industrialization, social media strategy, and exit preparation. Critically, Start Now monetizes its central asset — Judith Williams' distribution network — by routing portfolio brands into the HSE teleshopping platform, German drugstore chains (dm, Rossmann, Douglas), grocery retailers (Edeka, Rewe), Amazon, and international e-commerce. A core 2019 strategic alliance with CURA Cosmetics Group and its CURA Innovation laboratory provides portfolio companies with laboratory, manufacturing, packaging, and fulfillment infrastructure that would otherwise be costly and slow to replicate.

The revenue model blends professional services (coaching and consulting fees) with equity participation returns (capital gains on exits and ongoing dividends). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated individually with each startup. To date, three portfolio companies have achieved notable outcomes — Pony Puffin (successful exit after 1M+ units sold), BitterLiebe (majority stake sold to Arcus Capital in December 2020 with nearly EUR 10M annual revenue at peak), and ELIXR (successful exit in 2023 after scaling from EUR 40,000 to EUR 2M in eight weeks). Operating geographies span the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), with select portfolio brands (e.g., pick'em) targeting the US market.

Name

Start Now

Legal name

Start Now Consulting GmbH

Website

https://startnow-consulting.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Start Now Consulting GmbH is a German founder-led investment and coaching firm, founded by Judith Williams in 2019, that takes equity stakes in early-stage beauty, nutrition, and sustainable consumer-goods startups and provides them with brand strategy, manufacturing access, and shelf placement in major German retail and teleshopping channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital & Startup Advisory Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC), Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting (BPAHACAM)

Keywords

• Startup investment services
• Venture capital advisory
• Startup coaching mentorship
• Consumer goods brand development
• Equity investment startups

Headquarters

HQ city

Herrsching

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Equity Investment Returns: Start Now generates returns through equity participation in startups. The firm invests capital in early-stage companies in exchange for ownership stakes, particularly in beauty, lifestyle, and nutrition sectors.
2. Coaching and Consulting Services: Provides comprehensive coaching services to portfolio companies including business plan creation, brand strategy, marketing development, contract negotiation, and exit preparation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Start Now Consulting GmbH is a private investment and advisory firm that takes equity stakes in early-stage consumer-goods startups (predominantly beauty, cosmetics, nutrition, and sustainable products) and pairs the investment with hands-on coaching. The firm supports founders with business-plan development, brand and assortment strategy, financing planning, marketing and sales concepts, contract negotiations, production industrialization, social media strategy, and exit preparation, while granting portfolio companies access to Judith Williams' network of laboratories, manufacturers, packaging suppliers, teleshopping (HSE), and retail partners (dm, Rossmann, Douglas, Edeka, Rewe).

Product overview

Start Now is a startup investment and consulting firm founded by Judith Williams, operating as a platform combining equity investment and advisory services. Its core offering encompasses coaching services (business plan creation, brand strategy, financing, marketing/sales concepts, contract negotiation, and exit preparation) paired with direct capital participation in early-stage companies. The portfolio spans 17+ brands across beauty, natural cosmetics, sustainable consumer goods, food supplements, and breakfast/food categories, including Tanera Skin, Tallow Naturals, pick'em, Shape Labs, nordesign, Mudda Natur, Mabyen, 3Bears, NUTRIQ, bedrop, mellow NOIR, BitterLiebe, and SHAVENT. Three portfolio companies (Little Lunch, Pony Puffin, ELIXR) have achieved successful exits. The firm leverages Judith Williams' network for distribution via teleshopping, drugstores, e-commerce, and stationary retail channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Start Now Coaching Strategic consulting and mentorship service for startup founders covering business-plan development, brand and assortment strategy, financing planning, marketing and sales concepts, contract negotiations, production industrialization, social-media strategy, and exit preparation.
• Start Now Investment & Advisory Equity investment in early-stage startups focused on beauty, cosmetics, lifestyle, food supplements, and sustainable consumer goods, paired with access to Judith Williams' network of laboratories, manufacturers, packaging suppliers, teleshopping (HSE), and retail partners (dm, Rossmann, Douglas, Edeka, Rewe).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 70% of portfolio companies focus on sustainable business models and organic products
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CURA Cosmetics GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019CURA Cosmetics Group is the key strategic partner of Start Now. With over 20 years of experience setting standards in the cosmetics market, CURA provides access to laboratories, manufacturers, and packaging suppliers. CURA Innovation serves as the creative laboratory combining chemistry and marketing for product development. Start Now portfolio companies can access CURA's expertise in product development, innovation, and secure fulfillment systems.
• CURA InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCURA Innovation is the creative laboratory of CURA Cosmetics Group combining chemistry and marketing. Available to Start Now partners for product development support, innovative research, and leading packaging solutions for high-quality cosmetics.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rocket Internet: Berlin-based venture builder and incubator that founds and scales consumer-facing digital companies. Most comparable as a Germany-based platform that combines operational support with capital for early-stage consumer businesses, though Rocket Internet focuses on internet business models rather than physical consumer goods.
• Project A Ventures: Berlin-based early-stage VC combining capital with operational support from in-house experts across product, engineering, and growth. Comparable as a German early-stage investor that explicitly bundles operational/strategic support with equity investment, similar to Start Now's coaching-plus-capital model.
• Heartbeat Labs: Berlin-based company builder that co-founds and scales digital health and consumer businesses by combining operational support with capital. Comparable as a German venture studio that provides hands-on company-building rather than pure financial investment.
• Antler: Global early-stage VC and founder platform with residency programs that combine capital with intensive coaching and mentorship. Comparable as a structured startup-acceleration model that pairs investment with hands-on operational support.
• The Family: European startup support platform providing education, community, and capital to early-stage founders. Comparable as a coaching-and-investment hybrid focused on founder development rather than purely financial returns.
• Frank Thelen / freigeist capital: Bonn-based early-stage VC founded by fellow DHDL investor Frank Thelen, focused on European deep tech and consumer startups. Most directly comparable as a peer angel/VC operated by a DHDL 'Löwe' who co-invested with Start Now in Little Lunch and 3Bears.
• NUMA (formerly NUMA Berlin): Global startup accelerator providing cohort-based programs combining mentorship, education, and seed investment. Comparable as a structured startup-acceleration platform that pairs coaching with capital, though operating via cohort programs rather than continuous deal flow.

Regional players

• HV Capital: Munich-based venture capital firm investing across consumer, fintech, and digital health. Comparable as a DACH-headquartered early-stage investor serving consumer-facing startups, though HV operates at larger check sizes and as a pure financial investor.
• Cherry Ventures: Berlin-based early-stage VC focused on European pre-seed and seed rounds. Comparable as a German-headquartered early-stage investor in the consumer and SaaS categories, though operating primarily as a financial investor rather than a coaching/venture studio.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based early-stage VC focused on European consumer and deep tech startups. Comparable as a DACH-headquartered seed-stage investor in consumer-facing companies, though without Start Now's coaching and distribution-access model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/judithwilliams_com

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Start Now