Female beauty products are a $330 billion worldwide business. But no one yet owns the space online. So that’s exactly what three people are trying to do with a new startup, Beautylish. But here’s one interesting aspect: all three are men.
“Most cosmetic companies were actually started by men,” co-founder Vu Nguyen notes, admitting that it is a little weird that these guys are building a business around products and brands they don’t use. But he says that there are women on their team, and says that the opportunity to change this market had too much potential to pass up, regardless of sex.
“It’s a big market, but not a Silicon Valley one,” Nguyen notes. “Women are more social than men, generally. We want to create a way where women can share and learn from each other,” he continues. And that’s exactly what Beautylish is: it’s a social network for beauty, cosmetics, and brands. They focus on video tutorials, candid product reviews, and conversations amongst users.
The service actually launched in beta form this past January, and has already accumulated a small but loyal user base. The company is disclosing for the first time that in July they raised $1 million in seed funding from a group of prominent angel investors:
- SV Angel (Ron Conway)
- Naval Ravikant
- Max Levchin
- Steve Chen
- Jeremy Stoppelman
- Keith Rabois
- James Hong
- Jim Young
- Jameson Hsu
- Mariam Naficy
- Philip Kaplan
The service is now open for all to check out.
