Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place.
Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription.
Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch.
This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled.
For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com. For updates, you can follow @mikegelb on Twitter.
Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place.
Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription.
Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch.
This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled.
For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com. For updates, you can follow @mikegelb on Twitter.
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He’s one of the most respected investors in beauty and wellness—and he’s seen every boom, bust, and bubble the industry has gone through.
In this episode, Mike sits down with Rich Gersten, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of True Beauty Ventures, a beauty and wellness–focused investment firm built by operators for founders. Rich has spent over 20 years investing in consumer brands—from early private equity days at North Castle Partners to launching True Beauty Ventures, one of the most influential early-stage funds in the category.
Rich shares how he accidentally stumbled into beauty investing, what makes the category so resilient, and why he believes the “beauty bubble” is finally normalizing. He also opens up about the reality of early-stage investing, the rise (and decline) of celebrity brands, and what he’s learned from building a beauty-focused fund from scratch.
You’ll learn:
✅ Why beauty and personal care outperform other consumer categories
✅ How Sephora and Ulta transformed the entire retail landscape
✅ The biggest mistakes founders make when scaling beauty brands
✅ How True Beauty Ventures approaches early-stage investing
✅ Why most celebrity brands fail (and what makes Rhode different)
✅ What’s really happening in beauty M&A and why exits have slowed
✅ How Rich thinks about valuation discipline and pro-rata investing
✅ Why execution—not product—is the #1 differentiator
👉 If you’re a founder, operator, or investor in beauty or consumer, this episode offers a rare inside look at what it really takes to build and back the next breakout brand.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:20 How Rich Got Into Beauty Investing
04:00 What Makes Beauty Unique vs. Other Consumer Categories
07:00 Sephora, Ulta, and the Rise of Specialty Retail
08:30 Why Rich Started True Beauty Ventures
11:00 How They Add Value Beyond Capital
13:00 The Difference Between Private Equity and Early Stage
15:00 Lessons from Fund I & II: Check Sizes, Risk, and Returns
19:00 The “Back Up the Truck” Investment Strategy
22:00 How True Thinks About Pro-Rata and Founder Relationships
25:00 Sephora & Ulta: Still Essential or Optional?
28:00 The $5M Revenue Trap (and Why Early Might Be Better)
31:00 How True Evaluates a Brand’s Potential
34:00 Outbound vs. Inbound Deal Flow
37:00 The Real Economics of Beauty
40:00 Why Luxury Skincare Is Failing
42:00 Amazon’s Surprising Role in Beauty
44:00 The Problem With Celebrity Brands
47:00 Why Rhode Worked—and Others Didn’t
50:00 Returns, Risk, and How Beauty VC Actually Works
55:00 The M&A Slowdown: Too Many Sellers, Not Enough Buyers
01:00:00 The Future of Beauty Exits and Strategic Buyers
01:03:00 Makeup’s M&A Problem Explained
01:05:00 Valuations, Prefs, and Founder Pitfalls
01:06:30 Book Picks: Outlive by Peter Attia & Founder Stories in Beauty
📬 Subscribe for more founder stories & scaling insights:
👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter - https://www.theconsumervc.com/
Follow Mike Gelb:Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc