In this episode, Tara Hyland, a Partner at Main Post Partners, breaks down how growth equity approaches the beauty and personal care sector. She shares how Main Post evaluates brands around the $25M–$35M revenue range, writes $30M to $100M+ equity checks, and looks for repeat purchase behaviors of 2–3 times per year. Tara walks through the Main Post investment in Dr. Dennis Gross — including their June 2020 investment and February 2024 exit — and explains why clinical skincare, omnichannel strategy, and hero replenishable products like peel pads drive long-term value. The conversation also covers TikTok Shop surpassing Sephora in beauty sales, Gen Alpha’s influence on pricing and discovery, the importance of team and systems, and why brands need to be retail-ready before entering Sephora or Ulta.

Chapters

00:00 All Things Beauty: Drew & Tara Kickoff01:37 Who Main Post Partners Really Is04:34 From Cleveland to Investment Banking Roots05:58 Building Beauty Brands with Sephora & Retail Anchor Partners07:18 Defining Proof of Concept – $25–35M Topline Benchmark10:29 Flexible Capital Structures: Minority or Majority Stakes13:41 How Founders Can Keep Control in Beauty Deals21:54 Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare and $450M Shiseido Exit24:51 The Power of Hero Products: Peel Pads That Win28:14 Gen Alpha Buying Habits & TikTok Shop Surpassing Sephora42:30 Professionalizing with Teams and Relentless Innovation53:30 The Risky Road to Launching in Retail Today