Harsh Truth Behind Beauty Exits ft. Rich Gersten

About this episode

Rich Gersten discusses the realities of beauty investing and the current state of the industry.

Glimpse is the all-in-one, AI-powered deductions management platform for CPG brands—automating deduction capture, classification, disputes, and accounting. Recover more revenue while saving time – https://www.tryglimpse.com 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…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Gelb

Guest: Rich Gersten

Topics covered

• beauty investing
• consumer brands
• early-stage investing
• celebrity brands
• M&A in beauty
• retail landscape

Keywords

• beauty
• wellness
• investing
• consumer products
• celebrity brands
• M&A
• early-stage funding

Sponsors

Glimpse

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: True Beauty Ventures, North Castle Partners, Sephora, Ulta

Products: Glimpse

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