🧠 The One Thing You Must Get Right in Early-Stage Investing
In early-stage consumer investing, we talk a lot about product-market fit, gross margins, and brand equity. But after decades of investing across stages, first in private equity and now in venture, I have come to believe one factor trumps them all: the people.
At True Beauty Ventures, we have built a platform that prioritizes talent from day one. In this post, I’m sharing how we think about leadership teams, what we have learned from our work with brands like K18, and why getting the “people” part right can mean the difference between a decent outcome and an extraordinary one.
🧱 The Three P’s of Evaluating an Investment
At TBV, we use a framework that centers on three core pillars:
People
Product
Positioning
While each is essential, People is the one thing you absolutely have to get right.
“A strong brand with weak leadership might result in a decent investment. A weak brand with weak leadership? A likely loss. But a strong brand led by a great team? That’s where you unlock outsized returns.”
🚀 A Case Study: K18
Our investment in K18 exemplifies what happens when you get the people part right. The brand had a breakthrough product and a strong founder, but what truly differentiated the business was its leadership bench.
While one co-founder remained CEO, he made the critical decision to surround himself with senior talent, a CFO, SVP of Sales, CMO, COO and General Counsel, who each played a pivotal role in scaling the business.
That level of leadership allowed K18 to reach new heights. The outcome? A strategic sale to Unilever that returned 80% of Fund I’s called capital in just 3.5 years.
🧩 Why Founders Must Know Their Superpowers
Early success is often driven by a founder’s vision and hustle. But that same founder must eventually make the decision to evolve and bring in people who can help carry the weight of building something durable.
“You can’t scale a brand on passion alone. Founders must be honest about their blind spots and hire people who complement them.”
This is why we brought Colleen Walsh onto the TBV platform, to help our portfolio companies hire smarter, earlier, and more strategically. Over the past four years, we’ve helped fill key leadership roles by tapping our internal network and partnering with top-tier recruiters who specialize in beauty and wellness.
💬 Letting Go to Grow
At our inaugural TBV Brand Founder Summit, we hosted a session with Dianna Cohen, founder of Crown Affair, titled “Passing the Comb to the CEO.” It focused on the challenge of relinquishing control and the value of empowering new leaders.
We have seen this mindset create real value. At Crown Affair, we have seen the brand flourish under the internal promotion of a new CEO and the hiring of a senior leader to oversee sales and marketing. We have also supported new CEO hires at Dieux and The 7 Virtues, and just recently brought on a new GM at EvolveTogether.
“Focus is powerful. When a founder can focus on their superpowers, it unlocks tremendous value creation.”
🧠 Hiring Is Hard—But Worth Getting Right
Let’s be real: hiring isn’t easy. It often means undoing mistakes. And human nature tends to push us toward firing slow and hiring fast, which is the exact opposite of what works.
“If you think you have the wrong person in a role, it’s probably already too late.”
I learned this lesson firsthand. Hiring is a skill, one I continue to refine. But I have seen what happens when you get it right. It’s transformative. It’s magic.
🕰 Why You Can’t Wait Until Later
Building out teams was a core part of my later-stage private equity playbook. But what we have learned at TBV is that this same playbook applies to early-stage brands and can be activated much earlier.
Talent doesn’t need to wait until a later stage. The right hire at the right time can accelerate growth, improve execution, and position a business for long-term success.
So while People may be just one of the three P’s, it’s the one you must get right from the very start.