We operate beauty brands and install the &vest operating system, turning them into companies built to last.
Beauty · Operations · AI
The framework ↓
01What We Do
&vest is the beauty transformation platform.
We advise and acquire brands to build a modern beauty platform powered by &vest's operational prowess. A concentrated portfolio of high-quality brands, the same operating system applied to each, driving repeatable, compounding growth.
01 · How we uniquely do it
Deep beauty expertise
Decades of experience igniting growth in beauty brands across all operational facets.
02 · How we uniquely do it
Transformation infrastructure (owned, not outsourced)
A proprietary stack across Performance Creative, Agentic AI & Automation, and Clinical Talent Intelligence, delivered at "wholesale" cost to our brands.
03 · How we uniquely do it
Operators with skin in the game
Embedded leadership that resets strategy, upgrades execution, and drives measurable outcomes.
02The Thesis
A structurally exceptional category. A frozen exit window. The buyer's market is now.
Premium unit economics. Durable demand across cycles. A category that compounds when the operator is right.
$0B
Global Market Today
~0%
CAGR Through 2028
60-70%+
Gross Margins
20%+
EBITDA at Scale
Durable demand
Beauty is one of the most recession-resilient categories. The "lipstick effect" moves spend across price points but rarely shrinks the pool.
Premium unit economics
60-70%+ gross margins, 20%+ EBITDA at scale, low capex, strong free cash flow. When the operator gets it right, the model rewards quickly.
Loyalty & community
High repeat rates, scaled UGC engines, founder-led storytelling. The right brand becomes a community before it becomes a category.
US Beauty & Personal Care Market · 2000 to 2024 ($B)
Across 09/11 and the Global Financial Crisis, the US beauty market still grew 2 to 3% YoY. After 2020, beauty recovered to pre-COVID levels in a single year.
Why now: typical exit routes are frozen.
A buyer's market for high-quality brands. Strategics have lost their edge. PE is in harvest mode. The IPO window is closed for single brands.
Strategics
Strategic buyers have lost their edge.
Large beauty platforms are slowed by bureaucracy and innovation gaps
Overexposure to certain geographies and underperforming brand portfolios has reduced appetite for new deals
Founders increasingly view strategics as places where brand momentum stalls
Large market cap declines since 2022
Estée Lauder-71%
L'Oréal-14%
Shiseido-75%
Coty-66%
Private Equity
PE capital is cautious, especially near scale.
Consumer multiple compression has pushed many funds into harvest mode
Recent vintages bought at high valuations; teams are hesitant to re-enter
2023 to 2025 processes often failed to clear on price, leaving brands in limbo even as fundamentals improved
Public Markets
Public exits are not an option for single brands.
Consumer IPO window remains narrow
Public investors prefer portfolio diversification over single-brand exposure
Most brands are not at the scale required to go public standalone
03Track Record
Three founding pillars. One operating playbook.
Built, scaled, and turned around beauty businesses across creative, technology, and operations. In 2025, &vest launches the HoldCo strategy and platform.
Operational + Executive
Forma Brands
Morphe · 2023 to today
Assumed full operations of Forma Brands (Morphe) post-acquisition, April 2023
Reset owned and 3P e-commerce economics (CAC targets, CVR, profitability)
Upgrade site merchandising, UX, and content to convert
Build test-and-learn growth loops across channels
Engine · &code
Product03
Reset product pipeline toward replenishable, high-loyalty categories with stronger margins
Modernize product and packaging to align with updated positioning
Tighten pipeline discipline to drive repeatable growth
Brand Demand Engine04
Accelerate influencer, affiliate, and ambassador programs
Align brand story, launches, and retail programs across owned and earned
Refresh brand identity and creative system as needed
Engine · ANDstudio
AI, Tech + IT05
Audit stack and spend; renegotiate and right-size software contracts
Automate workflows and reporting to remove manual work
Deploy AI for personalization and predictive insights where ROI is clear
Engine · &code
Margin + Supply Chain06
Set gross margin north star and drive all activities toward glidepath to that goal
Identify COGS, freight, and promo leakage; capture cost savings
Renegotiate vendor terms; rationalize vendors (high vs. low value)
Finance + Accounting07
Tighten close and reporting cadence
Unlock working capital and fixed-cost opportunities
Build KPI dashboards and unit economics visibility
People + Org Design08
Reset org structure; right-size headcount to the plan
Implement performance systems (OKRs, reviews, incentives)
Codify culture and decision rights
06The Transformation Stack
Three owned engines. Built in beauty, proven beyond it.
Capabilities most brands only access through expensive external vendors, built in-house and deployed across the entire portfolio at wholesale cost.
&code
Agentic AI & Automation
Replacing manual OpEx with autonomous software agents.
Powered by HIVE
Deploying Agentic AI for automated sales outreach, predictive planning, and complex workflows.
The Goal
Decoupling revenue growth from headcount growth to drive outsized EBITDA margins.
ANDstudio
Performance Creative
Marketing as a high-velocity production line, not an art form.
Industrialized Scale
Generating 350+ unique assets per week to feed algorithmic ad platforms.
Proven Impact
Deployed for Promix, reducing CAC from $100 to $34 while doubling revenue.
&human
Clinical Talent Intelligence
Leadership as a measurable input, not a soft variable.
Diagnostic IP
Dr. Jim Kochalka's 40+ years of clinical psychology and Adlerian 360 methodology, codified into a portfolio-wide system.
Proven Impact
Deployed against the Morphe ELT in 2026 and built into IC diligence as a Leadership Risk Score.
07The Ecosystem
One operating platform. Every brand in the portfolio.
&vest deploys the same transformation stack across owned and advised brands. One operating engine, two equity structures.
Owned Brands
Full Equity
&vest leads strategy, ops, and growth end-to-end
Full equity ownership. Value created through brand transformation and exit. The most concentrated bet, with the deepest operational immersion.
Brand 1
Brand 2
Brand 3
+
Advised Brands
Fee + Equity Upside
&vest plugs in the operating engine
Fixed quarterly fee plus equity upside above an agreed valuation threshold. The platform's leverage point: more brands, same playbook, aligned outcomes.
Brand 4
Brand 5
Brand 6
The Transformation Stack · Shared Across Every Brand
The only player that combines brand relevance, revenue growth, expense reduction, complex situations, and hands-on operating in one model.
Focus · Expertise · Incentive
&vest
Growth Agencies
Restructuring Firms
Strategy Consultants
Management Teams
PE Sponsors
Brand Relevance
Revenue Growth
Expense Reduction
Complex Situations
Hands-On Operators
Skin in the Game
Value Driver Identification
Comprehensive View
AI Services
Strong capability
Minority of teams excel in this category
09Acquisition Strategy
4 to 6 beauty brands. Where the operating system unlocks growth.
A diversified portfolio across category and footprint, concentrated in the channels and price points where our operational edge compounds.
Category
Color
Skin
Fragrance
Hair
Primary Footprint
North America
UK / EMEA
APAC
LATAM
Channels
Sephora / Ulta
Target
Other Specialty Beauty
Owned .com
Amazon
Grocery / Drug / Big-Box
Price Point
Luxury
Prestige
Masstige
Mass
Primary focus at acquisition
Potential future growth area
Not a primary focus
10Leadership & Network
Founders, operators, and investors across beauty, technology, and capital.
A purpose-built team across every functional discipline, supplemented by a SWAT network of high-caliber industry executives deployed on needle-moving priorities. Hover any card to read the background.
Important Disclosures
This document is confidential and intended solely for the information of the person to whom it has been provided. It may include information about investments made by &vest (the "Manager") or its affiliates. It is not to be reproduced or transmitted, in whole or in part, to third parties. This document is being furnished for informational purposes and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Projected financial information, target return and other forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance.
