BrainTrust Founders Studio, the largest members-only platform dedicated to Black founders of beauty and wellness companies, has announced the BrainTrust Fund, a planned $25 million venture fund.

The Los Angeles-based platform says it will invest exclusively in early stage companies identified via BrainTrust Founders Studio, whose 120-plus members collectively sold more than $100 million in products via 23,000 retail doors and online in the past year. 

The BrainTrust Fund was designed as a “blue ocean” investment opportunity to capitalize on innovation by Black entrepreneurs in beauty and wellness, according to General Partners Kendra Bracken-Ferguson and Lisa Stone. The duo said they  “expect to continue to outperform as leaders of culture and creativity.”

According to reports, fewer than 1% of venture capital investors are Black women and fewer than 1% of Black women founders are funded by the venture capital community. 

“The BrainTrust Fund exists so that as the massive, multi-trillion-dollar beauty and wellness marketplace grows, Black founders, supported by Black funders and allies, may participate in creating and selling what shoppers want,” said Bracken-Ferguson and Stone in a statement.

The BrainTrust Fund will invest in beauty and wellness companies across 20-plus sub-sectors, from fragrance to AI and technology. Companies must have at least one Black-identifying founder as a member of BrainTrust Founders Studio, who seeks coaching and advice from investors, and has repeatable revenues of  $1+ million or more.

Diverse Community of Investors

The BrainTrust Fund, anchored by WestRiver Group, includes an accredited investor community that resembles beauty and wellness shoppers by design, fund partners said. Most identify as women (77%) and BIPOC (76%), and all are experienced leaders in today's consumer marketplace, from beauty, wellness, and consumer packaged goods, to e-commerce, marketing, media, and funding and growing startups.

Select BrainTrust Fund investors include: Chidinma Asonye, President, S by Serena; Tara Abraham, Founder and Chairwoman, Accel Inc; Erik Anderson, CEO, WestRiver Group, Valerie Antoine-Gustave, physician; Melanie Bender, CEO, rhode; Delivette Castor, assistant professor; Stephanie Chung, speaker; Jotaka Eaddy, CEO, FullCircle Strategies; Anne French, strategist; Beth Haggerty, Co-founder, Inflection Point Partners; Liz Jenkins, COO, Hello Sunshine; Luvvie Ajayi Jones, author;  Karla Martin, Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting LLP; Pardis Nasseri, CEO and President, PalmTree LLC; Richelle Parham, President, Universal Music Group, Global eCommerce and Business Development; Thai Randolph, CEO, Hartbeat Enterprises; Dee M. Robinson, CEO, Robinson Hill; Bridgette L. Smith, CEO, Founder Playbook; Robert Thomas, CIO, George Kaiser Family Foundation; Igor Vaks, CEO, CreatorIQ; Beth Ward, CEO, Beth Ward Studios; Anne Clarke Wolff, CEO, Independence Point Advisors; and Julee Wilson, Executive Director, BeautyUnited and Beauty Editor-at-Large, Cosmopolitan.

New Investment in Listener Brands, Inc.

The BrainTrust Fund also announced a $1 million equity investment into Listener Brands, Inc., the parent company of hair care brands CurlMix and 4COnly. Created by Founder and CEO Kim Lewis, Listener Brands is the fourth investment by the BrainTrust Fund, joining a portfolio that includes BeautyStat, Thirteen Lune and Uoma Beauty.