Julep Beauty is an e-commerce beauty company that develops and sells nail polish, skincare and other beauty products. Founded in 2007 by CEO Jane Park and based in Seattle, Washington, the company brings more than 300 new products to market through its Maven monthly subscription program, its website, and retail partners Sephora and Nordstrom. A regulatory filing with the U.S. SEC disclosed that Julep received $5 million in debt financing. Prior to this debt raise, the company had raised $56 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Azure Capital, Madrona Venture Group and Maveron, as well as celebrity backers Will Smith and Jay-Z. The company emphasizes frequent new SKUs and a subscription-driven distribution channel, and the new debt financing supplements its prior venture capital funding. Julep is a cosmetics and beauty brand that produces nail polishes, mascaras, moisturizers, lip glosses, face creams and other toxin-free products sold on its site and through retailers. The company runs a monthly beauty subscription service and operates salons and stores in the Seattle area. Julep crowdsources customer feedback via forums and social platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and uses in-person store feedback to guide product development. That social approach allows it to iterate and create product varieties up to ten times faster than traditional brands and avoid shelf-space constraints. The company launches over 300 Julep-branded nail, color cosmetics and skin-care products each year and sells through Sephora and Nordstrom. E-commerce revenues tripled in 2013, though the company reports low margins because it produces its own products. Julep began as a nail polish brand and has expanded into broader cosmetics and skincare, most recently launching a DD cream with sunscreen, anti-aging and moisturizing properties that sold out on launch. The company combines brick-and-mortar retail, cosmetics development and e-commerce, and is led by CEO Jane Park, a former Starbucks executive. Julep plans to use the new funding to accelerate its mobile initiatives and to ramp up hiring to seize growth opportunities. The business reports improving metrics; June online revenues were said to be double January’s, though Park declined to disclose exact revenue figures. Julep employs 172 people and recently received a CEW Indie Beauty Award. Spencer Rascoff (Zillow CEO) recently joined the company’s board. Julep Beauty is a cosmetics brand and e-commerce platform founded by former Starbucks executive Jane Park that produces nail polishes, mascaras, moisturizers, lip glosses, face creams and other products. It sells products directly via its site, operates nail salons, and offers a monthly subscription "maven" service that creates individualized style profiles through a quiz. The company emphasizes customer engagement and crowdsources color and product feedback to inform a rapid product innovation cycle. Julep has demonstrated fast product output—launching 52 different products in a year, including 186 nail colors—enabled by not being constrained by retail shelf space. Because it manufactures its own products, the company reports low margins. The brand positions itself to disrupt the $160 billion beauty market and plans to use new funding to develop products in additional makeup and color cosmetics categories.

Total raised

$50M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Debt Financing

Latest activity

Aug 2015