True Beauty Ventures (TBV) has raised $42 million for its debut fund, exceeding its initial target of $30 million. The company will use capital to invest in growing emerging brands in the beauty and wellness space. Its current portfolio includes AQUIS, K18, Kinship, Feals, Crown Affair, maude, and a soon-to-be-announced clean makeup brand.

Led by Rich Gersten and Cristina Nuñez, who combined have 30 years of institutional beauty investing and operating experience, the VC firm launched in 2020, exclusively focused on the beauty, wellness and personal care sector. The firm targets $1 million to $5 million equity investments in emerging brands with at least $2 million in revenue.

In addition to investing and scaling brands, TBV has a strong focus on equitable access to capital and actively works to close the funding gap by increasing the number of female general partners.

“As a Latinx female Co-Founder and General Partner, I am part of the 2.4 percent of U.S.-based VC founding partners who are women, a staggering statistic reported by [industry organization] Women in VC,” said Cristina. “We need people on both sides of the table, the investment decision makers and the brand founders, to reflect the markets they serve. To date, I am proud that our firm is majority female and over 80 percent of our current portfolio companies have women or minority founders.”

TBV’s advisory board consists of top beauty executives, including Elana Drell Szyfer, CEO of RéVive Skincare; Emily Dougherty, former Editor-in-Chief of NewBeauty; Kelly St. John, CEO & Founder of KSJ Collective; Janna Ronert, Founder & Chairwoman of IMAGE skincare; Joel Palix, Founder of Palix Unlimited; and John Elmer CFO & COO, RéVive Skincare. The fund is supported by a diverse and strategic limited partner base, including beauty founders and executives, financial institutions, and family offices.