A Beautytech Founder Raised A $25 Million Series B Without A Formal Pitch Deck. Here's What She Brings To Meetings Instead.

• Daniel Cohen-Shuhet founded GlossGenius, a beauty software company, in 2015.
• In September, the company closed a $25 million Series B round without using the ballpark.
• Cohen-Schuhit shares his fundraising tips without a formal presentation.

Daniel Cohen-Shoehette has been interested in beauty all his life. But when she started working as a makeup artist in college, she realized the challenges of running a business, scheduling her services, and maintaining relationships with clients. So he decided to find a solution to these problems.

In 2015, she founded GlossGenius, a technology company that sells software to beauty salons to make their business operations more efficient. For example, software-as-a-service platforms help salons manage customer payments, track inventory, and schedule appointments.

According to documents verified by insiders, the company received a double-digit amount of $1 million last year. In addition, GlossGenius raised $25 million from its Series B round in September, and the company's program is used in more than 40,000 salons, Cohen-Schuhet said. He used an unusual fundraising strategy: he didn't use an investor promotion.

According to him, Cohen-Shuhette definitely used the deck when collecting seeds.

“It was a great exercise that helped us think about work,” Cohen-Schuhet said. "But what becomes more and more evident over time is the value of relationships and education."

Instead of presentation, Cohen-Shohet today focuses on building long-term relationships with investors by teaching them the beauty technology industry and showing them internal company materials to demonstrate business potential. Here are his tips to give investors, including what to show them after your traditional presentation.

Earn confidence to stand out from the competition

According to him, Cohen-Schuhet prioritized the development of the company, and not the search for investments. All founders are advised to create a solid proof of concept before meeting with investors or considering fundraising.

For GlossGenius, this only happened after the software hit the market and Cohen-Shuhet reached out to venture capitalists and investors, he says. At the time, he had a solid minimum viable product that yielded positive results that he could share with potential investors.

“We wanted to bring our product to market very quickly, and we were very focused on that,” he said.

The ability to demonstrate competitiveness and proof-of-concept is critical to the success of fundraising, Cohen-Schoeht said. He says that things like consumer surveys, industry insights, customer testimonials, or beta model results can set you apart from other companies in your industry.

Focus on building relationships

Cohen-Shuhit says relationships play a big role in investing.

"Just thinking about throwing can be a little invisible," he added.

But this does not mean that you should know the owners of the capital from the beginning; She says it's about building and strengthening those bonds as you grow through mutually beneficial communication and conversations.

“You probably know someone who knows someone,” she said.

He also says education is an important tool to validate your worth and potential as an entrepreneur.

“The job of the investor is to be on the lookout for things, and if you can be someone who can provide a little education, the investors will appreciate the interaction with you,” Cohen-Shuhet said, adding that he would start his relationship with investors from the beginning. Execution time. . Ask for one-on-one meetings and then more meetings as the relationship deepens.

Bring the materials for your success story

After establishing informal and formal relationships with potential investors, the presentation becomes more natural, so the traditional presentation was not the most useful tool for Coin-Shuhit. Instead, it comes with content that most clearly demonstrates the success of its business.

For example, quotes from previous board meetings or outside the board office are a great way to showcase internal communications, he says. This gives investors an idea of ​​who you are as a leader and why they should trust your investment.

The dashboard, which can display data like sales, orders or repeat customers, also shows if you're on track for expected growth, he says.

"It helps you stay up-to-date with investors, what's important to you and how the business is going," he said. "It gives investors a better understanding of how you do business."

Another useful element that Cohen-Shuhet uses to demonstrate business success is screenshots from customer testimonials or social media comments.

"It's really powerful because it shows that you have a product that customers are talking about and wanting," Cohen-Schuhet said.

He concluded by saying that physical products are another way for the company to give investors hands-on experience. Giving them the opportunity to own active prototypes or products can help them understand your company's real-world application, he says.

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