Nader Naeymi-Rad’s Post

They say that "the best things in life come to those who wait". Not if you're waiting at the dentist's office. Unless you like getting gassed and having oversized surgical tools shoved inside your limp mouth. I was at the dentist. I digress. But in this case, the wait is really worth it because--and don't ask how we did it--we have three of the top corporate VCs in beauty on Beauty Independent's InConversation webinar . . . at the same time!!! That's right, over the past decade corporate VC in beauty has gone from being where you park high-performing oddballs that you don't know what to do with to a strategic "must have". What's led to this? Is is lackluster internal R&D productivity? Is it the honest realization that while big corporations excel at many things, they also suck at a few things--like incubating truly disruptive tech or businesses? And how do you measure the performance and success of in-house VCs? Does their corporate heritage give them a leg up against other VCs or cut them at the knees? These are just some of the questions I will be asking my A+ panelists. First up, the OG of corporate venture in beauty and Beacon Award winner, Mnsr. Olivier Garel of Unilever Ventures. Olivier & team pretty much wrote the book on corporate VC in beauty and wellness. Over the past decade, their investments read like a "who's who" of beauty brands: Nutrafol, Rael, Grown Alchemist, The INKEY List, True Botanicals, Trinny London and many more [mic drop]. Next, the person most likely to proudly identify as an "oddball", Rachel Weiss of L'Oréal's Bold Ventures. She's a one-person disruption machine who has honed that supremely unique skill set of finding pioneering tech and ideas while also knowing how to get the world's biggest beauty company to understand and get excited about such stuff. Finally, the man who probably has the loosest email filters in the business, Mr. Rakesh Narayana of Beacon Award nominee Access VC, the corporate VC arm of health and consumer products behemoth, Reckitt. Why the loose filters? Because Rakesh and team look for value and innovation where you and I cringe in awkward embarrassment. Yeah, a lot of lower-GI stuff. Interested? Of course you are. Register here for free and join us on Wednesday, September 27th at 1pm EST: https://bit.ly/372A6Eo #weareindiebeauty #hereforthefierce #beauty #beautybusiness #beautyindustry #beautybrands #beautyretail #beautyentrepeneur #cosmetics #skincare #haircare #beautyinvesting #venture