Issue Highlights

THIS WEEKS MANTRAS

1. Chaos is the birthplace of creativity. 

This week, let go of the need for complete control. The most groundbreaking ideas often come from unexpected moments and unplanned detours. Trust in the process and allow your creativity to flow naturally.

2. Your unique perspective is your superpower.

Don’t shy away from being authentic in a world full of copies. Your voice, your story, and your perspective are what set you apart. Embrace it, and let it shine through everything you do.

Mood….

THIS WEEKS QUESTIONS:

1. What fears are holding me back from taking the next big step?
2. What would I do differently if I knew I couldn’t fail?

NEWSLETTER ROUNDUP:

 👉🏼WE LAUNCHED AN IN-KIND GRANT WORTH $500K  HERE. 🎉🦄

👉🏼 VENTURA LISTINGS: Ready to Buy or Sell a Company? Subscribe to the Ventura Newsletter HERE.

👉🏼 HEADLINES TO WATCH: Listen to the Audio Headline Update HERE. 

👉🏼 STARTUPS TO WATCH: The Only All Natural Deodorant you NEED that actually works + The new Beauty Tech Startup revolutionizing the way Beauty Businesses do Business

👉🏼 LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM E.L.F BEAUTY

👉🏼 STARTUP EDIT: “If I build it…they will come” is the biggest lie you have told yourself & it is the reason you are stuck.

👉🏼VENTURA EDIT: Simplifying the M&A process from start to finish for first time buyers

🦄 NEW Podcast Episode Out on Excuse Me Sir? - We are looking at M&A Success Wrong. In this episode, we talk with an Integrations Expert about how People are at the heart of M&A success. HERE.

🦄 We launched a $500,000 In-Kind Grant for Female Founders Industry Agnostically!!!! Super Super Excited to Announce this Grant. Read HERE. For More Info! 

The Hidden Secrets Behind E.l.f Beauty's Unstoppable Growth ( 22nd Quarter of Growth in a Public Market!! Which is harder to do than it sounds…)

Now E.l.f Is iconic for an Endless amount of reasons from them allocating over $150M in shares dedicated to their 450 Employees, to the way they still run a billion-dollar company like a Silicon Valley Startup to last but not least the way they called out all the Dicks in C-Suite and is advocating to see more women in places of power.

E.l.f truly is just THAT GIRL. But before we dive into that juicy detail, let’s unpack what’s made e.l.f. the darling of Wall Street and the beauty aisles alike.

The single overarching reason E.l.f has continued to garner so much success and outmaneuver beauty conglomerates and emerging young brands alike is that they operate like a Silicone Valley startup.

Imagine if a Silicon Valley startup and a New York beauty brand had a love child—that’s e.l.f. Beauty for you.

Despite being a $10 billion public company, e.l.f. operates with the agility and scrappiness of a tech startup.

They move fast, take risks, and aren’t afraid to shake things up.

Now before we dive deeper let’s cover some preliminary history ~

E.l.f. Beauty has consistently outperformed market expectations, The company’s Q1 earnings surpassed $1B which is a milestone very few beauty brands ever achieve in a quarter with their adjusted EBITDA for Q1 being $ 77 million, continuing it’s 22 Aquarter Net Sales Growth Streak and with their sales up by 50% year-over-year to $324.5 million, far exceeding Wall Street's expectations of $302.6 million.

What’s more, e.l.f. has managed to maintain a strong gross margin of 71%, which is remarkable in an industry where profitability often gets sacrificed in exchange for aggressive expansion.

Whilst the financial growth is a testament to their understanding of how to build conglomerate brands…the heart of E.l.fs success is their unshakeable understanding on the consumer landscape.

E.l.f. really has cracked the code on how to resonate with different age groups—whether it’s Gen Z, millennials, or the elusive Gen Alpha.

They were early adopters of TikTok, racking up billions of views with their hashtag challenges, and even dipped into the virtual world with a Roblox partnership. But it’s not just about being where the kids are—it’s about understanding the culture and having the confidence to make bold, sometimes quirky moves, like a collab with Liquid Death or launching bronzing drops that had beauty influencers scrambling.

A big part of what makes the company so relevant and able to move so quickly is that they prioritise hiring team members who are culturally in tune!

In today’s market, all marketing teams regardless of the industry MUST have their finger on the pulse if they aim to capitalise on the Millenial x Gen Z consumer economy.

But now time to get to why this article has got anything to do with you ~ As always, I am about to drop some super actionable & implementable insights that you can use to refine and optimise your strategy today in hopes of also generating even a FRACTION of their success.

Here are a few lessons:

1. THEY LEVERAGE DATA-DRIVEN CREATIVITY

   E.l.f.’s Super Bowl ad was a calculated risk, rooted in a deep understanding of their audience. By identifying an underserved market segment (women Super Bowl viewers making 50% of viewership with 77% of all watchers only watching for ads & entertainment), they created a campaign that was both culturally relevant and commercially successful.

2. EMPOWER & TRUST YOUR TEAM: 

   One thing E.l.f does well is not just trusting the executive C suite & leadership teams BUT also the experts & integrators that bring the projects to life. Kory Marchisotto’s leadership style— is all about empowering her team to take big swings without bureaucratic delays continuously championing the notion of trust and autonomy in fostering innovation that her overheads instil in her.

3. THEY ALLOCATED OVER $150M IN SHARES TO EMPLOYEES SO EACH & EVERY ON OF THEIR 450 EMPLOYEES HAS SHARES IN THE COMPANY

   E.l.f.’s decision to grant equity to every employee isn’t just about financial rewards; it’s about creating a culture where everyone feels invested in the company’s success. If the company succeeds then they succeed. This shared ownership model has been a key driver of e.l.f.’s sustained growth.

4. SPEED & AGILITY OVER EVERYTHING

   Whether it’s reacting quickly to a cultural moment or pivoting to new markets, e.l.f.’s ability to stay nimble in a fast-changing industry is a critical component of their ongoing success.

The Future: What’s Next for e.l.f.?

Looking ahead, e.l.f. is ready to continue its aggressive expansion, with international markets playing a crucial role in their growth strategy. Their entry into Germany, the largest cosmetics market in Europe, will be their biggest international launch to date, and with more markets on the horizon, e.l.f. shows no signs of slowing down.

For founders REGARDLESS of industry, e.l.f. Beauty is more than just a brand—it’s a masterclass in how to disrupt, scale, and succeed in a crowded market.

Their story serves as SUCH a powerful reminder that with the right mix of creativity, risk-taking, and employee empowerment, it’s possible to achieve astronomical amounts of growth, even in the most competitive industries.

Startup Edit: Build It & They Will Come…#Newsflash…No…They Will Not.

Let’s get real for a moment—this idea that “if I build it, they will come” is one of the biggest lies you’ve been telling yourself.

I’ve seen it time and time again from founders pitching us or founders we have worked with…

They are pouring their heart and soul into building something, only to be met with crickets when it’s finally out in the world.

And it’s not because what you built isn’t valuable.

It’s because you’ve been fed this false narrative that simply creating something is enough.

But Here’s the hard truth…👀

Building it is just the beginning.

The real work comes after.

It’s about how you market, position, and communicate the value of what you’ve built.

It’s about how you reach your target audience, how you engage them, and how you build a relationship with them over time.

I’ve had dozens of pitches and way too many clients who were struggling to make the money they wanted or see the results they expected, and the common thread was this:

They believed that creating something great was enough to make it a success.

But let me tell you—success doesn’t just show up because you built something.

You have to put in the work to get it in front of the right people, with the right message, and at the right time.

So, if you’re sitting on something incredible that hasn’t taken off yet, ask yourself:

1. Are you doing everything you can to ensure people know about it?

2. Are you actively engaging with your audience?

3. Are you showing up consistently to promote what you’ve built?

4. Do you know exactly who your audience is, what their pains are, their desires, their experience & frustrations, their decision-making patterns, their motivations, their buyer’s types and what they ultimately need to hear from you to buy from you specifically?

5. Do you know exactly what you are different from your competitors and how to position that distinction to your audience in a way THEY care about?

6. Do you know which activities drive the highest ROI for you?

7. Do you know what it is actually going to take for your organisation to convert a customer that isn’t a friend, family member or referral? And continue to do that at scale?

Building it is step one.

Making them come? That’s on you.

The problem is - with the amount of access to education we have…most founders ALREADY know WHAT to do..they just don’t know how to discern which of those tasks THEY SPECIFICALLY should be doing for THEIR business and then HOW to do it successfully.

And that is where coaches, consultants & advisors come in!

Stop BS’ing your way through business…you are not the exception to the rule until proven otherwise.

You have the potential to become an incredibly successful founder WHEN you make the decisions to get in the right rooms, which give you the right answers and insight you need to build a conglomerate company.

Join SBA™ Today or Respond Back to this email to find out how you can work with me this week!

Startups On Our Radar

I am not going to lie…I feel a bit uneasy telling you about these guys incase you have been living under a rock and never heard of them…I don’t want to be the reason these things sell out faster than they already do! HAHAHHA

But I have tried every natural deodorant under the sun nd this is THE ONLY thing that keeps smell and sweat at bay. I will take this product to my grave.

Anyway, they just took on a minority investment from a Private Equity Firm ( Humble Growth ) which means a much larger acquisition is on the horizon at some point in the near future. And we know that with acquisitions comes insane growth!!

What is even more interesting is that the brand is male-founded and whilst the brand at conception adopted more masculine approaches to marketing - They did SUCHHH a good job at monopolising the female market.

If you have not already gotten invested in this brand - I would be keeping a close eye on them over the coming weeks.

I am SOOOO excited a company like this is coming in and disrupting the market!! I have been screaming from the rooftops that subscriptions are the way of the future and you guys rolled your eyes at me…but today…you are gonna listen and you’re gonna listen good!

This Aussie startup just snagged $1.25 million to flip the beauty biz on its perfectly contoured head. Think of it as a gym membership, but instead of sweating, you're glowing – all year round ✨

Aglow is making Memberships that make beauty feel less like a splurge and more like a savvy life hack. With over 600 salons already on board, they’re raking in $16 million annually in membership payments and they are not slowing down anytime soon.

With this fresh funding, Aglow is crossing borders to the U.S. So, if you’re not on the subscription train yet, you might want to hop on before you’re left in the dust.

Beauty is evolving, and Aglow is leading the charge – one glowing face at a time.

Watch this video & view the caption to read about my take!

HEADLINERS TO KEEP TABS ON:

• Last Month Saks was breaking headlines for their insanely high profile acquisition of Neiman Marcus…and this week they are breaking headlines for owing thousands of dollars to dozens of brands. HERE. ( - Glossy )

• San Fransisco might be a tech hotspot…but for small business owners in the downtown area…things have been looking bleak. Would free rent make things a little easier? Look into this new initiative and see if you qualify! HERE.

• How much is good branding worth? Talk to the founders who spent over $1M on their domain name…HERE.

• L’Oréal to Acquire 10% Stake in Swiss Skin Care Company Galderma HERE. ( -BoF )

• Chanel’s Resale Battles raise critical concerns about the resale market…how can brands get ahead of an impending problem? HERE.

• Gorgeous, Gorgeous Girls are saying goodbye to Conditioner & Hello to Iconic Hair. HERE. ( - BoF )

• Everyone’s favourite but Sold Out Natural Deodorant ( that actually works - I legit cannot use anything else ) just took on minority investment by Humble Growth! Doing a deep dive on tiktok because this company is so incredibly fascinating to me. HERE.

• E.l.f Beauty is on their 22nd Quarter of Growth with Q1 of 24 increasing their NET SALES by 50% while gearing up to do their largest international expansion yet. HERE.

LISTEN TO THIS WEEKS EPISODE OF THE NEW EDIT OVER ON SPOTIFY HERE.

M&A Edit: Simplifying the Process of M&A for First Time Buyers.

Want to read the rest of this Edit? Join the Ventura™ Deal Maker Newsletter HERE. where we democratise and demystify the process of acquisitions from start to finish ~ making purchasing your first company, easier and more straightforward than ever before.

.Disclaimer:

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before making any financial or legal decisions related to mergers and acquisitions. 

JOIN SBA™ TO PREPARE YOUR COMPANY FOR ACQUISITION ( WHETHER YOU ARE A BUYER OR A SELLER )