Ipsy
 | |
| Industry | Cosmetics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Michelle Phan, Marcelo Camberos, Jennifer Jaconetti Goldfarb |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, CA |
| Website |
www |
Ipsy is a company that makes money by providing subscribers who pay $10 per month with a bag of 5 cosmetic samples each month; the company attracts subscribers via the social influence of video bloggers (vloggers). These products include cosmetics, perfumes, nail and skin products, or other items. It was founded in 2011 by Michelle Phan and two business partners; by 2016 around 10,000 vloggers were each contributing a few videos a month and it had around 1.5 million subscribers.
History
Ipsy was co-founded in 2011 by YouTube beauty vlogger Michelle Phan, Marcelo Camberos, who joined the company as CEO from Funny or Die, and Jennifer Jaconetti Goldfarb, who joined from Bare Escentuals, to capitalize on Phan's social media influence.[1][2][3]
The company's business model, which it tested in a beta site called myglam.com beginning in December 2011, was to have people pay $10 per month to receive a bag of cosmetic samples each month; ipsy.com launched in September 2012.[4] The company's growth model is to drive subscriptions and the associated revenue through the social influence of Phan and other vloggers.[2] When it launched in 2012, along with Phan it included the beauty vloggers Bethany Mota, Promise Phan, Jessica Harlow, and Andrea Brooks.[4] By February 2016 it had 10,000 vloggers who contributed one or two videos a month, and Goldfarb said at that time: "There are hundreds if not millions of beauty content creators online. We want all of them."[2]
Ipsy does not buy the samples that go into the monthly sample bags; cosmetic companies provide them for free as marketing and in exchange for the feedback that Ipsy gathers from subscribers,[1] and it doesn't pay vloggers; they get mentoring, access to studio space, and the association with Phan and Ipsy.[1][2] As of 2016 Ipsy spent almost no money on advertising;[2] it does hold conferences where cosmetics companies, vloggers, and the public can meet.[2]
Ipsy's business model differs from its competitor Birchbox, which along with handling samples, sells cosmetics online and in brick and mortar stores, and has the costs that go with handling inventory and managing retail space.[1][2]
As of March 2015 Ipsy had about 100 employees.[1]
In June 2015, Ipsy opened a video production coworking space for vloggers in Santa Monica, California, in which vloggers who are part of the Ipsy stable can work for free, and receive mentoring.[5]
In September 2015, Ipsy raised a $100 million Series B round of funding from TPG Growth and Sherpa Capital, and the company was valued at about $800M;[2] before then it had only raised about $3M in seed and Series A funding.[3]
In October 2015 Ipsy acquired Em, a line of cosmetics designed by Phan, from L'Oréal; at the time of the acquisition Ipsy did not comment on their plans for the Em line.[6]
As of January 2016, Ipsy said that it had around 1.5 million subscribers.[2]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Weiss, Geoff (31 March 2015). "How Ipsy, Michelle Phan's Million-Member Sampling Service, Is Giving Birchbox a Run for Its Money". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LaPorte, Nicole (11 January 2016). "How Ipsy Founder Michelle Phan Is Using Influencers To Reinvent The Cosmetics Industry". Fast Company.
- 1 2 Robehmed, Natalie (5 October 2015). "How Michelle Phan Built A $500 Million Company". Forbes.
- 1 2 Prousky, Carolyn (September 12, 2012). "Press release:ipsy.com, Online Beauty Site Co-Founded by Michelle Phan, Launches Today". Business Wire. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ↑ Trop, Jaclyn (June 1, 2015). "This is Michelle Phan’s plan to create the next generation of YouTube stars". Fortune. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ↑ Naughton, Julie (October 9, 2015). "L’Oréal USA, Michelle Phan Part Ways; Em Michelle Phan Heads to Ipsy.com". WWD. Retrieved March 1, 2017.