The Professional Beauty Association and Cosmoprof North America have announced the return of Beauty Pitch, to be held Saturday, July 23, 2016, in Las Vegas, during PBA Beauty Week. The event provides entrepreneurs from all sectors of the beauty industry a way to connect with qualified investors and the industry-at-large.
“The Professional Beauty Association is proud to be hosting Beauty Pitch 2016. Helping beauty businesses grow and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit is at the core of our association. This competition allows us to add a new dimension to our efforts,” said Steve Sleeper, executive director of PBA. “We’re very excited to have Mark Cuban join us again, and we’re grateful for his ongoing support and expertise. Beauty Pitch is a unique event for our industry—the only event of its kind focused on connecting beauty companies with qualified investors. The competition opens Feb. 1, we encourage all interested beauty companies to consider applying.”
The 2016 Beauty Pitch competition is open to all beauty entrepreneurs from all sectors, including prestige, mass, clinical, organic/natural and the professional salon/spa market. The competition allows entrepreneurs to apply in either the Startup or Established categories, depending on the company's stage of business. The Startup category is for small business 'seeding' stage investment candidates, seeking angel or venture capital. The revenue requirement for the Startup category is $100,000 to $5 million. The Established Business category is for businesses with annual revenues exceeding $5 million. Businesses interested in applying for this category need to be willing to work with private-equity investment groups.
Beauty Pitch applicants will need to prepare a two-minute video, complete an online application and submit a one-page executive summary. Three finalist companies from both the Startup and Established categories will pitch their businesses to a live audience and panel of judges on Saturday, July 23, 2016. Registration opens Feb. 1, 2016. The cost is $250 for CPNA exhibitors and PBA members, and $500 for other entrants. From March 16 through April 29, 2016, the cost to register is $350 for CPNA exhibitors and PBA members, and $600 for other entrants. Starting Feb. 1, applications can be submitted at www.beautypitch.com.
A press event will be held on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2016, during PBA’s International Salon and Spa Expo, where more event details will be revealed.
Beauty Pitch 2015
The inaugural competition attracted a “Who’s Who List” of attendees, drawing industry executives representing retailers, distributors, investors and more than 350 members of the media. In total, more than 1,400 attendees attended this unprecedented event. Five beauty entrepreneurs pitched their products to high-profile judges consisting of Mark Cuban, John Paul DeJoria and editors from Martha Stewart Living and INC.com
100% Pure, the 2015 Beauty Pitch grand prize winner, received a one-year mentorship with Mark Cuban along with a $10,000 cash infusion from TSG Consumer Partners. Additionally, 2015 Beauty Pitch finalist, 18.21 Man Made took home the Audience Choice Award, which included a complimentary booth at CPNA 2016 and a one-year PBA membership.
[Image: beautypitch.com]