The Red Tree and SFC Capital are delighted to announce that the applications for The Beauty Accelerator™ are open!
The UK’s most exciting emerging independent beauty brands are invited to apply for the chance to receive £150,000 equity investment from SFC Capital plus the knowledge and expertise of The Red Tree applied over the course of a 12-month collaborative partnership. Applications close on Friday 24th September.
Timeline:
- Applications open on Tuesday 31st August 2021 and close on Friday 24th September 2021.
- Virtual interviews with short-listed brands will take place between Tuesday 28th September 2021 and Thursday 14th October 2021.
- The Beauty Accelerator™ Final will be held on Wednesday 20th October 2021 and/or Thursday 21st October 2021.
Criteria:
- Companies entering The Beauty Accelerator™ must be based and registered in the UK.
- The scheme by which investment into the winning brand will be made is the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). You do not need to be registered for SEIS to enter The Beauty Accelerator. You can be in the process of applying for SEIS and receiving Advanced Assurance from HMRC, which is free of charge to obtain and certifies to investors that the criteria necessary to qualify for SEIS have been met by the company at the time of the application. You do however need to be SEIS registered at the point of investment.
- As is the case with all equity investments, the winning brand must be willing to provide equity stakes for both SFC Capital and The Red Tree. In addition, the winning brand might be required to pay a monthly fee for the duration of the 12 month period of assistance from The Red Tree. The size of the equity stakes for both SFC Capital and The Red Tree are unknown at this stage and will be based on the valuation of the business at the time of investment. The value of the monthly fee to The Red Tree will be determined by the scope of work required by The Red Tree and will be agreed in consultation with the winning brand. The equity stake, monthly fee and scope of work will be discussed in further detail with short listed brands during the interview stage.
- Brands that applied for The Beauty Accelerator™ 2020 can apply for The Beauty Accelerator™ 2021.
- Applicant brands should have proof of concept — the business should ideally be in operation with at least one product live on the market, an existing website and ideally less than 12 months of trading.
- Under exceptional circumstances, brands that are at concept stage will be considered.
- There should be a team in place and/or a willingness to take on a co-founder at an early stage.
- A business plan must be in place to demonstrate the revenue that can be delivered.
- The business should not be valued at more than £1,000,000.
- All R&D should be completed as funds invested will only be used for marketing and commercial activity.
- If you are short listed, you must be available to attend the virtual shortlist interview. These will be held from Tuesday 28th September 2021 and conclude on Thursday 14th October 2021. It is likely that short listed brands will be required to attend more than one virtual interview during this period of time.
- If you are a Finalist, you must be able to attend The Beauty Accelerator™ Final on Wednesday 20th October 2021 and/or Thursday 21st October 2021, either in person or via a video link (TBC).
- You cannot apply for or already be in the process of applying for another accelerator or incubator during the period August 2021 to August 2022.
- If you are selected as a finalist, and if you go on to win The Beauty Accelerator™, you must agree to exposure of you and your brand through The Red Tree’s and SFC Capital’s online and social channels and a possible marketing campaign
Apply today, click here.
