BeautyCon’s $2 Million Seed Funding Will Link Brands With YouTubers

Forget the old ways of marketing. Moj Mahdara’s BeautyCon just raised under $2 million in seed funding to connect brands with the world’s hottest “new” influencers — YouTubers.

Having already built up a name in the branding world by connecting companies with the likes of Bethany Mota and Amanda Steele, BeautyCon wants to expand its services so it can essentially link fans to their favorite products, events, and content sponsored by brands and YouTube talent. Investors include the Hearst Corporation, talent lawyers Ken Hertz and Eric Greenspan, Rachel Zoe Ventures, and Queensbridge Venture Partners.

The Los Angeles-based company, which focuses on the 18 to 25-year-old female demographic, previously connected YouTube stars with brands and audiences through conference bookings. According to TechCrunch, BeautyCon has found this group is responsible for approximately $4 billion a year in cosmetic sales, $5.7 billion in clothing and accessory sales, and another $8.2 billion in electronics sales.

“This is generation connected and curated,” Mahdara said to TechCrunch. “YouTube coins it as all things content, curation, and community. This is all about an 18- to 24-year-old millennial who consumes all their content via YouTube and Instagram… This is the massive millennial movement and this is where all brands are coming to.”

BeautyCon has already worked out content deals with some of Hearst’s magazines, such as Elle and Seventeen (which has a YouTube MCN of its own), as well as other companies like WhoWhatWear, Maker Studios, and Polished. This new round of investments will propel the company forward and initiate even more deals down the line.