Startup profile · funding coverage
Julep funding, valuation and investors
Seattle DTC beauty and nail subscription brand—rolled into Glansaol PE rollup, later bankrupt.
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Funding, valuation & investors
Answer-first snapshotLatest funding
Series C
$30M · April 2014
Latest known valuation
Not publicly disclosed
Total disclosed equity funding
$40M
Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.
Current status
shutdown
acquired · Seattle, Washington
Investors in latest funding
Other: Andreessen Horowitz
Latest tracked event: Acquired by Glansaol (2016). It is shown separately because it is not counted as disclosed equity funding.
Overview
Julep, founded by Jane Park in Seattle in 2007, began as nail salons and became an e-commerce beauty brand known for subscription box Maven and rapid product launches via its Idea Lab community. Andreessen Horowitz participated in Series B and C rounds; total venture funding reached about $56M from a16z, Madrona, Maveron, and Altimeter. In 2016, private equity-backed Glansaol acquired Julep alongside Laura Geller and Clark's Botanicals in a rollup exceeding $120M. Glansaol filed bankruptcy in 2018; Julep assets later sold to AS Beauty with Maven subscription shut down.
Why Julep is interesting
Jane Park's crowdsourced cosmetics raised $56M from a16z and Madrona before Warburg Pincus paid $120M+ for a three-brand Glansaol bundle that collapsed within two years.
Product & use cases
Julep sold nail polish, cosmetics, and Maven subscription boxes—using community voting to pick SKUs and rapid SKU expansion (300+ products/year at peak).
- DTC beauty subscription boxes
- Crowdsourced product development via Idea Lab
- Omnichannel via Sephora and QVC partnerships
Key facts
- Total VC ~$56M including $30M Series C (GeekWire)
- Glansaol acquisition 2016 via Warburg Pincus rollup (GeekWire)
- Bankruptcy 2018; assets to AS Beauty (GeekWire)
- Oprah Favorite Things inclusion at peak hype
Funding history (newest first)
Acquired by Glansaol
2016 Part of $120M+ rollupSeries C
2014-04 $30MSeries B
2013 $10.3MSource: https://beautymatter.com/articles/julep-was-flying-high-what-happened
Investors in our directory
Funds linked from Julep's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.
Competitive landscape
Edge: Early mover in beauty subscription and community-led SKU selection with celebrity investor buzz (Oprah Favorite Things).
Julep scaled fast on VC but faced margin pressure and DTC saturation. Glansaol rollup promised operational scale; bankruptcy showed limits of PE beauty consolidation without durable unit economics.
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Birchbox direct
Beauty subscription pioneer; similar era competition.
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Glossier direct
Community-led DTC beauty with stronger later-stage brand.
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Sephora private labels incumbent
Retail shelf competition despite Julep wholesale partnerships.
Notable stories
- Jane Park joined Glansaol "thrilled" to scale via former Revlon CEO Alan Ennis—rollup failed within two years (GeekWire).
- Jay-Z and Will Smith made private investments alongside a16z in growth rounds (BeautyMatter).
- 8% layoffs in March 2015 preceded eventual PE exit as DTC funding cooled (BeautyMatter).
Industries
Related funding articles
Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Julep's financing or category context.
FAQs about Julep
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