BEAUTY NEWS: Sephora Launches An Accelerate Program For Female Beauty Entrepreneurs

Hey makeup lovers!! Have you ever wanted to start your own cosmetic line? One of the beauty industry’s largest powerhouses Sephora has created an accelerator program for female-led beauty start-ups.

Sephora is aiming to give female beauty entrepreneurs a much-needed lift. The beauty retailer is kicking off a new program this year called Sephora Accelerate, which will put 10 early-stage start-ups through a bootcamp at its San Francisco headquarters, provide them with mentorship and give them a stage to present at a demo day in August. Though Sephora officially announced the program on Tuesday, it took applications until Dec. 31 and will select its class of participants by March.

The program is part of Sephora’s larger social impact agenda, which includes beauty classes for women reentering the workforce or living in transitional housing and shelters (starting in April) and support for employees affected by natural disasters or major life events; and in that vein, it’s requiring that its start-up applicants also have a socially minded element in addition to a female founder. That could mean sourcing sustainable materials or donating a portion of revenue to charity — the exact impact will depend on the sort of business at hand, which can range from brands producing physical beauty products to apps and services.

Though the 10 chosen start-ups will only receive a small sum of money ($2,500) in addition to their all-expenses paid trips to the program’s events, the major opportunity is clearly in building relationships with industry experts and getting face time with the team at Sephora, one of the biggest powerhouses in the beauty industry.

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