By Somesh Dash, General Partner, and Alex Lim, Associate
Today, IVP announced that we are investing in Walker & Company, a health & beauty company founded with the goal of making personal care simple for people of color. IVP is the lead investor in the company's $24 million Series B financing, and we could not be more excited to be partnering with Tristan Walker (Founder & CEO) and the rest of the Walker & Company team to help build the next great brand in health and beauty.
For those of you not familiar with IVP, we are a leading later-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, CA, and have been fortunate enough to partner with talented entrepreneurs to help build truly disruptive consumer-facing companies, such as Dropbox, Dropcam, The Honest Company, Netflix, Snapchat, Supercell, and Twitter.
So what is the massive opportunity for Walker & Company, and why are they the company uniquely positioned to tackle it? Here are a few key reasons why we invested:
People of color are an under-served portion of the population when it comes to personal care: When IVP began researching the personal care market, we quickly realized that the established consumer-packaged goods manufacturers have not innovated on products targeting people of color. Next time you are in your local drugstore, keep an eye out for products targeted at ethnic minorities you will see a small selection of unappealing brands that were designed decades ago, and are failing to serve the specific needs of these consumers. Walker & Company is filling this gap in the market by creating clinically-tested, premium products that actually work for people of color, then packaging and marketing them in ways that genuinely delight the modern minority consumer. We've seen similar approaches work for companies in other key consumer segments and think the go-to-market for Walker & Company is truly innovative within personal care.
Walker & Company's flagship brand is experiencing exceptional growth: Walker & Company started its first brand, Bevel, with an ambitious goal: to eliminate razor bumps (or pseudofolliculitis barbae, if you want to get technical ), giving men of color the attractive, clean-shaven look they want. The current trend in the shaving market is towards multi-blade razors that are designed to pull facial hairs and cut them below skin level, creating ingrown hairs and unsightly, painful razor bumps, especially for men with coarse and curly hair. Ouch! Bevel is a complete shaving system that uses a single blade safety razor, and expert-formulated balms and shaving creams, and is clinically proven to reduce bumps and irritation. Since razor bumps are an acute problem for men of color, and since Bevel is the only product proven to help, men have been signing up for Bevel's convenient subscription service in droves. The service launched less than a year ago and we are seeing high renewal rates and low churn among existing users. This, coupled with strong organic word-of-mouth customer acquisition, has helped Bevel become one of the most successful new CPG launches in years. It was abundantly clear through our diligence that Bevel has really struck a chord with its target audience. Go to GetBevel.com and try it out you won't go back to your old razor!
Walker & Company is on its way to becoming a household name: The incredible team at Walker & Company is not satisfied by just creating the best men's shaving solution in the market, they also have ambitions to become the personal care brand of choice for all ethnic minority consumers. Walker & Company has not yet announced which segment of personal care they are going to disrupt next, but they are already laying the groundwork for success by building the Walker & Company brand. Partnerships with celebrities, media product placement, distribution agreements, and the BevelCode.com blog are just some of the innovative ways that Walker & Company is creating a pervasive, relevant brand in the $290 billion personal care market.
Remarkable team and experienced/relevant co-investors: IVP has a long-standing relationship with Walker & Company's Founder & CEO, Tristan Walker, and jumped at the opportunity to invest with him. Somesh and Tristan met at the Stanford GSB almost a decade ago and have had a long-standing relationship. When Tristan developed the idea for Walker & Company, it was abundantly clear that he had found his calling. Not only was Tristan passionate about solving these key market issues, he was uniquely qualified to solve them given his personal story and previous Silicon Valley startup experience. Tristan is a truly visionary leader and has assembled a world-class management team to help make his vision a reality. Tristan has also chosen to partner with an excellent group of venture investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Upfront Ventures, who we've co-invested with before in hypergrowth companies like Github, Slack, and Tanium. We're delighted to be working with such an amazing group of co-investors and look forward to helping them advise and support a truly disruptive company.
One Last Thing : Bevel is only the beginning. Walker & Company aspired to be a multi-category, multi-brand company with a family of products servicing specific consumer needs across the globe. Tristan and his team deeply researched a number of key beauty and health categories and while we can't announce the upcoming product releases here, trust us, they are awesome! Stay tuned for exciting new announcements from Walker & Company over the coming months!
--
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
By Somesh Dash, General Partner, and Alex Lim, Associate
