CurlMix is raising via preferred equity at a $26 million valuation. This amount is a fair valuation, given that the company has generated $13 million in total revenue since launching. It was able to generate almost $6 million in revenue in 2020 alone. Comparing recent revenue to valuation, CurlMix is offering a revenue-to-valuation multiple of 4.67x. That multiple is appropriate for a consumer product goods company. Furthermore, a valuation of $26 million is also reasonable when compared to other growth stage startups raising capital online. Therefore, CurlMix’s price score is strong.

There is a huge demand for clean and natural products, and CurlMix is riding this wave in the hair care industry. In 2019, the global natural hair care products market was worth $8.74 billion. Despite this trend, the compound annual growth rate of the market is only 4.7%. This is very slow growth, and one factor could be the nature of the market. Hair care products are commodities, which means consumers think the products are interchangeable regardless of brand. Combined with a competitive market, this behavior creates little momentum to drive market growth. 

CurlMix further positions itself in a very niche market, which is the black hair care industry. Although Black consumers have progressively switched from general products to Black-specific products, it still stood at a small $2.51 billion market in 2018. Hence, CurlMix’s market potential is rated below average.

CurlMix was founded by a married couple, CEO Kimberly Lewis and CTO Tim Lewis. Kimberly Lewis has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, and supply chain management from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Tim Lewis studied behavioral science from the same university as Kimberly. Following college, they founded The Natural Hair Academy, Inc. in 2013. It serves as a virtual community for women with any curl pattern to learn how they can organically care for their hair. This early experience serves as a great indication of their knowledge of their customers’ needs, and they have the community built already to adopt CurlMix’s products.

Though the founders have no prior entrepreneurial experience, they did an excellent job of scaling their team. The company now has 36 full time employees across marketing, operations, finance, administration, and manufacturing. This mix of skills is crucial to creating CurlMix’s ability to scale in manufacturing as well as reaching a wider consumer base. Thus, CurlMix’s team is rated above average.

CurlMix faces a ton of established and emerging players. Some direct competitors include Love Ur Curls, Ouidad, and Prose. CurlMix has gained substantial revenue to prove its product’s high quality. It also has a strong branding that is indeed a key advantage. However, it is easy for consumers to switch between brands as CurlMix has little product differentiation. On top of that, the products are sold at a high price point relative to numerous competitors. The company also lacks product defensibility, as it has no patents and it is not difficult to replicate the products. Hence, CurlMix’s differentiator score is below average.

CurlMix has an outstanding track record in its sales and growth so far. The company remains pre-profit but has managed to generate more than $13 million in gross revenue. In 2020 alone, the company generated $5.5 million, a 4% increase from the previous year. Not only that, CurlMix has sold to more than 110,000 customers and has collected more than 600,000 email addresses and phone numbers. The company has received very positive reviews for its products, with a five star average on its site. 

CurlMix also has stellar brand recognition. It has been covered by Shark Tank, Forbes 30 Under 30, and Oprah’s Favorite Things. It also has more than 1 million social media followers. It has a great ratio of lifetime value per customer to customer acquisition cost at 6.5x, meaning that the company is profitably acquiring customers. While the company does not have any partnerships yet, it plans to create an influencer program in order to potentially reach an even wider customer base. It was also able to secure $1.4 million in prior funding. All these factors contribute to CurlMix receiving a strong performance score.

CurlMix is a relatively low-risk investment due to the company’s long operating history and outstanding performance. A small amount of risk is conferred by the founders’ lack of prior experience. However, this is offset by their ability to grow the company and reach more than $13 million in gross revenue. CurlMix is a stable company with a clear pathway to scaling.

Although CurlMix has shown strong branding and great traction, it is operating in a competitive and saturated market. Since hair care products are commodities, CurlMix will need to keep innovating the way it markets and brands its products, which is not easy. CurlMix has more than 100 formulas for its products but lacks a patent or any form of product defensibility. Additionally, the company bears $1.6 million in short-term debt, an increase of almost 80% from the previous year. This liability poses some financial risk that needs to be addressed.

Though CurlMix has room to improve its products’ differentiation and defensibility, the company has shown tremendous growth. Impressive traction combined with a valuation revenue multiple of less than 5x makes CurlMix very attractive to investors. One unique advantage of the company is its branding. The fact that it is owned by Black people creating products specifically for the Black community is appealing to its consumers, as it shows the company is on a mission to solve the gap in the beauty industry. This strength is further bolstered by the online community the founders also run, The Natural Hair Academy. CurlMix already has an active group of consumers ready to adopt its products. The combination of being a mission-driven company and having an established community creates crucial customer loyalty and stickiness. 

Customer approval is also shown by the strong reviews CurlMix has received and by many of its consumers investing in this round. This means that the products not only work well, but the brand also resonates with its consumers. Moreover, the company’s second brand, 4C Only, is on-track to gain revenue of $1 million this year despite only launching in November 2020. With this loyal customer base and strong team that is able to deliver its products, CurlMix looks well-positioned to continue steadily growing and scaling.