Glossier shot for the stars, but landed nowhere near them. Less than a decade ago, the beauty giant had the makings of runaway success: CEO Emily Weiss was a young, instinctive operator who seemed destined to join the ranks of illustrious founders, just as the idea of the girl boss became an emblem for a new kind of corporate feminism.
Venture capitalists loved it too, and poured $266 million into Glossier, helping it reach a $1.2 billion valuation in 2019. One of those investors was Sequoia Capital, an oft-kingmaker in tech circles with now ubiquitous brands like Instagram, Airbnb, and Instacart in its portfolio. Glossier seemingly had the meteoric potential–and the capital as a vote of confidence.
