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Building a consumer brand today requires more than a great product and a compelling story. Founders are navigating an increasingly competitive landscape where investors are evaluating not just the vision, but the signals that suggest a brand can truly scale. From early traction and customer loyalty to the structure of a founder’s first investor relationships, the earliest decisions can shape the trajectory of the entire company.

 

In this LinkedIn Live conversation, we sit down with Cristina Nuñez, cofounder of True Beauty Ventures, to unpack what investors are actually looking for when evaluating early-stage consumer brands. Drawing from her experience both investing in and operating within consumer companies, Cristina will share how investors assess traction before scale, the metrics that matter most in the 0-1 stage, and the signals that indicate real product-market fit.

 

Together, we’ll explore what makes a pitch stand out in today’s fundraising environment, how founders should think about assembling their earliest investors and advisors, and how to communicate the right data when your brand is still building momentum. The conversation will also dig into the founder–investor relationship itself, including how founders can choose capital strategically and build partnerships that support long-term growth.

 

This session is designed for founders across all consumer categories, including beauty, fashion, food and beverage, wellness, and lifestyle brands. Whether you are preparing to raise your first round, refining your metrics, or simply trying to understand how investors evaluate early-stage companies, this conversation will offer a clearer lens into what actually moves the needle.

Cristina is a long-time beauty operator, investor, and brand builder who has spent her career at the intersection of consumer strategy, finance, and storytelling. Before co-founding True Beauty Ventures, she served as GM of Clark’s Botanicals and held leadership roles at Laura Geller Beauty, where she worked across brand, operations, supply chain, and marketing. Her work inside early-stage brands gives her a uniquely operational lens on what founders need to scale and what truly moves the needle across channels, margin structure, and positioning.

 

Cristina began her private equity career at L Catterton, where she evaluated and supported consumer and beauty investments, and later joined Tengram Capital Partners. Prior to that, she built her financial acumen at UBS Investment Bank in the Consumer & Retail team. Across these roles, she developed a fluency in both institutional investing and hands-on execution, shaping the “build with the founder” ethos that guides TBV today.

 

In 2020, Cristina co-founded True Beauty Ventures, a sector specialized investment firm focused on beauty, health, and wellness. She places an extra emphasis on brand strategy, portfolio support, marketing, and ecosystem development, while serving as a primary partner to founders on everything from product architecture to retail strategy, organizational development, and financial planning. She is also a prominent voice in the industry, regularly featured in WWD, Business of Fashion, BeautyMatter, Beauty Independent, Vogue Business, and Fashionista, and speaks frequently on topics ranging from category trends to founder resilience. She writes a widely read Substack newsletter called Beauty Is My Business, hosts mentorship sessions for emerging female talent, and champions access and education across the beauty and venture ecosystem.

Cristina graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a BA degree in Public Policy Studies and Political Science.