The company behind several Best of Beauty-winning brands, including Kristin Ess Hair and Being Frenshe, wants to help you (yes, you!) launch the next must-have beauty brand.
For nearly 30 years, Maesa has incubated and grown meaningful, innovative beauty brands while making prestige beauty, including fine fragrance and luxury haircare, accessible.
In 2023, the next-generation beauty company celebrated its 25th anniversary by launching the Maesa Magic Incubator. Honoring Maesa’s entrepreneurial roots, the program pays it forward by providing emerging founders with the funding, mentorship, and education they need to build enduring beauty and wellness brands.
Unlike other beauty incubator programs that limit eligibility to a single group, Maesa Magic Incubator welcomes founders from a variety of underrepresented communities. This includes women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, differently abled individuals, seniors (65 and older), and people from low-income backgrounds. Plus, the program is tailored specifically to amplify early-stage brands with under $1 million in sales.
Each year, three emerging beauty and wellness entrepreneurs are selected to join a small, intentional cohort. The winners receive $35,000 each in no-strings-attached funding to accelerate their business growth, along with high-impact mentorship, unparalleled networking opportunities, and tailored and customized learning tracks.
So far, the Maesa Magic Incubator has awarded $315,000 in funding, and nine entrepreneurs have graduated from three cohorts. Notable alums include Aziza El Wanni, founder of curly and textured hair-care brand The Potion Studio; Nikita Charuza, founder of Squigs Beauty, a brand that has won two Best of Beauty Awards, and Christal Alert, founder of Tonal Cosmetics, a line of skin-caring, sun-protecting makeup launching this summer at Violet Grey.
Now, the program is preparing for its fourth cohort. Applications are officially open! Learn more about the program on Maesa’s website.
Inside the Maesa Magic Incubator Experience
Although the incubator program awards winners $35,000 each in unconditional funding, Maesa knows that capital alone isn’t enough to help a business thrive. Mentorship and industry access are also essential to development, yet founders from underrepresented communities often struggle to secure them.
With that in mind, Maesa put together Maesa Magic Incubator’s year 4 Advisory Board, a high-profile roster of founders and leaders driving the beauty industry forward, including:
Olamide Olowe, founder and CEO of skin-care brand Topicals (who launched the business at just 23 years old)Shai Eisenman, founder and CEO of Gen Z-beloved skin-care brand BubbleBrian Sugar, founder of seed-stage venture capital firm Sugar Capital and co-founder of media company PopSugarTomi Talabi, founder of social enterprise and global community platform The Black Beauty ClubBrian Bordainick, co-founder of accessible healthcare company Julie and innovative skincare and beauty brand Starface World