The company announced that a majority of their original investors signed up to back Winky Lux’s next phase of growth with a new round of $6 million in Series A funding.

WHO: Launched in October 2015, Winky Lux was founded by beauty outsiders Natalie Mackey, who worked in fashion, and Nathan Newman, who came from consumer electronics. The brand has been built on “fast beauty” based on a 45-day product-to-market model that allows the brand to capitalize on trends. All of the products are paraben-free, cruelty-free, non-toxic, and heavily pigmented.

WHY: About half the Series A will fund the opening of Winky Lux pop-up shops in NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Savannah, and Nashville this summer. Funding will also be allocated to hiring content experts.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Now that we have a major VC like GGV as our lead for Series A, lots of guys want to back us now,” Mackey told Forbes. “The dudes didn’t get us ’til we were a lot bigger.”

DETAILS:

• Winky Lux raised a $6 million Series A.
• According to Forbes the brand did more than $10 million in annual revenue and expects to hit $17 million by end of year.
• Mackey and Newman started the company with $300,000 from friends, family, and personal savings.
• Within 18 months of launching in 2015, the brand generated $4 million in sales.
• In August of 2017 the brand landed a seed round of $2 million led by Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong at Female Founders Fund. The deal included a who’s who of established and rising women in VC including Susan Lyne and Nisha Dua at BBG; Elizabeth Galbut and Pocket Sun at SoGal Ventures; and Robin Li of GGV.