Golden Hour Ventures: The Flow

Get back to you by EOD (End of December)

Author

Kelley Arena
December 15, 2024

Getting deals funded / recruiting a new wave of investors to get it done.

Hi, I'm Kelley Arena, founder of Golden Hour Ventures. In your inbox to share deal flow, industry news, founder resources, consumer market musings, and things I like.

Table of Contents

What I’ve been up to…

Dream Mode.

The end of this year flew past. Election season laid me out, to be honest, and I have been retreating and dreaming. How to build better, more efficiently, with more impact. As my friend Rachel Krupa said to me over martinis at Corner Store, “I just want to build cool shit with my friends”. I am taking this into 2025- I want to build- and fund- cool shit with good people who make the world worth inhabiting.

To that end- we are starting with data 🤓 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE (Sabrina Carpenter voice) take THIS SURVEY if you are an angel, a wannabe angel, or have it on your personal roadmap to help us build the next iteration of this investor community.

We also have the sickest swag bag giveaway that a lucky entrant will receive- over $3,000 of swag that you can keep (or give away and consider your holiday shopping done) and Amex and Sephora gift cards for more winners!

Big thanks to Rachel Gordon for masterminding this data project!

Latest Investment

Just closed our latest investment into Brightland’s Series A, co-led with Annie Evans. I love this brand, with Aishwarya at the helm, and can’t wait to see what is to come (shop Brightland for holiday - this bottle with this fancy gold stopper always hits as a hostess gift)

I went to Art Basel

…and failed at it. I had BIG plans to get to EVERY investor event and got overwhelmed with traffic and distance. Next year I will plan better or skip (give me your Basel tips)! I did see Dj Khaled perform (read: play 30 seconds of a track and then yell stuff) at LIV (!!) and felt like an early aughts queen -so not all was lost.

Hot Deals🔥

Fun fact that I can’t stop repeating: if 30% of accredited women invested just $10,000 into a woman founded company, we can move over $10 billion. LFG….

Behave

BEHAVE is the first low-sugar, clean label candy that doesn’t spike blood sugar. We combine the magic of chefs and food science to bring you the perfect gummy (KA Note- My kids are obsessed with BEHAVE and I love that they pass the 12 year old vibe check- as many better-for-you treats do not)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The only blood-sugar friendly BFY candy in market

  • $1m+ revenue, scaling with tons of learnings from being in market

  • Strong margins across channels and velocity in retail

  • Reach out for more info on Behave

RADSWAN

RadSwan is set to disrupt the $19 billion global hair extensions market with a strategic relaunch that leverages huge audience reach, product innovation/quality and accessibility to an underserved demographic (via Walmart)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • A-List Co-Founder: actress, singer, and presenter with a following of over 35 million is joining RadSwan as a highly-involved co-founder, bringing authenticity and storytelling to the brand

  • Market Opportunity: The hair extensions market is projected to reach $19 billion but suffers from poor distribution & low quality products/lack of innovation. Black women, who spend significantly more on hair care, are a largely underserved demographic.

  • Strategic Partnership: RadSwan will relaunch in March 2025 in 1,000 Walmart stores

  • Innovative Products: RadSwan introduces premium synthetic hair products that perfectly match textured hair, featuring the RadShape and RadGrip duet, a 2-minute solution for a natural look. Our patent-pending accessory ensures ease of use and a secure fit, setting a new standard in the industry.

  • Proven Success: RadSwan 1.0 achieved $560,000 in revenue during a one-year beta test without any marketing spend, boasting a 35% repeat purchase rate.

  • Reach out for more info on Radswan

CELIA

Celia Health combines cutting-edge genetic and epigenetic testing with personalized peptide therapies to empower individuals to take control of their well-being. Our tailored programs offer proven, science-backed solutions designed to address unique health needs—from aging and metabolism to brain health and longevity.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Delivered directly to the customer through our tele-network of doctors, we ensure accessibility without sacrificing quality, making personalized healthcare a reality for all.

  • Consumer trends, demographics, and technology are driving strong tailwinds in the already sizable, $73 billion, longevity market which is expected to double in the U.S. over the next 10 years. 

  • During the pre-launch phase alone (since the beginning of 2024) the company has generated over $500K in sales with 95% customer retention rates without a consumer website or any investment in marketing.

  • Reach out for more info on Celia Health

***********************

🙌Portfolio Company High Fives

831 Stories drops another spicy hit with Hardly Strangers (and gets signed by UTA)

This space is so stunning.

Gwyneth Paltrow on Jimmy Falllon talking gift guides- featuring portco’s Brightland Pizza Oil and WTHN Body Magnets

More Gwenny talking about her favorite clean fragrance, the new Mamajuju by Vyrao 

Smart people looking for cool roles:

Vyrao is looking for a US Sales Director- send any interest my way.

Hey Jane is looking for a freelance TikTok Content Creator

📰News and Food for Thought

M&A /Venture News

Clean Skin Club Raises $32M In Funding, On Course To Surpass $100M In 2024 Sales What I found striking- they do 80% of their business on Amazon, and this round is their first institutional capital, relying on debt to scale thus far.

Eyva, an AI-driven SaaS platform designed to unify and streamline data across the beauty industry's product development, supply chain, marketing, and other sectors, has secured nearly $2.9 million in seed funding.

Shiseido’s venture capital arm, Long Term Investments for the Future (LIFT), has invested in Ulta Beauty’s plant-based wellness brand, Apothékary, during its pre-Series A funding round

News / Reads

TikTok Faces U.S. Ban After Losing Bid to Overturn New Law The law will ban the video app in the United States by Jan. 19 if its owner, ByteDance, does not sell it to a non-Chinese company.

Alex Cooper launches a hydration drink called Unwell Hydration

The Perimenopause Gold Rush There’s a wave of new companies making big promises to millennial women. Is it all too good to be true?

Sephora announces the 2025 Accelerate class (I am excited to see 4am and Tonal in this mix- huge fans of both)

Dan Frommer drops the new Consumer Trends Report report, in collab with Coefficient Capital. Takeaways: Tik tok shop is huge- 57% of users have made a purchase on Tik tok shop, with volume bigger than Sephora or Shein…but Amazon is still dominating. People that waited in a long line for a hyped food say that its worth it, and Gen Z is a loyal beauty consumer.

🌈 Founder’s Corner

Grants/Accelerators:

Apply for NASE Growth grants here

Got a fresh idea? Apply for the Foundess Hatch Program for mentors and support from top VC firms, non-profits, industry leaders. the best teams will be flown out to an IRL summit in SF and win up to $20,000 in prizes.

📖 Book Club

Recent Reads: 831 Stories Hardly Strangers (🌶️🌶️🌶️) and Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar- I adored this book.

🍰Shop Women-Founded Brands/Current Obsessions

The world does not need another gift guide but I made one anyway. This is a short, sweet, 12 things I can not live without (and all companies are founded by women!) Check it out here.

/

🍦Other Things No One Asked For

Luigi Merch: I Can Fix Him!

Want more from this newsletter? Less? Reply and let me know! If you really love it, share with a friend.