Sephora Created An Accelerator Program For Female-led Beauty Startups

In a startup landscape where female-led companies are funded at a drastically lower rate than those with a male founder — receiving only 3 percent of total venture capital dollars between 2011 and 2013, by one Babson College estimate — Sephora is aiming to give female beauty entrepreneurs a much-needed lift. The beauty retailer is kicking off a new program this year called Sephora Accelerate, which will put 10 early-stage startups through a bootcamp at its San Francisco headquarters, provide them with mentorship and give them a stage to present at a demo day in August. Though Sephora officially announced the program on Tuesday, it took applications until Dec. 31 and will select its class of participants by March.

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