The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) and Cosmoprof North America (CPNA) announce the return of Beauty Pitch, to be held Saturday, July 23, 2016. Hosted by CPNA, this one-of-a-kind beauty-centric competition will be held in Las Vegas during PBA Beauty Week. This event provides entrepreneurs from all sectors of the beauty industry a way to connect with qualified investors and the industry-at-large.

“The Professional Beauty Association is proud to be hosting Beauty Pitch 2016,” Steve Sleeper, Executive Director of PBA, says. “Helping beauty businesses grow and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit is at the core of our association. This competition allows us to add a new dimension to our efforts. We’re very excited to have Mark Cuban join us again, and we’re grateful for his ongoing support and expertise. Beauty Pitch is a unique event for our industry – the only event of its kind focused on connecting beauty companies with qualified investors. The competition opens February 1^st, we encourage all interested beauty companies to consider applying.”

Startup and Established Business Categories

The 2016 Beauty Pitch competition is open to entrepreneurs representing beauty companies from all sectors including prestige, mass, clinical, organic/natural and the professional salon/spa market. This competition allows entrepreneurs to apply in either the - Startup or Established categories- depending on the company's stage of business. The Startup category is for small business 'seeding' stage investment candidates, seeking angel or venture capital.  The revenue requirement for Startup companies is $100,000 to $5M. The Established Business category is for businesses with annual revenues exceeding $5M.  Businesses interested in applying for this category need to be willing to work with private equity investment groups.

Application Information

Beauty Pitch applicants will need to prepare a two-minute video, complete an online application and submit a one-page executive summary. Three finalist companies from both the Startup and Established Stage will pitch their businesses to an audience and panel of judges at a live industry event on Saturday, July 23, 2016.  Registration opens February 1^st, 2016 the cost is $250 for CPNA Exhibitors and PBA Members and $500 for other entrants. From March 16-April 29, 2016 registration is $350 for CPNA exhibitors and PBA members and $600 for other entrants.  Starting February 1^st - applications can be submitted at www.beautypitch.com.

Beauty Pitch 2015

The inaugural competition attracted a “Who’s Who List” of attendees, drawing industry executives representing retailers, distributors, investors and well over 350 members of the media.  In total, over 1,400 attendees attended this unprecedented event.  Five beauty entrepreneurs pitched their products to high-profile judges consisting of Mark Cuban, John Paul DeJoria and editors from Martha Stewart Living and INC.com

100% Pure, the 2015 Beauty Pitch grand prize winner, received a one-year mentorship with Mark Cuban along with a $10,000 cash infusion from TSG Consumer Partners. Additionally, 2015 Beauty Pitch finalist, 18.21 Man Made took home the Audience Choice Award, which included a complimentary booth at CPNA 2016 and a one-year PBA membership.

A press event will be held on Sunday, January 31st, 2016 during PBA’s International Salon and Spa Expo (ISSE) where more event details will be revealed.

About the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) Beauty Week

Professional Beauty Association (PBA) Beauty Week (July 23-26, 2016) is North America’s largest, most inclusive beauty event, offering unlimited networking, education and professional growth opportunities to all sectors of the beauty industry. This week of beauty features the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA), PBA Business Forum, PBA Beacon and City of Hope. PBA Beauty Week is produced by the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) and hosted by Cosmoprof North America. To learn more, visit probeauty.org/beautyweek.

Cosmoprof North America is organized by North American Beauty Events LLC, a joint-venture company between Bologna Fiere Group and the Professional Beauty Association.