Function of Beauty
YC W16New York City, US · Founded 2015 · 300 employees · Hiring · 11 known investors
Find your way into Function of Beauty
1,135 people in our graph share verified history with the Function of Beauty team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Ken Chenaultunlockedknows Zahir Dossa · together at IBM (overlapped)
×2knows the team · via McKinsey & Company
×3knows the team · via University of Houston
×2knows the team · via IBM
×2knows the team · via MIT
knows the team · via Function of Beauty
Function of Beauty creates customized haircare and beauty products tailored to individual customer specifications using proprietary algorithms and naturally-derived formulas. The direct-to-consumer brand emphasizes sustainable packaging and manufacturing practices.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceWellness & FitnessBeautyPersonalizationUnited States of AmericaAmerica / CanadaPartly Remote
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W16)
Function of Beauty was founded in 2015 by Zahir Dossa, Hien Kaplan, and Joshua Maciejewski.
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Zahir Dossain𝕏Co-Founder and Board DirectorMIT graduate and engineer Zahir Dossa co-founded Function of Beauty with fellow MIT graduate Josh Maciejewski and cosmetic chemist Hien Nguyen to produce customized hair care products at scale using algorithm-based formulation.
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Hien KaplaninCo-FounderShe works alongside MIT graduates Zahir Dossa and Josh Maciejewski, bringing expertise in formulation to the company's algorithm-driven approach to personalized beauty products.
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Joshua MaciejewskiinCo-Founder and COO2014–2021Joshua Maciejewski is an MIT graduate and co-founder of Function of Beauty, a customized hair care company that uses algorithms to formulate personalized products at scale. He brings expertise in supply chain and sustainability to the business.
Investors · 11
EQUIAMSan Francisco · $1M – $10M
Notable CapitalSilicon Valley · $5M – $50M
SoGal VenturesNew York · $50K – $500K
SQN Venture Partners, LLCCharleston
Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K
BullishreportedNew York · $500K – $3M
CircleUpreportedSan Francisco · $1M – $5M
GGV CapitalreportedMenlo Park
Granite AsiareportedSingapore · $5M – $25M
L CattertonreportedGreenwich · $10M – $200M
UncommonreportedToronto
The YC application· Winter 2016 batch
Alumni Q&A
- How did your company get started? (i.e., How did the founders meet? How did you come up with the idea? How did you decide to be a founder?)
- The company was founded by two MIT graduates, Zahir Dossa and Josh Maciejewski, along with cosmetic chemist Hien Nguyen. Dossa, an engineer, saw the beauty industry as relying on broad categories rather than individual needs, and the team combined backgrounds in supply chain, sustainability, and data science to build customized, made-to-order formulas driven by an algorithm.
- What's the history of your company from getting started until the present day? What were the big inflection points?
- The founders built a production facility and algorithm that let customers co-create custom hair care formulas made fresh and shipped directly to them. After establishing a direct-to-consumer business, they expanded toward omni-channel retail, and in 2020 introduced an at-home concept allowing customers to mix their own custom shampoo and conditioner.
- What is the core problem you are solving? Why is this a big problem? What made you decide to work on it?
- The founders aim to address the lack of personalization in beauty products by offering fully customized formulas for individual hair and skin goals. They developed proprietary technology and manufacturing capability to produce custom formulas at scale, which they present as a more sustainable approach to consumption.
- What is your long-term vision? If you truly succeed, what will be different about the world?
- The founders view customization as the future of beauty and a response to increasingly varied consumer needs. They intend to broaden access to custom hair, skin, and body formulas over the coming years.
Summarized from the founders' answers on their Y Combinator profile.
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Function of Beauty went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors · 3
by search overlapAllure2552 shared keywordsAllure is a beauty journalism publication that provides product reviews, trend reporting, and expert guidance on makeup, hair, skincare, and wellness. The publication serves beauty consumers and industry professionals through its website, social channels, and subscription service.
Prose1952 shared keywordsThe page did not load usable content; it only displays a JavaScript-required notice, so no reliable description of the company's business could be extracted.
Ulta Salon Cosmetics Fragrance1857 shared keywordsUlta Beauty is an international specialty beauty retailer offering cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, wellness, hair care products, and salon services from over 600 brands across more than 1,500 locations primarily in the U.S., with additional operations in the U.K., Ireland, Mexico, and the Middle East.
Companies competing with Function of Beauty for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does Function of Beauty do?
- Function of Beauty creates customized haircare and beauty products tailored to individual customer specifications using proprietary algorithms and naturally-derived formulas. The direct-to-consumer brand emphasizes sustainable packaging and manufacturing practices.
- Who founded Function of Beauty?
- Function of Beauty was founded by Zahir Dossa, Hien Kaplan, Joshua Maciejewski in 2015.
- Who are Function of Beauty's investors?
- Function of Beauty's investors include EQUIAM, Notable Capital, SoGal Ventures, SQN Venture Partners, LLC, Y Combinator, Bullish, CircleUp, GGV Capital and 3 more.
- Where is Function of Beauty headquartered?
- Function of Beauty is headquartered in New York City, US.