Function of Beauty YC Application

Winter 2016Active

Function of Beauty went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2016 batch as a Consumer company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Winter 2016
Industry: ConsumerApparel and Cosmetics
Team size: 300
Status: Active
Launched: 2015

Founders

Zahir DossaFounder/CEO
Hien KaplanFounder/Chief Scientist
Joshua MaciejewskiFounder/COO

What Function of Beauty does

We’re a customized beauty brand at the intersection of tech and beauty, setting out to democratize custom beauty and truly empower individuality. There’s no one size fits all with us.

Function of Beauty's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Function of Beauty, Winter 2016 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Function of Beauty

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Customizable beauty for hair, skin, and body care products

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We make a personalized beauty product platform that lets customers customize hair, skin, and body care formulas specifically for their unique needs. Users fill out a profile covering their type, goals, and preferences, and we create a one-of-a-kind product just for them. This replaces generic products with tailored solutions that better match individual differences.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We live and work in New York, NY, and plan to keep the company headquartered there after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

New York is where we are based because it gives us access to a wide customer base, proximity to beauty industry players, and a strong talent pool for consumer and e-commerce. It's practical for building a consumer brand focused on beauty and personalization.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Function of Beauty YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Function of Beauty's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Function of Beauty would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.