Business Briefing: Investment Landscape 2025

John Cafarelli is the Co-Founder and President at BeautyMatter. Growing up in New York as the son of a builder, he learned at an early age the value of having the right tools in one’s toolbox to be successful. John’s carried this mindset through to his work at BeautyMatter by working with the team to create content and experiences that inform, analyze and educate to give our audience an “unfair advantage” as they grow their businesses and navigate the ever-changing beauty and wellness landscape.

John’s beauty and wellness industry expertise is centered around identifying market opportunities, strategic planning, developing strategies for growth, cash and financial strategy, and building operational excellence. He’s an entrepreneurial thinker with diverse work experience and a bias for creativity and innovation that’s actionable and realistic.

John is also the founder and CEO of his own skin health brand, Ernest Supplies. He also spent six years as the COO / CFO of Paper Magazine, a multi-platform media company and content creation agency. In 2014, he was part of the team that “Broke the Internet.” Before that, John spent 10 years investing in and helping to grow well-known consumer brands, including Intermix, Skullcandy, All Saints, Morgenthal Frederics, and others.

As a Managing Director at Cascadia Capital, Ilya Seglin is focused on client relationships in the Beauty & Wellness sectors. In this role, he advises companies on sell-side and buy-side transactions as well as leading growth capital raises for emerging brands.

Prior to joining the Cascadia Capital team, Ilya spent nine years as a Managing Director at Threadstone Capital, a boutique M&A advisory firm focused exclusively on the consumer industry. Prior to Threadstone, he operated a consulting practice focusing on the beauty, apparel and accessories sectors and was engaged by such clients as The Estée Lauder Companies.

Ilya began his investment banking career at Credit Suisse, where he worked with clients across the retail and consumer landscape to develop and execute M&A strategy, raise debt and equity financing, and address capital structure issues. He executed transactions for companies including The Neiman Marcus Group, PETCO Animal Supplies, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and WhiteWave Foods, among others. Before transitioning to investment banking, Ilya spent several years as an analyst evaluating industry trends and assessing companies in the retail, leisure, and transportation industries. His experience included working on Dana Telsey’s #1 ranked All-America Research team at Bear Stearns and covering the luxury goods sector. Ilya received his B.A. in Economics from New York University.

Richard Gersten is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of True Beauty Ventures, an investment firm focused exclusively on investing in the beauty, wellness and personal care sectors. Rich has over 30 years of experience in the private equity industry and has spent the last 12 years focused exclusively in beauty and personal care. Rich currently sits on the boards of Crown Affair, Vacation, evolvetogether, The Maker, among others. Prior to founding True Beauty, Rich was a Partner at Tengram Capital Partners, a member of its investment committee and served on the Board of Directors of their eight beauty investments. Prior to joining Tengram, Rich was formerly a Partner at Catterton Partners. He holds a BS from Union College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nell Daly is the Founding and Managing Partner of Revenge Capital. She is also a co-founder of the boutique brand incubation agency, Delete Talent Management & Ventures.

Previously, she was a Capital Strategist and Partner at MatCap Ventures, which founded The Together Group, a global creative agency roll-up. She also served as the Chief Content Officer of The Female Quotient, a U.S.-based media and experience company advancing equality in the workplace. As a result, she has worked with some of the world’s most influential brands and NGOs, such as Google, iHeart, Spotify, Facebook, TED, and F1. She’s moderated panels at WEF, CES, Sundance Film Festival, and many more.

Nell started her career as a licensed clinical social worker and private psychotherapist. Since her early twenties, she has made it her mission to fight for social justice causes, especially around anti-discrimination issues and women’s rights. Nell has been featured as a social and political commentator across numerous outlets throughout her career, including CNN, CNBC, Fox News, ABC Radio, top-ranked podcasts, and major publications such as Elle, Glamour, and Men’s Health.

Nell holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University and a Master of Social Work from NYU. She lives in Connecticut with her three children and bases her work out of New York and London.