Today, I’m incredibly excited to finally announce our latest investment, Parfait - the first company to use AI and facial recognition technology to provide custom wig products to consumers!

Yes, you read that right, in this world of web3 and PLG investment frenzy, a tech VC just invested into a lace front wig company. Maybe not the most obvious VC-funded space, but I’ll be honest - it’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited about a new deal. And I think part of the reason for my excitement is that, so often as an early-stage investor, we’re investing in technology in search of product-market fit, or in an idea that has miles to go before it ever reaches a consumer. And I love those deals too, but when it comes to Parfait, there’s a classic “substantial, underserved market ripe for disruption” opportunity just waiting for an incredible team to leverage the right technology for category ownership and market expansion.

I’ll get back to the team in a second, but first, let me make the case for why this is an exciting category:

It’s a Developed and Growing Space

50% of Black women have made the choice as of late to wear lace front wigs. Fifty percent - that’s more than 10 million women! It’s a substantial, existing market of women who are already increasingly making the choice to abandon the traditional harsh chemicals and heat used to style their hair and instead opt for wigs that can offer the aesthetics and styles they want whether for medical reasons, looking good for a night out, or to protect their natural hair.

It’s an Antiquated and Clunky Process

Despite how prevalent wig usage is, incredibly there is no recognized category leader. On the contrary, the current buying experience is plagued with friction - women are often buying hair without any guidance, separate from where they’re getting it placed or installed - usually the salon, which is an added expense - but good luck trying to place a traditional lace front wig yourself without all the necessary DIY tools and expertise. And then when it’s time to replace the wig, the process starts all over again. It probably goes without saying, but there’s virtually no technology in any step of this process.

There’s Tremendous Value to Be Created

For Black women, hair is a huge part of identity. That means this is a high value ($600 AOV), high repeat purchase (average 3x/year) category, and a market that's worth over $13 billion.

To summarize, there’s existing behavior in a fragmented, antiquated market with a tremendous amount of customer passion at a meaningful price point, and no one has addressed it yet on a technical scale. It’s like a textbook VC opportunity (and a reason why the company, which launches today, already has more than 10,000 on the waitlist!) But of course, a market opportunity without the right team and tech is just a business school case study. In the case of Parfait, it’s the team and product that get me so excited.

About Parfait

This isn’t a basic “cut out the middleman” D2C brand - the Parfait technology is insane. As a consumer, you simply take 4 pictures using your webcam on their online shopping experience, and choose your style. In 5 days you receive a perfectly sized wig, perfectly color-matched to your skin tone, expertly styled - all through the power of artificial intelligence and computer vision. And each wig is designed for the average woman (meaning, not a skilled hair stylist) to be able to easily install at home. It sounds obvious - but it’s incredibly hard to do in a way that’s easy and delightful for consumers. Parfait has some of the most passionate beta testers we have seen in a while!

And last, but perhaps most important for an early stage company, the team is nothing short of killer - 4 Black women who not only know the problem intimately but who are also graduates from MIT and Wharton and experienced operators at places such as Amazon, NASA, Google and IBM. Their passion is to take their unmatched skill set as a team and apply it towards solving a problem that will give their community the product it deserves. When we talk about “founder-market fit” you would be hard pressed to find a better team than the one leading Parfait.

And if the quality of a team can be assessed based on the people they draw into their extended network, Parfait is beyond impressive. We have some sick co-investors who have proven, global reach and understanding of customers: Serena Ventures, Tristan Walker, Chamillionaire, Omar Johnson and several household names to be revealed soon ;)

As we look to invest in the most talented founders disrupting multi-billion dollar categories through the power of artificial intelligence, the company more than checks the strict criteria we set when making new investments of any kind. Beyond that, the opportunity squarely fits into where I look to spend a dominant amount of my time professionally and personally - amplifying Black founders and delivering the most cutting edge products possible to serve the Black community and beyond. The Black community’s buying power has had a 48% increase since 2010, growing from 971B to 1.4T in 2019. This trend is set to continue, with projections of 1.8T by 2024.

Parfait is building a tech powered consumer brand tapping into this highly valuable community delivering a top tier quality product that this community deserves. We are privileged to be on this journey with the founding team. And be sure to check out their website and social media to see the product for yourself and check out the “Faces” campaign that launches today with more than 30 women telling their story.