Toni Ko
Toni Ko is an American businesswoman and founder of NYX Cosmetics. She currently works in Los Angeles. She founded her company in 1999 and expanded it until she sold it to L’Oréal in 2014 for $500 million. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, while also running two new businesses, a venture capital firm focused on funding female entrepreneurs and a beauty brand accelerator.
Early life
Ko was born in Daegu, South Korea. In 1986, at the age of 13, her family immigrated to the United States. When she first arrived, she spoke no English and was placed directly in the seventh grade. She spent most of her teenage years working for her parents, who also worked in the cosmetics industry as wholesalers. She attended Glendale [Community College (California)|Glendale Community College] on the weekends, and operated the business with her parents during the week, but eventually dropped out to work for her parents as a manager of their wholesale business full-time.Career
NYX Cosmetics
With her prior experience in cosmetics, Toni sought to fill a gap in the market for lower-priced, high-quality makeup products. In 1999, Ko founded NYX Cosmetics, being given $250,000 in startup money from her mother. The company was named after the Greek goddess Nyx.Her original goal was to “... make a department store product with the price point of a drugstore product.” The company earned $4 million in its first year.
The first NYX Cosmetics line consisted of six eye and twelve lip liners, which were priced at $1.99 each in comparison to their competitors whose prices hovered around the $10 mark. In less than a month, all of the products sold out.
Her high-quality, low-price approach fulfilled a developing consumer need after increased demand due to the 2008 financial crisis. She also increased the company’s sales during the advent of the vlog on Youtube by partnering with trending beauty creators on the platform. This unconventional marketing approach formulated a strong brand that appealed to a younger audience and set the company up for a potential buyout.
In 2014, Ko sold NYX Cosmetics to L'Oréal for an estimated $500 million.
After NYX Cosmetics
Due to a non-compete clause with L'Oréal, Ko could not launch another cosmetics company during the five years following the buyout. In March 2016, Ko created the Perverse Sunglasses company, launching as a sponsor of Coachella Valley [Music and Arts Festival|Coachella]. Ko changed the brand's name to Thomas James LA. The retailer sells online only, following an unsuccessful attempt at opening brick-and-mortar stores. Ko later sold the company in 2019.She also is the founder and current CEO of Butter Ventures, a principal venture firm based in California that invests in start-ups, focusing specifically on those created by women.