EVENPRIME; Video Games meet Skin Care
What do videogames and skincare have in common? Apparently, a lot more than you might think.
In November 2014, while attending a Supercell event at Slush in Helsinki, I was introduced to Koh Kim, who worked for Google Play at the time. Although our conversation lasted only a moment, that was all it took for me to realize Koh was an intelligent, ambitious person with impressive knowledge and insight into the global video game industry. I knew that I would make an effort to keep in touch with her.
Fast forward to January 2017 — Koh and I were catching up over lunch in sunny Los Angeles, when I asked, “So, what’s next?” Without missing a beat, Koh responded enthusiastically with “Men’s Skincare!” Though seemingly a departure from the gaming sector, Koh had spent ample time building relationships with Korean labs and manufacturers, formulating her business plan, driven by experience seeing her brothers and male friends struggling to find skincare products that could better address their needs.
As it turns out, existing brands have been slow to adapt to changing consumer needs and tastes. Compared to women’s skincare, there are significantly fewer options available to men, leaving them to choose between cheap drugstore products (with questionable ingredients) or expensive high-end brands (that often target older skin types). Moreover, compared to the EU/Canada, who have banned upwards of 1,300 ingredients from use in skincare/cosmetics, the US is still largely unregulated, having banned only…11! Consumers are left to fend for themselves when vetting product efficacy and safety.
Inspired by new consumer trends and skincare innovation in Asia (according to the top beauty experts, the best skincare is formulated in South Korea), Koh was absolutely convinced there was a waiting audience for the next era of men’s skincare in America. She therefore set out to create high-quality, affordable products that make good skincare accessible to all young men.
Enter: EVENPRIME!
During our conversation, Koh noted that men were paying much more attention to their appearance (welcome to the “always-on” selfie-generation), drawing parallels to the 80’s, when women’s skincare was itself just taking off. Back then, dermatologists were even telling people they could just use soap and water — heresy in this day and age, but still the typical routine of the average, uninformed guy.
Nevertheless, male consumers are becoming more sophisticated, seeking out solutions and recommendations, as they realize that washing one’s face with cheap products made with low-quality, harsh ingredients like bar soap or body wash won’t lead to great outcomes. Even popular brands like Kiehl’s have started to come under fire for shady “greenwashing” marketing tactics and use of outdated (and potentially harmful) “filler” ingredients.
Koh believed she could leverage her experience in user engagement and analytics to better forecast trends and shorten development cycles for new products, while building a more personalized user experience that rewards consistent routines rather than purchases. Anyone like me who had spent some time with successful companies in the digital game sector would get this.
Here she paused, and I immediately told her, “I’m in! I want to invest.” Though she wasn’t expecting that kind of response, as she wasn’t fundraising yet. Yes, she was a solo founder at the time, but here is why I committed as Koh’s first investor:
- Koh is driven, ambitious, and smart — the type of person who is relentless in figuring things out, while making data driven decisions.
- As a result of constant testing, Koh has developed an impressive strategy to efficiently (and profitably) acquire new customers.
- Men’s skincare is a big market. According to Fung Global Retail & Tech, the global market will hit $24B by 2020. (Men’s skincare already outpaces haircare.)
- I knew a little about men’s skincare already. In the 90’s, I invested in a public company in Canada, selling my stake 10 years later for 3x my investment. The gross margins are on par with the best software companies. Plus I have been an avid skin care user since my teens.
- I’m a big believer in clean, eco-conscious products, and use only clean skincare, household, and consumer products.
Koh closed a small funding round to help get her started. Key milestones since then are:
- Launched the initial products, Cleanser and Moisturizer (see photo below), in late 2017
- Partnered with Rickie Ashman, previously Creative Director of an advertising vertical incubating within Roc Nation — Jay Z’s music empire. Rickie specializes in brand strategy and content creation, with a talent for connecting Western brands with Asian aesthetics. In addition to working at Mobcrush, where he first met Koh, Rickie has worked with a number of significant brands, including: Chanel, Rag & Bone, SK-II and Paul Mitchell. Of note, Rickie helped introduce Swedish hiking gear brand Fjällräven to the United States, launching their Kånken backpack to notoriety (aka. the backpack with the fox logo you see everywhere).
- Reviewed by Youtuber Alex Costa which hit 1.5M+ views so far
Suffice to say, my first impressions of Koh were absolutely right. I look forward to seeing her and EVENPRIME continue to grow.
They will be recruiting for more team members so just reach out via Linkedin or their website. Or ask me if you already know me.
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