When Selena Gomez first teased Rare Beauty back in early 2020, the skeptics were out in force. Another celebrity brand? Really? We'd already seen the peak of the influencer-to-brand pipeline, and honestly, the world felt a little fatigued. But then the products dropped, the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush became a literal cultural phenomenon, and suddenly, the brand was worth $2 billion.
Behind that meteoric rise sits a name you probably haven't seen on a billboard, but he’s the one actually steering the ship. Scott Friedman Rare Beauty CEO, is the business architect who turned a celebrity passion project into a global powerhouse.
Who is the man behind the brand?
Scott Friedman isn't some tech bro who fell into makeup. He’s a beauty industry lifer. Before he ever sat down with Selena, he was the guy making things move at NYX Cosmetics. Remember when NYX exploded and eventually got scooped up by L'Oréal for a cool $500 million? Friedman was a key executive during that run.
He didn't stop there. He did the CEO thing at DevaCurl and Bellami Hair. Basically, if a brand has a cult-like following and a massive exit strategy, Scott Friedman’s fingerprints are probably somewhere on the glass. He joined Rare Beauty in January 2019, more than a year before the public even knew the brand existed.
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Think about that. While the world was watching Selena on Only Murders in the Building, Friedman was in the trenches building an infrastructure that could survive a global pandemic launch. Because, yeah, they launched right when the world shut down. Talk about bad timing turned into a masterclass in digital pivot.
The "Quiet" CEO and the Loud Controversy
Usually, a CEO’s LinkedIn profile is the most boring thing on the internet. But for Scott Friedman, his digital footprint became the center of a massive social media firestorm.
Around late 2023, eagle-eyed fans started digging. They found that Friedman followed several accounts on Instagram that didn't sit well with a vocal segment of the Rare Beauty community—specifically accounts related to the IDF and AIPAC. In the hyper-polarized climate of the Israel-Hamas conflict, this went nuclear.
The calls for a boycott were loud. Like, "trending on X for days" loud.
People were torn. On one hand, you have Selena Gomez, who has built her entire brand identity on "kindness" and "mental health." On the other, you have a CEO whose personal social media follows suggested a political stance that many customers found irreconcilable with those values. Rare Beauty eventually put out a statement about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but for many, the "both-sides" approach felt like corporate damage control.
Why Scott Friedman Rare Beauty is actually a business case study
Politics aside, if you look at the raw numbers, the guy is a genius. Rare Beauty isn't just selling "Selena Gomez's lipstick." It’s selling a feeling.
Friedman helped implement a strategy that focused on:
- Accessibility: Not just the price point, but the physical packaging. They actually worked with the Casa Colina Research Institute to make sure people with limited hand mobility could open the bottles.
- The "Rare Impact" Fund: Committing 1% of all sales to mental health resources. This isn't just a tax write-off; it’s the core of their marketing.
- The "Less is More" Product Line: They don't drop 50 products a month like some fast-beauty brands. They drop hits.
Most celebrity brands fail because the celebrity is the only thing they have. Rare Beauty succeeded because they had a celebrity who was willing to hand the keys to a professional like Friedman who knew how to scale a supply chain without breaking the brand's soul.
The $2 Billion Question
By early 2024, rumors started swirling that Rare Beauty was exploring a sale. When you hit a $2 billion valuation, the big players—the Estée Lauders and L'Oréals of the world—start circling with very large checks.
Friedman has been pretty open about the fact that they spent the early years just trying to survive the COVID-19 supply chain mess. Now that things are settled, they’ve reportedly hired investment banks to "envision the future." Whether that means an IPO or a massive acquisition, the goal is clear: become the biggest prestige beauty brand on the planet.
What you can learn from the Rare Beauty model
If you’re looking at this from a business or career perspective, the Scott Friedman Rare Beauty partnership is the blueprint.
1. Founder-CEO Chemistry is everything. Selena brings the vision and the community; Friedman brings the "how do we actually ship 400 million dollars' worth of blush without the bottles leaking?" If you're a creative, find your Scott Friedman. If you're an operator, find your Selena.
2. Values are your armor (and your target). By leaning so hard into social impact and mental health, Rare Beauty built a shield against typical "celebrity cash grab" criticisms. However, it also means the community holds you to a higher standard. When your CEO’s personal politics clash with the brand’s "kindness" image, the blowback is ten times worse than it would be for a faceless corporation.
3. Solve a real problem. People didn't buy the Rare Beauty foundation just because of the name. They bought it because the shade range was actually inclusive and the formula didn't feel like cake. Scott Friedman ensured that the "boring" stuff—R&D, quality control, and testing—was world-class from day one.
Moving Forward
If you're following the brand, keep an eye on the executive shifts. While Friedman is the CEO, the team around him is equally heavy-hitting, with vets from places like The Honest Company and Hourglass.
The real test for Friedman in the coming year won't be whether they can sell more blush. It’ll be whether they can maintain that "community first" vibe while potentially prepping for a massive corporate exit.
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Actionable Takeaways
- Audit your "Why": If you're building a brand, is your "social impact" a sticker you've slapped on, or is it baked into the P&L?
- Watch the leadership: When a company hits a $2B valuation and starts hiring investment bankers, a sale or IPO is almost always the next step.
- Diversify your influence: Rare Beauty succeeded by making the community the stars of the TikTok ads, not just the founder.
Rare Beauty is currently one of the few celebrity-founded brands that could likely survive even if the celebrity stepped away. That’s the Scott Friedman effect. It’s the difference between a "merch line" and a legacy brand.
To stay ahead of the curve, monitor the brand's filings for any movement toward a public offering. Check for updates on the Rare Impact Fund's annual reports to see if the 1% commitment is scaling alongside their massive revenue growth. This transparency is what will ultimately determine if the brand keeps its "Rare" status or becomes just another name in a corporate portfolio.