Natalie Mackey
Natalie Mackey Turned Winky Lux Into an Eight-Figure Exit After Years of Retail Growth at Target and Ulta
Natalie Mackey is a two-time founder and brand builder with a track record of scaling consumer businesses through hypergrowth, market turmoil, and successful exit.
She built Crescala in fashion wholesale before founding Winky Lux in 2015, a joyful color cosmetics brand that launched direct-to-consumer and rapidly expanded into premier retail. Winky Lux entered Target in 2019, became Target's fastest-growing color cosmetics line by 2021, and was named Target's Beauty Vendor of the Year in 2022, the same year the brand launched in Ulta and scaled to 500 doors. In 2024, Natalie led the company through a successful eight-figure sale to CORE Private Equity.
Along the way, Natalie raised capital from leading venture funds including Notable Capital, Female Founders Fund, Finn Capital, and SoGal Ventures, and successfully navigated some of the hardest conditions a founder can face: equity restructuring, Covid-19, the near-overnight collapse of her largest credit provider, vendor and retailer bankruptcies, and the shutdown of Forever 21's Riley Rose concept, where Winky Lux was an anchor brand. Today, Natalie is CEO and equity partner of a new fine jewelry venture incubated in partnership with Mediawan’s North Road. She is also an active investor and LP across multiple companies and funds, where she conducts diligence and advises on structure, restructuring, and retail partnerships.
“I've been the investor asking hard questions and the founder answering them, and I've sold a company myself. That knowledge isn't academic; it's earned in the field, often the hard way. I partner with The Whisper Group because I want founders, especially women building their own wealth through ownership, to have that knowledge on their side.”
- Natalie Mackey