Glossier

How it happened

Glossier is a digitally native beauty brand that reached a roughly $1.8B valuation in a 2021 funding round after building a strong direct-to-consumer following. After layoffs and a strategic shift toward wholesale (including Sephora), PitchBook estimates marked it down below unicorn level, with reports of a sub-$1B raise (~-50% from peak). Employee reviews traced the strain higher up: from 2022 on they described corporate layoffs and later restructuring under new leadership, with turnover leaving remaining staff to cover departed colleagues' work. Corporate and wholesale reviewers pointed to shifting strategy and executives they saw as out of touch — imitating rivals and, on the wholesale side, friction over how the Sephora push fit the brand.

Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.