Scentbird, a subscription-based fragrance company, announced today it has raised $18.6 million, one of the largest series A funding round secured by a direct-to-consumer brand led by a female chief executive officer.The digital company will use the proceeds to accelerate product innovation and market expansion with an added focus on consumer experience and new talent. Recently, Scentbird broadened its reach into personal care and home fragrances. Scentbird racks up 95 percent of its revenues from subscriptions. The company said it accounts for 1 percent of the prestige fragrance market, a number it hopes to double in the next year.The capital infusion will propel the company into its next stage of growth, according to Mariya Nurislamova, chief executive officer and cofounder. “Attracting investors who understand the unique digital landscape and what we offer consumers will bolster our position in the beauty industry on a larger scale. This funding shows the investors’ confidence in our team, the market opportunity and our mission. It will allow us to keep moving at a fast pace while cultivating the creativity and technology to continually build our brand,” she stated. Nurislamova founded the company in 2014 along with Rachel ten Brink, Sergei Gusev and Andrei Rebrov, after getting “tired of being sprayed in the face in a department store.”Funding was led by Goodwater Capital, a consumer technology firm, and joined by Y Combinator, Rainfall Ventures, FundersClub, Soma Capital, Scrum Ventures, ERA and others. Eric Kim, cofounder and managing partner at Goodwater Capital, said the company in particular hopes to support Scentbird on its “mission to transform the beauty space and change the way consumers approach fragrance.” He added, “At Goodwater Capital, our focus is on supporting entrepreneurial innovators who are not only disrupting product categories, but who are also challenging the status quo.”Since the company’s initial seed round, Scentbird has grown from 400 subscribers to more than 250,000 across the U.S. In the past year, Scentbird has shown growth of 110 percent.

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