He said, “That may not be the caliber of the CEO you hire into a $50 million brand, but that recognition is there might be someone better suited to run the business day to day than I can and to focus on what I can do best to benefit the business…We’re increasingly seeing that as a viable strategy and a preferred one actually for earlier stage brands to professionalize the team.”

To see if others agree with Gersten’s advice, for the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we asked 20 investors, brand founders, consultants and more the following: Do you believe emerging beauty brands should be hiring CEOs or GMs at earlier stages than they did in the past? At what stage or revenue level should they be doing so, and what should they be looking for in someone to fill those positions?