Amy Errett
Amy Errett is the Founder and CEO of Madison Reed, a San Francisco beauty brand disrupting the $15 billion hair color industry with non-toxic formulas. She spent three decades in venture capital and led investment advisory firm Spectrum Group before launching the company in 2013.
Amy Errett's Bio
Amy Errett is the Founder and CEO of Madison Reed, a San Francisco-based beauty brand disrupting the $15 billion hair color industry with non-toxic, salon-quality formulas. The company offers permanent, demi-permanent, and temporary hair color through e-commerce, retail partnerships with Ulta Beauty and Walmart, and nearly 100 brick-and-mortar Hair Color Bars across the United States.
Before founding Madison Reed, Errett spent three decades in venture capital and served as chief executive officer of Spectrum Group, an investment advisory firm. She was also a General Partner at a venture capital firm, with a career spanning founding, operating, and investing.
Errett launched Madison Reed in 2013 after her wife mentioned the frustration of at-home hair coloring. She named the company after her teenage daughter Madison. Early challenges included a management crisis requiring her to part ways with three co-founders, an experience she has described as one of the most difficult of her life. By 2020, demand surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, driving significant revenue growth.
Today, Madison Reed is available in thousands of stores and runs nearly 100 salons. Errett has been recognized on Forbes 50 Over 50, Inc.'s Female Founders 100, Fast Company's Queer 50, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Bay Area Award. She is based in San Francisco and continues to lead the company.
Career Timeline
1987 — Graduated University of Connecticut
Amy Errett graduated from UConn, earning her undergraduate degree.
1990 — CEO of Spectrum Group
Led Spectrum Group, an investment advisory firm, as chief executive officer.
1995 — General Partner, Venture Capital
Became a General Partner at a venture capital firm, beginning nearly three decades in VC.
2013 — Founded Madison Reed
Launched Madison Reed, a non-toxic hair color brand named after her daughter.
2017 — Opened First Hair Color Bars at Madison Reed
Opened brick-and-mortar Hair Color Bars in San Francisco and New York City.
2018 — Inc. Female Founders 100
Named to Inc. magazine's Female Founders 100 list of top women business founders.
2018 — SF Business Times Most Influential Women
Honored by San Francisco Business Times as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.
2021 — Forbes 50 Over 50
Named to Forbes' 50 Over 50 list of women entrepreneurs and leaders over 50.
2021 — Fast Company Most Innovative Beauty at Madison Reed
Madison Reed named to Fast Company's Ten Most Innovative Beauty Companies.
2022 — EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
Won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Bay Area Award.
2022 — Newsweek Most Loved Workplaces at Madison Reed
Madison Reed appeared on Newsweek's Most Loved Workplaces list.
