Humble Growth’s Salt & Stone Strategy: Keep Founders In Their “Zone Of Genius”

"At Humble Growth, the private equity firm where principal Evan Mintz oversees investments, the “humble” in the name carries as much weight as the “growth.” He describes empathy and value-add as the firm’s two guiding pillars. “We don’t want you to think of us as your big brother,” says Mintz. “We want you to think of us as your partner.”

That approach paid off with Salt & Stone. Humble Growth invested in the brand in 2024 and, less than two years later, it sold to Advent International for an estimated $500 million based on comparable transactions, implying a roughly 3X multiple on $165 million in sales last year. Available at Sephora and Amazon, Salt & Stone generates roughly 40% of its sales from direct-to-consumer distribution. Deodorant accounts for around 40% of its business and sells every five seconds.

Beauty Independent spoke with Mintz, former VP at VMG Partners, to learn more about Humble Growth’s experience with Salt & Stone, what it looks for in founders, where it’s investing now and how conventional wisdom is being upended in beauty."

Read more about the interview here.

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