Musely Secures $360 Million Without Giving Up Any Equity
Telehealth company Musely has secured over $360 million from General Catalyst without surrendering a single share of ownership, in one of the most talked-about funding deals in consumer health this year. The Musely non-dilutive funding General Catalyst arrangement comes through the firm’s Customer Value Fund (CVF), a financing vehicle designed specifically for companies with strong product-market fit and predictable revenue.
Founded in 2014 as a wellness community, Musely pivoted to prescription skincare in 2019 and has since expanded its FaceRx telemedicine platform to cover 24 treatments across skin, hair, menopause, and longevity care. The company has served over 1.2 million patients and has grown revenue at an average of 50% year-over-year, all while remaining cash flow positive since its early years.
A New Model for Scaling Without Selling Ownership
Co-founder and CEO Jack Jia had repeatedly turned away venture investors before this deal. His objection was straightforward: he did not want to dilute his ownership stake. CVF offered a different structure entirely. Rather than taking equity or charging interest like a traditional loan, the fund is repaid through a capped share of revenue generated by the capital it deploys. Jia told TechCrunch that after modelling the terms, the structure proved more compelling than either a bank loan or a dilutive equity round.
The Musely non-dilutive funding General Catalyst deal will go entirely toward customer acquisition, the costliest challenge for any direct-to-consumer brand. Musely joins CVF’s existing portfolio of Grammarly, Lemonade, and Ro. Since its 2014 seed round of $20 million, Musely has not taken a single dollar of equity capital until now, without actually giving any up.
