Name: Ugly Talk: The Future of Fashion & Beauty Tech
Start: 2026-06-03T18:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-06-03T20:00:00-04:00
Location: Belong NYC

What's the Ugly Truth

Beauty tech is booming, but growth has made the category louder, not clearer. AI diagnostics, AR try-ons, personalization, and smart devices are pulling more founders into the space — but more innovation also means more hype, more copycats, and more brands fighting for the same customer attention.

For founders, a strong product is just the entry fee. The real edge comes from knowing what actually drives trust, repeat purchase, and loyalty in a market where branding and novelty can fake momentum. This room is for people who want to separate signal from noise and figure out which trends are truly shaping the future of beauty tech.

Part of the Yorkseed House program at NY Tech Week. yorkseedhouse.com/nytw2026

Why You Should Attend

🎤

Hear from a pioneerWhat they're building, how they got there, and what they're watching now

🔗

Connect with buildersBeauty tech founders relentlessly innovating through the noise

📊

Understand shifting demandConsumer behavior, what's changing, and what customers want now

🧠

Signal vs hypeCut through the noise on AI, diagnostics, personalization, and retention

Who's In This Room

Beauty tech founders

Beauty business owners

Consumer and brand experts

Investors in beauty tech and consumer companies

Taking the Stage

Zehra Soysal

Founder & CEO · Savanah.ai

Zehra's career began at Google in business strategy, followed by impactful roles at BCG across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She played a key role in establishing a tech joint venture with Turkey's largest conglomerate. After earning her MBA from Harvard Business School in 2022, she joined Metaphysic.ai in New York, helping scale operations through its $1.4B acquisition. She is now the founder and CEO of Savanah.ai — a visual AI platform helping brands create e-commerce imagery at scale and optimize conversion.

Bonnie Young

Founder & Chief Creative · BY. Bonnie Young · CFDA Member · 2025 FGI RTW Award

Bonnie Young is founder of the luxury brand BY. Bonnie Young, known for timeless, artful design that merges modern couture with effortless ease. She began her career at Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan before launching her own label. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Forbes, and the New York Times, and has been worn by celebrities and Middle Eastern royalty. Young has collaborated with Adidas, Swarovski, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. She is also an author, photographer, philanthropist, CFDA member, and recipient of the 2025 FGI Ready-to-Wear Award for excellence.

Yarden Horwitz

Co-Founder · Spate · Ex-Google

Yarden Horwitz is the co-founder of Spate, an AI-driven platform used by 250+ beauty brands including Estée Lauder, L'Oréal, and P&G to make data-driven decisions. Before founding Spate in 2018, Yarden worked at Google, launching the first Google Trends Report and co-founding the trendspotting division. She's been named a top female leader by Entrepreneur Magazine and sits on the boards of CEW and NewBeauty Brain Trust. Her work has been featured in WWD, Vogue Business, and the New York Times.

Jessica Sophia Wong

Moderator · Founder & CEO · Yorkseed

Jessica Sophia Wong is the founder of Yorkseed — a venture intelligence and relationship platform built for the people who move capital and companies across borders. Through Yorkseed Connect, she has built one of the most active cross-border founder and investor ecosystems in the world, operating across 50+ city hubs and running alongside SXSW, Web Summit, Davos, CES, VivaTech, and New York Tech Week. She also founded Valois, a private invitation-only network for family offices, HNWI, and fund managers. Venture Partner at VNTR Capital. Based in NYC and Paris.

What We Don't Sugarcoat

In an industry full of noise and competition, how do you separate real signal from hype?

How do you fight copycats in a market where products move fast and differentiation can disappear overnight?

What trends actually reflect customer demand — and what are customers burning for now that they weren't asking for before?

How does AI actually matter here — from diagnostics and personalization to discovery, conversion, and retention?

Hosted By

A global venture platform connecting founders, investors, and operators through curated events and a private deal-flow network.

Located in the heart of SoHo, Belong is a hospitality-driven space built for people who don't stop — private workspaces, meeting rooms, showers, and recharge areas.

Ugly Talk

Ugly Talk is a recurring event series exploring the messy, unfiltered realities of building in fast-moving industries — turning the "ouch" moments into actionable insight.

GREY Journal covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, culture, and innovation — and hosts curated events for founders and operators in major cities.

Ugly Talk:The Future of Fashion & Beauty Tech

Ugly Talk:
The Future of Fashion & Beauty Tech