Harvard Students Reimagine the Cosmetics Business The innovative cosmetic e-commence site, Birchbox is many things. For consumers, it's a chance to sample new products for a small fee and to replenish products they already enjoy, and for the founders, it's a platform that connects consumers and brands.

From social apps to online games, Facebook has inspired countless ventures. But Birchbox, founded by Hayley Barna and Katia Beauchamp, may be the first that is of, by and for the Facebook generation.

In true Social Network fashion, the two hatched a new e-commerce model for beauty products during their last semester at Harvard Business School in 2010. With their concept for subscription-based monthly goody boxes packed with four to five deluxe-size sample products, the co-CEOs, both now 30, appear to have solved the health and beauty industry's online sales problem.

New York City-based Birchbox is many things, depending upon perspective. For consumers, it's a chance to sample new products for a small fee and to replenish products they already enjoy. For its health, beauty and lifestyle partner companies, the service is a way to reach new customers and further engage existing ones. And for the founders, it's a platform that connects consumers and brands.