Business of the Beat

This week, Dana Hill-Robinson, Founder of Cocotique, a beauty and self care subscription box and marketplace shares the dynamic career journey that took her from fashion to Vogue Magazine to hip hop to founding one of the most curated beauty must have businesses. Dana discusses the importance of embracing your age and resilience as the foundation of growth personally and professionally. She procla...

This week, as the last episode in our mini-series featuring the founders of Parfait,  Co-Founder and CMO, Simone Kendle dives into the importance of understanding the customer experience and the product development process. She also discusses the decision to rebrand the company from “Hair Intelligence” to “Parfait” saying “And we really decided that at that point, we wanted to redefine a word for...

For part two of our mini-series featuring Parfait, Co-Founder and CTO, Ifueko Igbinedion dives into the importance of incorporating the human experience into artificial intelligence and being a good steward of technology. She details her experiences as a Black woman in computer science currently pursuing her Ph. D. at MIT focusing on processing signals, image processing, audio processing, and Arti...

This week, we kick off a three-part mini-series about a company where beauty meets technology: Parfait, the first and only AI-powered company for tailor-made human hair wigs. Isoken Igbinedion—Co-Founder and CEO of Parfait—discusses her experiences with bias in the workplace and the defining moment that shifted the trajectory of her career. She decided to become an entrepreneur and use her technic...

This week, I interviewed BrainTrust Founders Studio member Dr. Omonye Phillips: doctor, mother of three, wife, Divisional Vice President at Rite Aid Pharmacy, head designer at Omonista, founder of My Dream BIG Club, and founder of Omosilk. Omonye dove into the importance of balancing personal and professional life through channeling her inner purpose and the role of travel in shaping her identity...

This week, Johnny Wright —HOTUS (Hairstylist of The United States), textured hair specialist, and author of Natural & Curly Hair For Dummies—discusses his career, those moments of extraordinary opportunities that impacted his identity, trajectory and confidence in himself and his craft. Johnny advises aspiring hairstylists and artists to let go of ego, stay open-minded, and keep going despite unce...

This week, Elaine Choi —Founding President and COO of Crown Affair, a haircare brand reimagining how people care for their hair and their relationship to it through clean, effective formulas and handcrafted tools—discusses the challenges of scaling the business, securing investment and the use of organic growth and community building to expand its customer base while never compromising on its comm...

Last week, Shalita shared her personal life experiences,  and  journey growing up that led to her defining moment. This week, we dive into part two of thetwo-part conversation with Shalita Grant—Tony-nominated actress and founder of Four Naturals Hair. Shalita emphasizes the importance of education and research in developing her brand. She explains how she learned about cosmetic chemistry and stud...

This week, we dive into part one of my two-part conversation with Shalita Grant—Tony-nominated actress and founder of Four Naturals Hair. Shalita shares memories from her upbringing and the influence of her unconventional parents on her entrepreneurial journey. She dives deep into this personal reflection and her experience dealing with traction alopecia that became her motivation to create her ow...

This week, Yanghee Paik —Co-Founder and CEO of Rael, a feminine-care brand that has grown into a holistic personal care brand centered on solutions for all aspects of menstruator’s cycles—discusses the importance of educating consumers about organic feminine care options and holistic cycle care. She also dives into the topic of wellness as she strives to achieve balance in both her personal life a...

This week, Carolyn Li Ming Geh—the founder and CEO of Li Organics, a beauty company leveraging antioxidant-rich and synergistic formulas for sensitive skin, with a mission beyond skin deep—discusses the importance of being intentional and making meaningful choices with the limited time we have. Carolyn cites her educational and global background in helping her create a “multifactorial approach” an...

This week, we have a special episode for Mother’s Day featuring mother-daughter duo Dr. Lynn McKinley-Grant and Davlyn Mosley. Davlyn, founder of Namesake Skincare—the perfect answer for those looking to dermatologist-approved skincare essentials specifically made for skin of color—and Dr. Lynn McKinley Grant, Namesake’s Dermatology Advisor. The duo dives into the importance of family and the impa...

This week, Jacqueline Oak and Narae Chung—Co-Founders of Cardon Skin, a brand with a mission to provide a simple shopping experience for men to get premium skincare at an approachable price—discuss their journey from seeing a gap in the market for affordable, high-quality men's skincare products to creating an innovative brand inspired by Korean skincare technology: ""I thought there was a huge op...

This week, Noelly Michoux—co-founder and CEO of 4.5.6. Skin, customized skincare designed with phototypes IV, V, and VI in mind—discusses her and her co-founders’ journey in creating a skincare brand that is good for both overall skin health and for the planet’s health: “Everything we do, it has to be good for, yes, that condition we're treating, but for the skin health, for the overall health, an...

This week, Jamila Powell, multi-hyphenate attorney, owner of Maggie Rose Salon, founder and CEO of Naturally Drenched, discusses how her daughter was the catalyst for her to follow her entrepreneurial spirit and continues to be a motivation as she scales her businesses. Through running her salon, Jamila identified a gap in the market for quality natural hair products specifically formulated for pe...

This week, Jacqueline Carrington—Founder and CEO of People of Color, a non-toxic, vegan, cruelty-free nail polish brand made to “complement the various shades of brown skin as the first thought, not an afterthought”—Jacqueline shares how being an athlete helped her with tenacity, courage, dedication and a never give up mentality that has been instrumental in launching and growing her business.  Ja...

This week, Kayla Greaves—beauty expert, award-winning journalist, sought-after speaker, and overall multi-hyphenate in the beauty industry—dives into her career path, the importance of balance and self-care, and the current content creation space. When asked about the growth and exposure for Black founded brands Kayla said, “The fact that I can’t even narrow [Black-founded beauty brands] down is s...

Daniel Hodgdon, serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder and CEO of VEGAMOUR—a brand of powerful, purposeful, eco-ethical products directly to people who seek healthier solutions for hair and skin—shares his two words for 2023: Kindness and Love. These words are woven throughout Dan’s journey and how he approaches life, business and relationships. He talks extensively saying “to much is given, much is r...

Mahisha Dellinger is the founder & CEO of Curls, an iconic brand founded in 2002 with a vision to be the leading provider of healthy hair care solutions for the entire natural family. Mahisha discusses her journey to taking control of her own career path and finances, her intentionality, and the “why” behind her drive. Leading with that same intention, Dellinger founded an MBA style program, Black...

Anisa Telwar Kaicker is the founder & CEO of Anisa International and Anisa Beauty. After almost 3 decades of providing superior products to the best brands in the business, Anisa chose to further expand her innovation with a specialized category of cosmetic brushes focused on skincare application through ANISA Beauty. This week, Anisa dives into her almost three decade journey and her commitment t...

This week, Kim Roxie—founder & CEO of Lamik Beauty, a makeup line for women of color made with vegan, natural and organic ingredients—discusses the mission behind creating the clean beauty makeup line that she wished her mother had. From at-risk to risk-taker, Kim’s grace, kindness, and beauty are revealed in how she overcame adversity to become such a changemaker in the beauty industry. Today, sh...

This week, Rebecca Allen, Co-Founder and CEO of Helix Hair Labs—a brand focused on innovative hair tools and silk hair accessories that promote the health of your hair—shares her views on hair wellness, the evolution of her story as an entrepreneur from footwear to beauty, and the value of having a dynamic career. Rebecca gives insight into the pivot from her liberal arts background, to her foray...

This week, Olamide Olowe—founder & CEO of Topicals—highlights her tenacity to constantly learn, the importance of mentorship and the journey that led her to earn her most recent title of “the youngest Black woman to raise $10MM in funding”.  She shares that her “strategy in life is to learn as much as [she] can about a particular topic”.  She also discusses how she has been forging a path for entr...

This week, Barbara Jacques—Founder and CEO of JACQ’S, a vegan and sustainable skincare line created for women of color by women of color—celebrates her recent success of winning one of Pharrell William’s Black Ambition Prizes, her first time participating in an accelerator program, and the impact of mentorship and coaching to help evolve the brand and its expansion into retail. Barbara talks about...

This week Tonya Lewis Lee—producer, film director, writer, entrepreneur, women’s health advocate and Founder of Movita Organics—discusses her mission to share culturally relevant stories that inspire people to take action, her mindset to find positivity in everything, and her non-negotiables. She takes us deeper on a journey of understanding the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how her work a...