Business of the Beat

This week, Karen Lee—Founder and CEO of GLOU Beauty, a sustainable beauty marketplace on a mission to reimagine e-commerce for beauty lovers in an age of conscious consumerism—shares the inspiration behind her company and its focus on operational efficiency: “Our whole goal is to try and bring more joy in your life and reduce any kind of pain you might have”. As sustainability becomes more importa...

This week, Arion Long, Founder and CEO of FEMLY—a hi-tech feminine care company that delivers eco-friendly, sustainable, 100% organic cotton period care and products for a healthier cycle—talks about her personal near death experience that led to the creation of Femly. 7 years later, as she embarks on innovation across the brand with her new touchless first-of-its-kind period care dispensers, Ario...

Known as ""Mr. Work Smarter"", Denis Asamoah—co-founder and CEO of FORVR Mood, a lifestyle brand founded by Nigerian-American beauty content creator, US Army veteran, and makeup artist Jackie Aina—kicks off the show with his favorite productivity tool: the Pomodoro Technique. Writing his 3 most important tasks down before bed so that he's ready for the morning is his best advice for everyone who w...

This week, Asha Coco—President of FORVR Mood, a lifestyle brand founded by Nigerian-American beauty content creator, US Army veteran, and makeup artist Jackie Aina—talks about the beauty of bringing products to life and moving from being one piece within a larger organization to being the one putting all the pieces together. One of her key points of advice is “Good direction and guidance within an...

In the Season Three premier of Business of the Beat, Monaè Everett—keynote speaker, diversity advocate, celebrity hairstylist and hair visionary—joins me in an extraordinary conversation about the business skills needed to grow as a stylist, the expansion of inclusivity within the hair industry, and how she is uplifting other multi-talented stylists through the Monaè Life Academy. She also shares...

This week, Maya Smith, Founder and CEO at The Doux - a sucka free haircare line formulated for results and performance - shares how her role as a licensed cosmetologist, salon owner and beauty creator was shaped by observing and serving customers while working in her mother's salon. Maya dives into how those early years of experience influenced her decision to launch her own salon and later, her n...

This week, Gracia Walker—co-founder of BROC SHOT, an innovative daily functional broccoli sprout shot—shares her journey of becoming an entrepreneur, the key institutional learnings that are driving the next decade of her career and building a revolutionary brand that will change the wellness industry forever. Gracia talks about saying YES when asked by an investor if they could buy her first comp...

This week, Carli Abram—Founder and CEO of Pollynation Apothecary, a health and wellness company focused on solving challenges for those with sensitive skin, scalp, hair, and systems holistically—discusses her journey of self forgiveness, healing and the importance of creating daily affirmations. As a scientist and herbalist, Carli combines efficacy ingredients with total body solutions to build an...

In part two, Youmie Francois—Founder and CEO of Flex-n-Fly, a travel wellness company that provides stretching, yoga & relaxation classes to travelers before they board their flights as well as minimalist anti-theft travel bags that also function as fashion belts — dives into her business achievements, how she pivoted to save her company during the pandemic, going viral on tiktok and the importanc...

Youmie Francois—Founder and CEO of Flex-n-Fly, a travel wellness company that provides stretching, yoga & relaxation classes to travelers before they board their flights as well as minimalist anti-theft travel bags that also function as high fashion belts — discusses her tenacious curiosity, the importance of seeking validation from God and reframing her mindset as the driving factors that enable...

This week, Joni Odum—Founder and CEO of Firstline, the first African American-owned hair accessory products company founded in 1986 by Joni’s late father, Robert A. Bowser—discusses her journey to CEO, limitless opportunities in life and her unwavering spirit for innovation that has created opportunities for Firstline to continue to flourish. Joni also shares the importance of filling in the gaps...

Brittany Golden, Founder of IGL Nails shares how the passing of her father was a wake up call to change her environment and do something that would make her happy leading to the launch of Makeup & Sip and later IGL Nails. Brittany takes us on her journey of rediscovering her purpose of life, reclaiming her relationship with God and protecting her mental fortitude. She also shares how meditation he...

Katini Yamaoka, singer, songwriter and founder of Katini Skin— a premium line of face oils derived from native ingredients from Japan, Africa, Australia and beyond— takes us on the journey of her career transition from pop artist to beauty entrepreneur and highlights the bridge that her biracial cultural has infused across her music and her brand. Katini speaks Japanese, French and English and has...

This week, Jenn Harper—Founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics, an Indigenous-owned beauty brand known for creating clean, vegan and sustainable color cosmetics—shares how a “dream of little girls covered in lip gloss” brought her so much joy. Her dream also led to the creation of Cheekbone Beauty, the evolution of becoming a BCorp, and her commitment to donating the equivalent of 1% of gros...

This week, Kimberly Smith—Founder of Marjani Beauty, an inclusive beauty retail store located in Washington DC featuring a highly curated selection of black and brown owned beauty brands—shares her journey as a licensed healthcare attorney turned beauty entrepreneur. Kimberly expresses deep gratitude for her career that helped her bring her brand into existence and highlights the power of experien...

This week, Connie Lo—Co-Founder of Three Ships Beauty, an effective sustainable sourced natural skincare brand—dives deep into key learnings as a first time founder: don’t grow too fast, be careful with hiring, care about efficiency first and foremost, and block dedicated time for fundraising!  Connie also dives into her co-founder’s health scare that caused them both to adapt to a new way of work...

This week, Dafina Smith, Founder and CEO of Covet & Mane—which she thoughtfully refers to as “the Chanel of hair extensions''—shares how she is delivering quality, hand-tied hair featuring proprietary cut-point wefts along with the magic of in person experiences.   Dafina candidly talks about the importance of advocating for your brand, how growing up in her parent’s beauty supply store gave her h...

This week, Sherrel Sampson, Founder and CEO of Canviiy shares her journey of building a legacy, creating wealth and scaling her business to over 2,500 retailers. Canviiy isan innovative, organic-based health & wellness brand and pioneer of the ScalpBliss™ Collection proven to offer the most long-lasting (hours to days) organic-based scalp irritation solutions on the market today.  Sherrel takes us...

This week, Makeba Lloyd, CEO and Founder of Butter by Keba, quality handcrafted aromatic personal care products and moisturizing fragrances discusses how she stepped into the world with confidence.  It is confidence Makeba says that has guided her to follow her intuition and gut throughout her journey of creating Butter by Keba and staying focused on developing a holistic approach to fragrance. Sh...

This week, Brittney Ogike, CEO and Founder of BEAUTYBEEZ, a modern beauty supply store designed to service the styling and hair care needs for people of color shares how she’s disrupting the gate keeping in the beauty industry. Brittney details the legacy she is building alongside her family and the importance of acknowledging the privilege she was afforded when starting her company. She further s...

This week, Michelle Ranavat, Founder of Ranavat, a luxurious skincare collection proven by science and rooted in ritual, talks about being the educator in the richness of Indian culture. Ranavat is the first Indian Brand in Sephora and paving the way for more education on the richness of ingredients such as Saffron. Michelle talks about her long term waiting game and saying no to get to the moment...

This week, Jasmine Lewis, Founder and CEO of Vie Beauty, an esthetician-led luxury beauty brand curated to simplify skin care shares memories she’s kept of her late best friend - her grandmother, who is her inspiration for the brand. She dives into the importance of family and freedom and how she built Vie Beauty by being consistent, showing up everyday, and merging the perfume experience with ski...

This week, Ciara Imani May, CEO, and co-founder of Rebundle, the first proprietary braiding hair made from a non-toxic, biodegradable plant, discusses the steps she took to extend the zero waste lifestyle she desired for herself into the hair product of her dreams. Leaning into her own scalp sensitives to truly get to the root of what causes irritations to the hair when using synthetic fibers and...

This week, Hannah Diop, Founder and CEO of Sienna Naturals, the first dermatologist-tested, responsibly sourced suite of products specifically designed for textured hair, talks about the moment she realized catering to her hair wasn't a her problem but an industry problem, the amount of iterations she worked through to nail consistent best sellers, and the significance of leaning into her customer...

This week, Tomara Watkins, Founder of Loza Tam, talks about how much her background in Chemistry contributes to the performance of Loza Tam, the part hair plays in a woman’s identity, and the hardest thing to wrap her mind around. Resolved not to be an entrepreneur, Tomara found that having two generations of entrepreneurs backing her taught her to build a business that supports her life and maint...