Skip to playerSkip to main content
Essence Virtual Events
  • 10 hours ago
Week 2 of the Pitch Please Competition
Transcript
00:00:30Hi, how are you?
00:00:41My name is Mosa Bradley and I am founder and managing partner of 1863 Ventures and a proud
00:00:46advisor to the New Voices Foundation.
00:00:48Welcome to Pitch Please, which is powered by New Voices Foundation and Pull Up for Change.
00:00:54This competition is called Grow in Scale, and that's because we are focusing on businesses
00:00:59that are earning revenue over $50,000.
00:01:02Now, that's a lot of money if you're just getting started, because starting a business is one
00:01:05of the hardest things.
00:01:06But as always, we know the sisters are putting it down.
00:01:09Black female founders are the fastest growing entrepreneurs in this country, and this competition
00:01:13is designed to support women of color who are pushing on in the entrepreneurial realm.
00:01:18Now, you're going to see some great pitch competitions, and I wish I got to judge.
00:01:21I know you wish you got to judge, but unfortunately, we don't, but we do get to watch and put things
00:01:26in common, and most importantly, purchase these products.
00:01:30But I'm thrilled to introduce you to a panel of judges who are experts at this.
00:01:33They're going to have amazing questions and insights for these entrepreneurs and for all
00:01:36of you watching at home.
00:01:38So first, allow me to introduce our first judge, and that judge is Jenna Habayev, and she is
00:01:45Chief Brand Officer for Beauty for All Industries.
00:01:48This is home to one of the most coveted beauty subscription brands in the world, and I'm
00:01:54familiar with it because all my kids, four of the six are girls, and they're all over
00:01:58this stuff.
00:01:59But she also does a brand incubator, as well as a personal care brand and refreshments.
00:02:05She focuses on driving home BFA's mission of inspiring everyone to express the unique
00:02:10beauty.
00:02:10Thank you for doing that, because I think too often we look in the mirror, and we don't match
00:02:14what's on media.
00:02:15So thank you so much, and thank you for joining us.
00:02:17Thank you so much.
00:02:18I'm so, so, so excited to be here.
00:02:20This is such an amazing opportunity to see so many talented women present all the hard
00:02:26work, because I agree with you.
00:02:28That passion and grit takes so much to get a business off the ground, so couldn't be more
00:02:32thrilled to be here.
00:02:33Awesome.
00:02:34To assist Jenna in judging these amazing, amazing women, I'm pleased to welcome Ida Henry.
00:02:40She is founder and principal of Henry's & Co.
00:02:43It is a financial advisory firm that serves small and emerging privately held companies.
00:02:49What's important about this is Ida has over 15 years of entrepreneurial advisory and investment
00:02:53experience in the United States and Africa.
00:02:56Ida, you've done this with us before.
00:02:57Welcome back.
00:02:58Good to be here.
00:02:59Good to see you, and good to have you here.
00:03:01Great to be here.
00:03:01We've got quite the lineup.
00:03:04Should be good.
00:03:05Should be good.
00:03:05These are always action-packed.
00:03:06As you know, time is always our greatest enemy.
00:03:08So let me introduce our third and final judge, Sharon Shooter.
00:03:11She is founder of Pull Up for Change and most importantly, founder and CEO and creative director
00:03:17of UMA Beauty that is listed by WWD as one of the 50 most forward-thinking executives shaping
00:03:23the future of the beauty industry.
00:03:26She is Nigerian-born and she is a rebel with a cause and on a mission to go off the beaten
00:03:31path to redefine the rules of inclusivity and diversity.
00:03:35Pleasure to have you here, Sharon.
00:03:36So I'm so excited to present the inaugural Pitch Please Pitch competition.
00:03:42This has been such a passion project for me as a founder myself, understanding the struggles
00:03:48that women of color, in particular, Black women face raising capital.
00:03:52And so in February this year, we pulled all of these amazing brands together and we rallied
00:03:57money for the community.
00:03:58And I'm excited today to see all these amazing women, to see this next generation of founders,
00:04:03to see this next-gen billionaires who are going to be getting the money today.
00:04:08I'm pumped.
00:04:09I'm stoked.
00:04:09I can't wait.
00:04:10I couldn't tell.
00:04:12I wasn't sure, Sharon.
00:04:13I wasn't sure.
00:04:14But let's get started because to your point, you have rallied just about $200,000 for this
00:04:20competition.
00:04:20So let's get ready to give away.
00:04:22And what's most important about this is that the winners are not only getting cash, but
00:04:26they'll be getting new voices, business support, coaching, and mentoring to make sure that
00:04:30they know how to spend the money.
00:04:32The greatest challenge is we always have more expenses than we have money.
00:04:35So your input and feedback as judges and the coaches are going to help these women excel
00:04:39forward.
00:04:39So let's get started.
00:04:41Peach, please.
00:04:43So first up is Tekoa Savage with KS Nail Polish.
00:04:48This nail polish is more than a polish, but is a tool in your art kit to create a beautiful
00:04:54masterpiece.
00:04:56Tekoa started this company to empower all to break boundaries through self-expression.
00:05:01Tekoa, welcome.
00:05:02We can't wait to hear more about your company.
00:05:04Hi, my name is Tekoa Savage, and I am the owner of KS Nail Polish.
00:05:09KS Nail Polish is a non-toxic, hand-crafted nail polish company that empowers everyone to
00:05:13express themselves through beautiful, bold nail art.
00:05:16KS Nail Polish is tin-free of toxic chemicals that could cause cancer, infertility, or respiratory
00:05:21issues.
00:05:22Everyone deserves clean beauty regardless of their budget, so KS is here to provide the
00:05:27market with more affordable options of non-toxic and quality polishes to give you the perfect
00:05:32manicure from the comfort of your own home.
00:05:34I started KS when I began to experience my own side effects from the toxic chemicals and
00:05:39polishes.
00:05:40I have been painting my nails since I was a child, and one night I noticed that I would
00:05:43get really sleepy and drowsy as I got older.
00:05:47And after a quick Google search, it led me to finding out that nail polish was actually
00:05:50made with unnecessary toxic chemicals.
00:05:53And the formaldehyde and the camophore were the two main chemicals causing the nose irritation
00:05:57and drowsiness.
00:05:58So I had to throw out my entire collection and now find a brand that was affordable,
00:06:03non-toxic, quality, and offered the bright, bold colors that I love.
00:06:07And because I wanted to be intentional with my dollars, I wanted to support a black-owned
00:06:10brand because I had to replace my whole entire collection.
00:06:13But unfortunately, I did not find anything in the market that fit to my liking, so this
00:06:17led to the birth of KS Nail Polish.
00:06:19We currently have over 30 colors of non-toxic gel polishes and traditional polishes.
00:06:24We have nail tools and currently expanding to nail products, spa products.
00:06:31We specialize in highly pigmented, quality, non-toxic polishes that give consumers full
00:06:36coverage in just one coat.
00:06:38As an auntie of two little girls who are always begging me to paint their nails but never want
00:06:42to sit still long enough to let it dry, this one coat formula is a lifesaver.
00:06:46And it's also comforting to know that they are not inhaling the same toxic chemicals as
00:06:50I was at their age.
00:06:51Here at KS, we are breaking barriers with colors by supporting and representing all genders
00:06:58and identities of people who enjoy nail polish.
00:07:00We are changing the way society views bold nail colors.
00:07:03A hot pink and neon orange is just as professional as a nude.
00:07:07People realize how much they enjoy polishing their nails and saving money.
00:07:12And because of current social media channels like YouTube and TikTok and Reels, DIY beauty
00:07:18is currently on the rise.
00:07:20And KS is here to foster that growth by providing consumers with more non-toxic quality products
00:07:26to give them the confidence to give themselves the perfect manicure from the comfort of their
00:07:30own home.
00:07:32Just like many other things, polishing your nails takes a lot of steps and practice.
00:07:37So I am currently working on a 3-in-1 patent pending manicure pen that will combine a nail
00:07:43file, a cuticle pusher, and a file brush.
00:07:46All three tools are essential to making sure your manicure looks like you just stepped out
00:07:50of the salon, but really you just stepped out of your living room.
00:07:53KS is currently handcrafted and would love to move into a manufacturer so that we can expand
00:07:58our color catalog, nail tools, and our spa products.
00:08:02We would love to launch a retail to provide consumers with more affordable options of
00:08:07clean, quality products because non-toxic products are your birthright whether you shop
00:08:12at Sephora or Ulta or the Dollar Store.
00:08:16So we want to provide consumers with more options of affordable, non-toxic products.
00:08:20With this grant opportunity, we will be able to expand our color catalog and our spa products
00:08:25and also hire a team that will help us prepare and scale to retail stores.
00:08:29So join us on our journey of growth and shop for your own beautiful, bold creations because
00:08:35life is too short for boring nails.
00:08:38That is awesome.
00:08:40Congratulations.
00:08:41And we now harden into the workforce, so thanks for picking us off.
00:08:45I'm going to turn over our show and headless.
00:08:47Karen, I'm going to get you to weigh in here with your beauty building enterprise empire experience.
00:08:52This is fantastic.
00:08:53I just love the concept.
00:08:54I think it's great.
00:08:55My question for you, I have two questions for you.
00:08:57The first one is for your major competitors in the market.
00:09:00So right now it would be Sally Hansen just dropped her one coat formula and then Zoya
00:09:07has been non-toxic for a while.
00:09:09So those would be my top, probably my top two competitors.
00:09:13And since Sally Hansen is really the only person I've seen so far saying one coat, we kind
00:09:17of have a competitive and they don't promote their clean vegan brand a lot as we're like
00:09:22totally, our whole line, I don't ever want to go because I can't even use it if I was
00:09:26to use a non-toxic.
00:09:27So everything I use has to be tin free because I literally would, my nose would literally
00:09:32start running.
00:09:34Amazing.
00:09:34And then the last question for me is more, obviously we know during the pandemic, everything
00:09:39at home has some spikes, right?
00:09:41And now people are back, salons are open, people are getting their nails done out there.
00:09:44How do you expect to continue to build awareness for your product?
00:09:47How do you, how are you going to market it and show people a point of differentiation in
00:09:52a place where everybody now is going to be back looking for convenience and just getting
00:09:55their nails done and running back home?
00:09:58So since the pandemic, since a lot of people did find out that, hey, they did save a lot
00:10:02of money and it's going to be a recovery process financially for a lot of people.
00:10:06So we're leaning on being affordable and giving them shipping the salon in the box product.
00:10:11So they have it just right there because like, hey, remember this pandemic came and you were
00:10:15kind of had to scrape.
00:10:16So let's just keep this home.
00:10:18This is something you can, as you rebuild your finances and go back into.
00:10:21And some people don't want to go back.
00:10:22I kind of actually have a little social anxiety myself.
00:10:24So we're catering to the ones who got the social anxiety and you just stay home a little
00:10:28longer because I'm definitely struggling.
00:10:31I'm right there.
00:10:34Well, Jenna, since you're right there, what do you have for our person here?
00:10:37Questions?
00:10:38Yeah.
00:10:38I mean, I think even just capitalizing on what Sharon said, I'm really curious.
00:10:43It sounds like you want to expand pretty drastically into retail.
00:10:46What specific marketing channels are you looking to really help you get your footprint in retail?
00:10:53So right now I currently just sell online and I do pop-up shops and things of that nature.
00:10:59And I'm currently working on, since I handcraft, I don't have the SKUs.
00:11:02So moving into the manufacturer will help me get the SKUs so that I can move into local
00:11:07boutiques and other nail salons and nail techs because they ask for like the SKUs and things
00:11:12of that nature.
00:11:13So this opportunity will allow me to expand to get SKUs and start being on other people's
00:11:18shelves.
00:11:18That's great.
00:11:19I also have one other question too.
00:11:21This patent pending tool sounds amazing.
00:11:24Have you done any kind of consumer research or just kind of seen what is out there in terms
00:11:30of competition, in terms of this being a unique identifier for you?
00:11:34Yes.
00:11:34So they have something not, they don't have this two-in-one and they don't really promote
00:11:38it as a cuticle pusher on the other end.
00:11:41They use it as a poly gel scraper, which is for acrylics.
00:11:44I know people are not familiar with like nails, but it's like a whole little world out there.
00:11:47So they have this one where it's the makeup, the cleanup brush on one end and they promote
00:11:52it as a gel scraper versus a cuticle pusher.
00:11:55So altering that for a first-time polishers who don't know like, you know, what do I need?
00:12:00They may just go pick up the polish in a nail file, but hey, you need to push your cuticles
00:12:03back so that it looks clean.
00:12:05And you also need to clean up because, you know, everybody has a little shaky hand every
00:12:08time.
00:12:09So a nice cleanup is so you need all of those.
00:12:12And when you go into certain retail stores, they only have, they don't even have like the
00:12:16cleanup brush.
00:12:17You have to kind of use a Q-tip.
00:12:18That's how I kind of get it back in my day with a Q-tip.
00:12:20So they don't even have all those tools that you need.
00:12:23So providing, going into retail will make it more accessible and really educating people
00:12:27on having everything they need to give themselves a manicure at home.
00:12:30So currently right now, we are not doing a large number.
00:12:35We did kind of scale back.
00:12:37That's simply because I'm a team of one.
00:12:38So the first thing I want to do with the money is get someone on the team because we're
00:12:43going into our second year.
00:12:44So I brought the company as far as I can scale it by myself.
00:12:48So the first thing I am trying to do is hire a social media strategist to continue the brand
00:12:53awareness.
00:12:54And because the world is now opening back up, I've been at pop-up shops all week and now
00:12:58connecting with, you know, consumers face-to-face to promote our brand and bring our numbers
00:13:03back up.
00:13:03So that's currently what the money will go to is like building the team and getting
00:13:07us back to what we were last year.
00:13:10Because last year we had a full first year and we had good numbers.
00:13:13So this year it kind of just slowed down because I'm just kind of like stretched out on what
00:13:16I can do.
00:13:17And I brought the company as far as I can.
00:13:19We're celebrating two years next year and I'm just like, okay, so I need a breakthrough
00:13:23today and you guys have kind of been my breakthrough.
00:13:26Well, we appreciate that.
00:13:27We love breakthroughs.
00:13:28So congratulations on this far making it.
00:13:31And hopefully you actually, I know we'll be able to help you move forward.
00:13:33So thank you so much to COA for joining us.
00:13:35Good luck.
00:13:38What an amazing pitch.
00:13:39Well, we're going to keep going with even more amazing entrepreneurs who are growing
00:13:43and scaling their businesses.
00:13:45Next up is Nadine Joseph from Peak and Valley.
00:13:49Peak and Valley is a mindful company that creates potent mushroom and herbal supplements
00:13:53for holistic wellness.
00:13:55They're a small team, but they have a mission of providing sustainable package, mindfully sourced
00:14:00and inclusive products to the world of wellness.
00:14:03Welcome, Nadine.
00:14:03And we can't wait to hear your pitch.
00:14:06Alrighty.
00:14:06Hi, everyone.
00:14:07I'm Nadine, founder of Peak and Valley.
00:14:09And let me just start off by saying it's been a rough year for everyone.
00:14:14We're coming out of the high stressors of the pandemic and entering an uncertainty about
00:14:18reopening the world.
00:14:19Not surprisingly, we're all looking for ways to support our health.
00:14:23The global herbal supplement market size grew by 34 billion last year, and it's just getting
00:14:29started.
00:14:29This invigorated interest in holistic wellness will last beyond the world reopening.
00:14:34So who am I?
00:14:36And why did I start this company?
00:14:37I am a Johns Hopkins educated neuroscientist.
00:14:41And years ago, I found myself juggling multiple research projects.
00:14:45And guess what?
00:14:46I was incredibly stressed, fatigued, trouble sleeping, anxiety.
00:14:52You probably know the deal.
00:14:54After months of research, I decided to treat myself holistically with adaptogenic herbs.
00:14:58So what in the world are adaptogens?
00:15:01They are a category of herbs and medicinal mushrooms that help balance your body's reaction to stress
00:15:07while promoting skin, brain, and sleep health.
00:15:10And after treating myself, I noticed a huge difference in health.
00:15:14I created Pekin Valley, a line of four functional herbal mixes that are organic, plant-based,
00:15:20and have no fillers or sweeteners, just five or six ingredients.
00:15:24We are going beyond the standard turmeric or collagen supplement in bringing medicinal herbs
00:15:29and mushrooms that have been used in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic healing traditions
00:15:34for centuries to the modern consumer, you.
00:15:37Our herbs work directly to impact inner health for that outer healthy glow.
00:15:43Unlike most supplement companies in this industry, we're transparent.
00:15:47We prioritize direct sourcing for each of our herbs and mushrooms,
00:15:51cutting out the middleman and ensuring that our farmer and wild harvesting partners are compensated fairly.
00:15:56So while in the aisle of their local Whole Foods, a customer can find out via a QR code on the back of our jar
00:16:03that, for instance, the rose hips that we use in our Nurture My Skin blend is wild harvested from Lesotho, South Africa,
00:16:12and that our sourcing relationship empowers the local economy while degrading the rose hip population in Lesotho
00:16:17as it's an invasive species there.
00:16:20For 65% of our customers, our blends are their first introduction to herbal medicine.
00:16:25Education is key and largely missing from the supplement industry.
00:16:30Those same QR codes lead to science-backed articles and pretty darn good recipes
00:16:35so that we can show everyone how to integrate these powerful herbs into their routine.
00:16:40Most people who are interested in improving their health with supplements have no idea where to start.
00:16:46We're making adaptant is accessible and simple for everyone.
00:16:50Our products are named Balance My Stress or Restore My Sleep,
00:16:53names that really speak to what they are.
00:16:56We're introducing our customers to the benefits of herbal medicine,
00:16:59and the descriptive names really help do that.
00:17:02So what is Pekin Valley?
00:17:04A completely bootstrapped company, might I add, grown into since we started in 2019.
00:17:10Well, we've experienced immense traction in 2020,
00:17:13with our products having been featured in Vogue, Elle, Fashionista, and others.
00:17:17And we're currently stocked at Anthropologie, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and 80-plus independent retailers.
00:17:24We're primarily focused on retail expansion in the natural and mastige retail space
00:17:29in order to make our products, to make wellness accessible to everyone.
00:17:34Our strategy includes growing into retail spaces like Sprouts, Target, and Fresh Market.
00:17:39In September, we'll be launching nationally into Whole Foods, into two different departments,
00:17:44as well as two regional co-ops.
00:17:46The money from this pitch will help us fund and ensure the success of those launches.
00:17:51Pekin Valley is disrupting the stagnant supplement aisle to be more simple,
00:17:55more ethical, and more transparent.
00:17:58Will you help us get there?
00:18:00Thank you for your time.
00:18:02Congratulations on a great pitch.
00:18:03I always love to see neuroscientists.
00:18:05Y'all are blowing us away so far, and we're just getting started.
00:18:09Yes, I'm similarly blown away.
00:18:11I just love how you've taken your background in neuroscience,
00:18:15opening up the gates to natural medicine for so many people, the education component.
00:18:19I think it's fantastic.
00:18:21And congratulations on all of the success so far.
00:18:23In terms of the scale and how we're going to get there and how this money will help us get there,
00:18:29we're planning on using this money to really help with our retail program.
00:18:35So, you know, funding free sampling inside the stores, really pushing those TPRs every quarter,
00:18:43temporary price reductions every quarter, and also participating in programs like Ibotta
00:18:48that a lot of larger brands tend to use to really increase their sales velocity,
00:18:52but that we, you know, as a smaller brand might not have the opportunity to
00:18:57because of the high, you know, barrier of price.
00:19:02That's awesome.
00:19:03Thank you for that.
00:19:04Sharon, what do you have?
00:19:06Well, I think congratulations.
00:19:07I mean, it sounds like a fantastic brand.
00:19:09Congratulations on securing the Whole Foods deal.
00:19:13I think that's incredible.
00:19:14I think my question is around there because obviously retail is a beautiful thing,
00:19:17but it's a double-edged sword at the same time.
00:19:20How do you intend to build awareness?
00:19:22I mean, when I hear a lot of the things you're talking about,
00:19:24those are more trade kind of promotional levers.
00:19:27How are you going to build overall awareness of the brand outside that retail environment
00:19:32to bring people into the store and even beyond to know your brand?
00:19:36Yes.
00:19:36So we have two different plans for this.
00:19:39First, we're going to be leveraging Facebook ads to do those geo-targeted ads
00:19:42so that people who are within a certain area, like within that store,
00:19:47like 10-mile radius, will be able to get ads about our product,
00:19:51and that'll drive them in-store.
00:19:53Another thing that we're going to be doing is leveraging our influencer partnerships.
00:19:57Right now we have around over 200 micro-influencers that we work with,
00:20:02and we're going to be giving them free product in exchange for them posting about our product
00:20:07and really driving that awareness that we are in Whole Foods or whatever retail partner that we're in,
00:20:12and just getting that traffic in those stores so that we can really strive that sales velocity.
00:20:18That's awesome.
00:20:19Let me just take a moment to pause.
00:20:20Those are some amazing numbers during COVID when we keep hearing about all the failures.
00:20:24I just want to congratulate you and all the presenters today for the success you've had.
00:20:28Jenna, I know you have some questions.
00:20:30Of course I do.
00:20:31But first, I wanted to say I just absolutely love what you're doing in this space.
00:20:34I'm a huge fan of adaptogens.
00:20:36Wellness and adaptogens are widely trending.
00:20:39So is mushroom as a base ingredient.
00:20:41And I have to say, as a chief brand officer, your branding is on point
00:20:47and really just loved all the educational content.
00:20:51I think companies don't always leverage the opportunity to educate,
00:20:55especially in a space that's kind of unknown right now.
00:20:57So I just really appreciated all the work that you've done to date
00:21:00and a huge, huge fan of what you've done so far.
00:21:02My question is about just how you're thinking about the future of retail versus direct-to-consumer.
00:21:11You've built a very strong, differentiated brand out there.
00:21:15And obviously, retail pays the bills.
00:21:17But what is sort of your vision for e-com and direct-to-consumer versus relying on just retail?
00:21:25So just to clarify, you're asking about how we will be growing our direct-to-consumer side of our company?
00:21:30Just how you're thinking about it.
00:21:32So are you more interested in having the majority of your business be fueled by retail and wholesale
00:21:39versus e-commerce and direct-to-consumer?
00:21:42Yes.
00:21:43So 100% we're focused on being a primarily retail-first brand.
00:21:49Direct-to-consumer has been great.
00:21:52It's allowed us to build that audience that we need to really, you know,
00:21:57back whenever we launch into those retail doors.
00:22:01So that's kind of, that's our strategy.
00:22:04And we, you know, are planning on going into Whole Foods and then really just focusing on getting more retailer partners.
00:22:12So Sprouts, Target, those kinds of retailers are the ones that we're looking for right now.
00:22:19And are you thinking, and I'm curious, sort of your plan and potentially this funding going towards
00:22:25how you might diversify your internal resources to help support the retail side?
00:22:30And can you tell us a little bit about that?
00:22:32So for this funding, what we're planning on doing for part of it is using it to kind of diversify our current product line
00:22:38to make it more accessible for everyone.
00:22:41What that really means is that we're going to come out with a line of capsuled supplements
00:22:45so that we can, you know, in smaller containers,
00:22:48so that we can go and launch those into more massive retailers like Target,
00:22:53you know, that require a certain price point in order to get in.
00:22:57So really going ahead and having this funding is going to enable me to go to a manufacturer
00:23:05and get that initial batch manufactured.
00:23:10That's great. Amazing work, seriously.
00:23:14Edie and Sharon, do you have any one last question before we go?
00:23:18Yes. I'd love to hear, Ben, I think Jenna started with it, but I'd like to hear about the team.
00:23:23So you've accomplished a lot over the course of, you know, a couple of years and maybe even less than a couple of years.
00:23:28So we'd love to hear about the team.
00:23:31Yeah. So we are a fairly small team based in Seattle.
00:23:34I work with many different contractors that help me with my Facebook ads, influencer marketing.
00:23:41You know, we work with the 3PL that does all of our shipping and fulfillment.
00:23:45I do have one person on my team that helps with social media management.
00:23:49She does all of our socials and she's really great at it.
00:23:53And we are looking to add on a director of sales in this next year.
00:24:00That's awesome. Well, congratulations to you.
00:24:02Thank you so much for joining us.
00:24:04Congrats on hitting that milestone.
00:24:05Look forward to seeing you in Whole Foods and good luck in the competition.
00:24:09Thank you. Thank you guys so much for this opportunity.
00:24:12Great presentation.
00:24:13And be sure to remember this competition is not just about hearing people pitch, but support these entrepreneurs.
00:24:19Go to Whole Foods, go to their websites, buy from them, purchase them, and most importantly, promote them.
00:24:24They need all kinds of support way beyond the money.
00:24:27Next up, I'm pleased to introduce you to Tara Darnley from Peculiar Roots.
00:24:33She and her husband launched Peculiar Roots in March 2020.
00:24:36After a decade of both of them having locks or dreadlocks, there was still no beauty brand catering to their crowns.
00:24:43And so they decided to try and help all of those who are in the lock world.
00:24:47And as a former person, I'm glad to hear you're out there.
00:24:49Tara, welcome. We can't wait to hear your pitch.
00:24:52Hi, my name is Tara Darnley and I'm the founder of Peculiar Roots.
00:24:55Peculiar Roots is a clean beauty brand for people with locks and natural hair with a full line of buildup and residue-free hair care products and accessories.
00:25:04Our products are made with light ingredients that aren't heavy, wax-free, and unlike our competitors, smells amazing.
00:25:12Instead, we use ingredients like aloe vera, black seed, rose water, and more.
00:25:17As a Jamaican native, locks have been embedded deeply in our culture.
00:25:21And after doing my big job, that's cutting off all my hair.
00:25:25Over a decade ago, I just knew I did not want to spend hours doing my hair.
00:25:29So I'm going to decide to get locks.
00:25:31Translation, getting locks was a no-brainer.
00:25:33Locks are rope-like straws of hair formed by matted or braided together.
00:25:38After having locks for over a decade, I struggled to find products that would not leave residue in my hair.
00:25:44And honestly, I was just sick of my crown being overlooked.
00:25:47The gradual accumulation of products on the hair straw will ultimately cause buildup for locks.
00:25:52Having locks makes product buildup more difficult to remove.
00:25:54The lock community has had to use product, wait for it, like dishwashing liquid or household cleaning products.
00:26:02Or Febreze to get their hair deodorized.
00:26:06Until now, I've created products like our Castle shampoo, which is already diluted to remove buildup.
00:26:12And our amazing refresher sprays to bring that wonderful smell to your hair.
00:26:16The beauty industry continues to thrive as a multi-million dollar industry, with the natural care care industry steadily growing.
00:26:23Yet products made specifically for locks are not a system.
00:26:27Black home hair care isn't widely distributed in major retail stores.
00:26:31The lock community continues to grow rapidly through celebrity influence like Jay-Z, Marion, Bob Marley, and many more.
00:26:39However, we still face discrimination from not being able to secure jobs or not even being able to graduate.
00:26:47A huge part of our success is how we serve our customer and how we support them through education and empowerment.
00:26:54We've continued to gain market traction through the visibility we've had selling on Sally Beauties to now expand it in 60 stores nationwide.
00:27:01We also have a subscription model, which many of our customers often subscribe to are their favorite products.
00:27:07We currently sell direct to customers on our website, where we offer an experience like no other.
00:27:12Talk about experience.
00:27:14We also get to meet that market that is also filling a void, which is a promotional marketplace where lockticians are that they need products also for locks.
00:27:24We're now selling on Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Etsy.com, and Kroger's.com.
00:27:29Our team consists of six full-time staff and four contractors.
00:27:33Now you may know, what am I going to do with this money?
00:27:35I am looking for $100,000 in grant investment to be able to expand in our retail placement in more stores nationwide.
00:27:43Sally has over 2,500 stores.
00:27:46Also to provide sufficient funds to have cash flow to be able to buy and purchase our inventory in advance for all these retail placements.
00:27:54I'll also be able to hire my now part-time operation manager to full-time so she can take over our retail growth and I can focus on the things that really matter, like growing our customer base and launching new products.
00:28:07Thank you for this amazing opportunity, and I now welcome any questions.
00:28:12Tara, thank you.
00:28:13That was an amazing presentation.
00:28:16I'm almost wishing I had my locks to solve my big problem.
00:28:21Great, great, great to see the progress.
00:28:23So we're going to kick it off.
00:28:24Ida, got questions for Tara.
00:28:26Tara, congratulations.
00:28:28Melissa, I too had locks about 15 years ago.
00:28:31I'm like, where were the products?
00:28:34Well, congratulations on everything you've achieved.
00:28:37You know, I went on your website and so read your customer reviews, and there's really a really strong sense of community in that you're taking care of people.
00:28:46So I think you've done a great job.
00:28:48You've had the experience in Sally's, right?
00:28:50You're doing direct-to-consumer.
00:28:51You're looking to expand beyond Sally's and into other retail channels.
00:28:57I'm just very curious as to what have been the lessons so far that you've gotten from the direct-to-consumer experience as well as the Sally's experience?
00:29:05Oh, it's definitely been a lot of lessons, especially because, like I mentioned, we launched during the pandemic.
00:29:11And so we did have customers that wanted quick access to our products.
00:29:15Like, they wanted it right away.
00:29:16But during the pandemic, most retail was, like, closed down or people couldn't go outside.
00:29:21And what I found out that even when we launched in Sally's, you still have a diverse set of customers that want that quick access.
00:29:29But because, like I mentioned, that customer experience that we provided, they will literally say, I'm supporting you on Sally's because you're the first.
00:29:36And we want to make sure that's shown through the data.
00:29:40But we want to come to you directly because no one packs like you.
00:29:44No one gives us a gift box like you.
00:29:46No one answers the customer messages like you.
00:29:49And so we've really mastered that.
00:29:51And we're really looking to scale that to the next level as well.
00:29:55Wonderful.
00:29:56That is awesome.
00:29:57Jenna, I know you are anxiously waiting with some good questions for Tara.
00:30:01I definitely have a ton of questions.
00:30:03But one, I just wanted to say, really appreciate how thoughtful you've been about finding a way to fill unfulfilled customer needs.
00:30:12I think it's really hard to differentiate in this space.
00:30:15And so it sounds like you guys are really having some success differentiating yourself.
00:30:20So amazing, amazing.
00:30:22One of my questions, and again, like Ida, spent a lot of time on your website.
00:30:26I'm curious how you think about the depth and breadth of your assortment.
00:30:32And if you find that you have a couple of key marquee products, what is kind of working the best for you between men's and women's and which categories?
00:30:41And how are you going to think about your overall assortment?
00:30:44That's a great question.
00:30:45So as you may have seen, we have a lot of products in just a year span, but literally because we've had that time to nurture our audience, they keep coming to us and they keep asking for products.
00:30:56And so we make it.
00:30:57And every time I personally make a product, I'm thinking, it's not going to sell that well, and they blow it out the waters.
00:31:03And so we really just listen to our customers and curate that experience for them.
00:31:07And so when you look at our men's line that just dropped, that's literally because 10% of our customers are males with locks.
00:31:14And again, that's an underserved community where they have locks, they have beard, they're not being catered to, and we want to make sure we're listening to them.
00:31:23And so we recently launched that kit and sold out for Father's Day because, again, wives are buying that kit for their husband.
00:31:31And also men are shopping.
00:31:33We see a lot more men purchasing for themselves these days.
00:31:37And so we're really catering to that.
00:31:39But really, the main thing for me is always listening to my customers and serving them.
00:31:43I want to be the one place they come to for all their lock needs.
00:31:48I know you've got some questions.
00:31:50This is your space.
00:31:51No, I mean, this is fantastic.
00:31:53I think I love when I saw this, even the synopsis of being like a specialty company for dreads, I thought, wow, this is onto something here.
00:32:01So I think it's fabulous.
00:32:02I think it's amazing.
00:32:03Congrats on all of your success.
00:32:05But I have two main money kind of questions.
00:32:09One, what is the size of the market that you're after here in America?
00:32:13So if you think about the overall population who have dreads and what you project are more people adopting dreads in future, what does that look like for you?
00:32:23Yeah, sure.
00:32:23So the last time we did our research, we had over 5 million people that had locks.
00:32:28And that's continuously growing.
00:32:30When you look at in the Army, it's now acceptable to have locks.
00:32:34And so we have a lot of military overseas people who have locks.
00:32:37And so that market is growing now because they are able to now work and have locks, really.
00:32:42So and we just don't cater to just the U.S.
00:32:46It's steadily growing.
00:32:47So we have customers from France, from U.K., Canada.
00:32:51And so the market is continuously growing.
00:32:54Again, we look at celebrities like Jay-Z or Amarian.
00:32:58And it's not just exclusive to black culture.
00:33:01There are white people with locks.
00:33:03And so it's steadily growing.
00:33:05It's just more so the knowledge of how to take care of your locks and breaking those stereotypes.
00:33:11One of the biggest things that we do for our company is literally educating people.
00:33:16Wash your hair.
00:33:17You don't have to wait six months to wash your hair.
00:33:19You don't have to wait.
00:33:21You know, your hair can smell amazing.
00:33:23And so when people walk around going to work with our refresher spray, they literally have
00:33:27to tell me, do not touch my locks because their hair smells so amazing.
00:33:31And it's like breaking that stereotype like, oh, I thought your hair was supposed to smell
00:33:36a certain way.
00:33:37But now it's like you pass somebody.
00:33:39It's like, wait.
00:33:40What's going on there?
00:33:42What's going on?
00:33:42What's in your hair?
00:33:43I want that.
00:33:45And so we are definitely growing and we are breaking into the natural hair space because,
00:33:50again, our selling factor is the fact that our products are build-up free.
00:33:54And a lot of products, even for natural hair care, it's very heavy.
00:33:59And so people, when you do a twist out, you're seeing flakes on your hair.
00:34:03And people don't want that.
00:34:04And so a lot of those customers are coming over to us as well.
00:34:08And then my last question for you is, how do you consider this as you move into retail
00:34:13and get further distribution and further expansion?
00:34:16How are you looking to market that?
00:34:18Because as well with more, I always joke with people and say retail is always a gift and
00:34:22a curse.
00:34:22Because the more expansion that you get, the more they demand from you, not only in terms
00:34:26of converting their actual shoppers, but they're wanting you in every single location to be
00:34:31bringing shoppers to be picking that up.
00:34:33Well, how are you going into the backup house, which is inventory to sort of support that
00:34:37expansion?
00:34:38How are you also going to support that expansion by creating enough awareness to make those
00:34:43products get off the shelf?
00:34:44So this is more a double-edged question in terms of what are your marketing strategy to
00:34:49support retail in particular, as you look to expand further?
00:34:53Or on the other hand, how are you looking to customize your retail channels to either
00:34:58hinder over-expansion too quickly?
00:35:01How are you thinking that through in terms of your retail strategy?
00:35:04That's an excellent question.
00:35:05A lot of our customers is more of them out, right?
00:35:08And so we have tons of lock community.
00:35:10So even when I did, the unique experience that we had with Sally Beauties and that partnership
00:35:14was a competition.
00:35:16So I won retail placement in there during COVID.
00:35:20And so we had our community voted for us.
00:35:22And so we had one of the high, we had the highest vote when it came to our placement into Sally's.
00:35:27We had the highest vote.
00:35:29And we went back to our community to say, hey, we made it.
00:35:32Can you now show up for us?
00:35:34And so a lot of this is just engaging in social media, like various Facebook groups.
00:35:38I go live, like during a pandemic, I went live for 60 days every single day.
00:35:44That's how I built my audience.
00:35:46And so my audience, we're stuck together forever.
00:35:48They're literally posted in our groups, like, look, I just threw out all this natural product.
00:35:53So I'm going to continue that part, you know, or get it marketing, paid marketing.
00:35:59And to really expand with our retail partnership with Sally's, I'm not just looking to go into
00:36:04every single retail.
00:36:06I'm speaking up.
00:36:07I'm saying, okay, if we're going in your retail, what are you going to bring to the
00:36:11table for us too?
00:36:12And so with Sally's, they helped us during COVID to say, okay, you can't launch in all
00:36:182,500 stores, but here's 60 stores that you can launch in that we've already tested for
00:36:23you.
00:36:23They did a bulk of the marketing for us.
00:36:26And so every retail partner that I'm speaking to right now, they have to also bring something
00:36:31to the table as well.
00:36:32Um, because we want to, we were telling them what we're bringing to the table.
00:36:35Like we're offering you something that doesn't exist and we need your help too.
00:36:39So both, both ways that we're asking for help, um, and voicing and being vocal with that
00:36:44as well.
00:36:44That is awesome.
00:36:46Well, Tara, congratulations on starting and growing a company during COVID.
00:36:52I wish you much luck in this competition and continued success in the business world.
00:36:56Thank you for joining us.
00:36:57Thank you all.
00:36:58Excellent question.
00:36:59Thank you so much.
00:37:01So hopefully you are seeing some amazing pitches and getting excited about purchasing these brands
00:37:06and supporting them.
00:37:07We have one more.
00:37:08I'm pleased to introduce you to Dorian Morris of Undefined Beauty.
00:37:12Undefined is clean, conscious, inclusive plant magic.
00:37:16Their mission is to democratize wellness, undefine what holistic beauty looks like and de-stigmatize
00:37:22plant magic.
00:37:24Ladies and gentlemen, meet Dorian.
00:37:25Can't wait to hear your pitch.
00:37:27Hi, my name is Dorian Morris.
00:37:29I'm the fearless founder of Undefined Beauty, which is clean, conscious, inclusive plant magic.
00:37:35My mission with Undefined is to truly democratize beauty, de-stigmatize plant-based solutions like
00:37:40CBD, like adaptogens, and do so in a way that feels super unapologetic, uncompromising, and
00:37:45unfiltered.
00:37:46For me, it's truly about rethinking beauty and undefining what wellness looks like.
00:37:51Historically, wellness has had one face and unfortunately she was skinny, blonde, affluent,
00:37:56white, and I think we all deserve access to high-quality products that don't cost your
00:38:00firstborn child.
00:38:01So I created Undefined to truly bridge that gap with providing solutions that people can
00:38:05understand and they can afford.
00:38:08So what does inclusivity mean?
00:38:10For me, it's broader than just the color of your skin.
00:38:12It's really bringing people into the conversation that have been historically excluded because
00:38:16they maybe don't know where to start or they can't afford it.
00:38:18And so another piece of my model that is super important to me is what I call conscious
00:38:22capitalism.
00:38:23So this comes to life in a couple different ways.
00:38:24The one important way is across my supply chain.
00:38:27I partner with female-founded, minority-owned, and LGBTQ business because I'm a strong believer
00:38:31that business empowers business.
00:38:33So as I grow as a brand, I have the opportunity to help elevate other communities that have
00:38:37been historically left out.
00:38:39So from my warehouse to my contract manufacturer to my creative team, it's all about embodying
00:38:44the beauty of diversity, both in action as well as within my supply chain.
00:38:49So what makes me uniquely qualified?
00:38:51So I am Harvard Business School educated.
00:38:53I started my career at Macy, so I understand retail.
00:38:56I've also worked across traditional CPG from J&J Beauty to General Mills.
00:39:00I was an early employee at Kendo, which was a division of Sephora at the time.
00:39:04I worked at Sundial as well as CoverGirl Cosmetics before launching Undefined.
00:39:08And so I understand how the cake is baked.
00:39:10And so it's given me the opportunity to really be strategic and how I grew the brand, which
00:39:15to date has been organic.
00:39:17So I 100% bootstrapped and I haven't spent any money on marketing.
00:39:22So it's all been building a community on the ground, grassroots.
00:39:26So what exactly is plant magic?
00:39:28So it's really adaptogens.
00:39:29So adaptogens are tools to balance and help with stress.
00:39:33And so I have two collections, one that's focused on the benefits of CBD, which is the
00:39:38master adaptogen.
00:39:39And I have a new collection that's launching next month, which I'll share with you guys.
00:39:43But in essence, the adaptogenic market is about a $7.4 billion market.
00:39:49The CBD market is about $25 billion.
00:39:52But where Undefined really comes in is this holistic vantage point of tapping into both markets,
00:39:57as well as just those that are looking for clean products that they can afford.
00:40:01And so I think the opportunity is huge.
00:40:03You know, our modern complex lives are super stressful, which takes its toll on your skin,
00:40:07your hair, and your body.
00:40:09And Undefined is creating plant-based solutions that really focus on functional products that
00:40:15are very fun and excessively priced, that are really focused on making you feel good so
00:40:20then you can look good.
00:40:21So phase one was focused on CBD.
00:40:25So here is the CBD collection.
00:40:27One piece that's super important to me is breakthrough packaging.
00:40:30So I incorporated these illustrations that really focus on showcasing the beauty of diversity.
00:40:36So phase one was really focused on experimentation.
00:40:39I built a very strong community, all organically.
00:40:42And then phase two, which I'm extremely excited for, is a new collection that's launching next month
00:40:48called the R&R Collection.
00:40:50It's focused on the benefits of adaptogenic mushrooms to repair, reset, restore your skin
00:40:55barrier, and help protect it against environmental stressors.
00:40:58And in true undefined fashion, I've incorporated diverse illustrations.
00:41:03I'm very intentional in nature.
00:41:04So for example, my cleanser, which is a three-in-one multitasking cleanser, it has this beautiful
00:41:10Asian-American illustration because it taps into the beautiful plant magic of gothicola and
00:41:16green tea.
00:41:16So it's giving a nod to that community.
00:41:19Or this little guy right here, which is my day serum, which is focused on brightening
00:41:24benefits, has this beautiful African-American goddess because we over-index within hyperpigmentation.
00:41:30So I wanted to make sure that we are represented on package.
00:41:33And so for me, my approach to skincare is a little bit different.
00:41:36So it's clinical in nature.
00:41:37So it's taking the beautiful plant magic that Mother Nature has gifted us, as well as pairing
00:41:42that with active known botanicals that you know work.
00:41:45And so it's the beauty of both coming together.
00:41:47So as I think about phase two, I'm super excited to share that this new collection will be launching
00:41:52nationwide at Whole Foods next month, which will be an amazing opportunity to help reinforce
00:41:57the credibility within the clean and natural space, as well as giving my consumers a place
00:42:03that they can pick up the product and go.
00:42:05And so accessibility and having the right partnerships is super important.
00:42:08And by the beginning of 2022, I'll also have expanded into other super important categories
00:42:14because I'm trying to build a one-stop shop with Undefined.
00:42:17And there'll be another very important strategic retail partner coming online as well.
00:42:22So why do you invest in Undefined?
00:42:24Because I have a diversified model.
00:42:26I am at the intersection of beauty and wellness, which is a super lucrative opportunity.
00:42:31I have very strong margins because I understand how to build a business from the ground up.
00:42:35And I am an extremely scrappy, resourceful founder who knows how to, you know, take one plus
00:42:42one equals five when I'm partnering with the right diverse partners to bring magic to life.
00:42:47So I'm really looking for strategic partners that really want to come on this journey with
00:42:51me and truly undefine what beauty and wellness can look like.
00:42:55So thank you so much.
00:42:57Awesome job, Dorian.
00:42:58Thank you so much and love the energy.
00:43:01Love the energy.
00:43:02You kept us going.
00:43:04Let's start your questions off.
00:43:05Ida, let's start with you.
00:43:06What do you have for Dorian?
00:43:08Great meeting you, Dorian.
00:43:09And fantastic product development.
00:43:11It seems like you've got a lot clicking.
00:43:14And congratulations on the success.
00:43:15It sounds like things are going well.
00:43:17So coming into this year, I'd love to hear what were your priorities starting off the year
00:43:23and how those have evolved over the course of the year?
00:43:26Yeah.
00:43:26So Undefined, as I mentioned, phase one was super focused on experimentation.
00:43:30Because I work with small contract manufacturers, majority of them are black female labs or actually
00:43:38brands themselves.
00:43:39It's allowed me as far as phase one to really test the innovation.
00:43:42So I can move quickly with low MOQs, test the demand in the market and scale up accordingly.
00:43:46And so with this next phase, it's really about fewer, bigger, better, and partnering with some key partners to really maximize the opportunity.
00:43:55As I think about COVID and how that's provided the opportunity to pivot.
00:44:00So I didn't mention this, but as part of phase one, I also had a retail platform, which was focused, it was called the Undefined Collective.
00:44:06And it was focused on the benefits of indies coming together and supporting each other.
00:44:11And it was a multi-branded platform that had brands that were all female-founded, minority-owned, LGBTQ, or local.
00:44:18And so it was actually a good data engine for me to understand and inform my innovation pipeline in terms of what are some of the hesitations within the current natural plant magic landscape
00:44:28and how I can solve those key pinch points.
00:44:30But I ultimately decided that if I was really going to maximize this opportunity with Undefined Beauty,
00:44:35I had to let that second baby go.
00:44:37As much as I love to help elevate other like-minded, conscious brand founders like myself,
00:44:43as a team of one, I really had to focus on maximizing this opportunity and really making sure that I'm planting those seeds.
00:44:49So as I start to raise money, which I'm knocking on wood going on that journey now,
00:44:54I actually have the ability to invest in the right places to maximize the growth.
00:44:59So because everything to date has been organic, I haven't spent any money on marketing.
00:45:04So it's been super grassroots.
00:45:06Pre-COVID, I did a lot of events, which really allowed me to be on the ground, engaging with consumers,
00:45:10and really using it as a consumer insights tool to understand specifically on the CBD side of the business,
00:45:17because I was an early mover in that space, you know, what are some of the hesitations within that category?
00:45:21And so I've used a lot of those learnings that I got on the ground at events,
00:45:24as well as through my Undefined Collective platform to inform this new innovation pipeline.
00:45:30And do so in a way where it's simplifying.
00:45:31It's not about 20-step skincare regimen.
00:45:35It's about how do you provide value through multitasking products that are very efficacious but affordable.
00:45:41So it's the sweet spot that's, you know, allowing you to have these high-quality,
00:45:45high-powered, efficacious products, but excessively priced.
00:45:49Well, congrats on that, but also great ideas and information for any entrepreneurs watching.
00:45:55Sharon, what do you have for us in terms of questions?
00:45:58No, I mean, this is beautiful.
00:46:00I think the business is incredible in your business model.
00:46:03There is two parts of it that I want to ask more questions around.
00:46:06One is the supply chain.
00:46:07I think I really love it that you're having this conscious commerce and a very, very conscious supply chain.
00:46:13How do you plan to maintain this as you scale up, especially as you are scaling so rapidly and not really in the pace that potentially some of your suppliers can actually follow you?
00:46:23What is your plan as you're moving from zero to 100 and having to, like, zoom?
00:46:27How do you plan to maintain that whilst being able to supply Whole Foods at this scale and then launching into another mass retailer next year?
00:46:35Yeah, so the good thing is that I used phase one as kind of my learning mechanism.
00:46:41So as part of phase one, I had one, two, three, four, five labs.
00:46:47All of them, as I mentioned, black, female.
00:46:49There was one that was black, male, queer, male.
00:46:54A lot of learnings on working with smaller manufacturers.
00:46:57But I actually found a supplier that I've actually been in contact with over the past couple of years.
00:47:01That's based here in the Bay Area, which is where I am.
00:47:03They are minority owned, but they service a lot of natural products in Whole Foods.
00:47:08So they actually have a large operation that they can grow with me, but they operate as a family model.
00:47:13So it allows me to move very quickly.
00:47:15So, like, for example, I'm going into production this week and I will be launching at Whole Foods in less than a month.
00:47:22So that just shows you how quickly we can pivot and adjust.
00:47:25And unfortunately, I've dealt with some supply chain issues that have been very accommodating.
00:47:30And so I think that they're going to be a strong partner for me.
00:47:34And because I've worked across the space, you know, across multiple brands, I have this portfolio of just resources and suppliers.
00:47:40And so it's allowed me to cherry pick and say, I know that your values align with my values.
00:47:45And I'm going to be then using, you know, voting with my dollar and my wallet to help empower them as well.
00:47:52Amazing.
00:47:53And then my second question is really around marketing.
00:47:54I know you talked about so far most of what you've done is word of mouth.
00:47:58You've looked word of mouth.
00:47:59I mean, that's fantastic scaling now into retail with the expectation on unit per stock a week, run rates and all of these precious retailers or your friends before you get in that you get in.
00:48:08They'd be asking where the money at.
00:48:10So what is your plan in terms of like delivering that dollar beyond word of mouth and actually starting to spread awareness in mass beyond where word of mouth can actually get to?
00:48:20Absolutely. So I think digital is going to be very important.
00:48:23And I think because I'm very uniquely at this place where with the privacy that's happening, I'm starting from scratch.
00:48:29So it's not like I have this historic, you know, KPIs that I have to use.
00:48:34So digitally is going to be super important.
00:48:35I have the ability to partner with Ampush, which is a digital native.
00:48:39They work with Glossier currently, and they're giving me free consulting to help build the infrastructure and strategy.
00:48:44So I can actually start testing some advertising.
00:48:48The challenge is on the CBD side, which is where my products currently are.
00:48:51There's a lot of regulation and just gray areas.
00:48:55And so there wasn't really the opportunity to tap into some of these other digital levers.
00:48:59But with this new collection, you know, the handcuffs are coming off.
00:49:02I'm going to be able to really build that brand awareness strategically through focusing on geo-targeted digital ads.
00:49:09I also am partnering with some other strategic partners that allow me to get a trial.
00:49:16So Ipsy is going to be a partner of mine in 2022.
00:49:19That'll really help get the products in the right hands so they can fall in love with the product and the brand as well.
00:49:26And then also, I would like to start testing some disruptive out of home.
00:49:30I think that if you think about billboards and posters, that's an area that, you know, what's old is new again and really allows you to build that brand awareness,
00:49:38specifically in markets that has a very high whole foods penetration.
00:49:42So because I'm going nationwide, I'm going to be in almost 500 stores.
00:49:46We're going to look at strategic markets where I have the unique opportunity to win based on the demographics or just what the assortment is within that market.
00:49:56So I think it'll be a fun journey as part of phase two to really test how big is big when I start investing.
00:50:02Thank you so much for walking us through everything.
00:50:04I have to say, I absolutely adore your branding and packaging.
00:50:08It is gorgeous.
00:50:09So big, big kudos to that.
00:50:11It looks like a lot of thought was put into that.
00:50:13I am curious around how you really plan on educating your consumers in this space.
00:50:19I know there's a lot of trepidation and how you've been able to navigate the regulatory landscape right now.
00:50:25Perfect.
00:50:26So as part of phase two, another big initiative is going to be a website overall.
00:50:29So currently I'm on Squarespace, which is super suboptimized and in the process of shifting this to Shopify, which will give me way more tools to storytell, really drive conversion and also be more education focused.
00:50:41So I'll have ingredient libraries.
00:50:44I'm also teasing out the idea of how I can incorporate a social selling.
00:50:48So really empowering my community to also be ambassadors on my behalf.
00:50:53I mean, ultimately, I'd love to be the modern day Madam C.J. Walker and really build this empire brick by brick.
00:50:59And so I think having the digital website experience is going to be important in that model and figuring out how to crack the nut on social selling.
00:51:06Yeah, that's great. And are you in terms of the regulatory landscape, are you really sort of focused on your phase two to help break down some of the barriers in terms of access to some of the marketing channels?
00:51:20Absolutely. And so the nice thing about adaptogens is that there's not that same level of regulatory oversight like in the CBD market.
00:51:27And actually, some of these mushrooms can do very similar things that CBD does without all of the gray area.
00:51:33And so it's really about how do you get people over that hump?
00:51:36And I think one piece that's going to be important is tools and that they understand.
00:51:41So right now, as you think about the ingestible space, although this new collection is skincare focused, there is some ingestible in the pipeline.
00:51:47But currently, as you think about the landscape, a lot of them are powders, which for the novice that's, you know, thinking about plant based solutions, it's confusing.
00:51:55It's like, how do I use this powder? What does this do?
00:51:58And so for me, it's about how do I use formats that people can understand, like chocolate, and make it functional?
00:52:06And so it's almost like a multivitamin in the form that you actually would want to use and feel, you know, like you're splurging on yourself from a self-care standpoint to incorporate, you know, this plant magic into your routine.
00:52:17There's also some innovative, I don't want to give it away since this could be shared broadly, but there's some other innovative formats that are in the pipeline that'll come to life next year.
00:52:27Well, sign me up for some chocolate that's good for you.
00:52:31Congrats, Dorian. Great job.
00:52:33Well, you have seen four amazing entrepreneurs.
00:52:36I'm not exactly sure how the judges are going to figure out who gets $50,000 and who gets $100,000, but this is why I'm the host and not a judge.
00:52:43I can't wait to hear Judges Liberations.
00:52:45Let's get started.
00:52:46All right, ladies.
00:52:48We've seen a lot of great stuff today.
00:52:50I mean, I'm pretty impressed.
00:52:52I'm pretty impressed by the people who started businesses in the middle of the pandemic and are in retailers.
00:52:58Exactly.
00:53:00But at the same time, I'm really scared, though.
00:53:02At the same time, I'm scared because there was a lot of last year retailers through tokenism, like just ramming brands into their shelves.
00:53:10And that really scares me because it's good, but it's bad.
00:53:13Because one of the things I noticed with a lot of the contests, a lot of the people who pitch, they still haven't figured out how they're going to market for retail.
00:53:20They still haven't figured out the nuances of retail.
00:53:23Retail is still sounding like this very exciting piece of time.
00:53:26Exactly.
00:53:27They're not seeing the edge of the sword.
00:53:28And it's something I spoke about extensively last year about retailers just really running out there and just grabbing everybody and throwing everybody in shot, which is less simple, but can also be a curse if these businesses are not ready.
00:53:39So that's one of the things that with a lot of them, I had comments about in terms of readiness for retail and the mentorship for them to truly see retail for what it is, as opposed to just this exciting distribution point, because you get that initial purchase order and then what you're going to do.
00:53:55Yeah, exactly.
00:53:56Exactly.
00:53:56You know, you can hear that in your questions for sure.
00:53:59Yeah.
00:54:00Yeah.
00:54:01So do we want to start with Kinnis?
00:54:04K.S.
00:54:05Yes.
00:54:06What do we think?
00:54:08Yeah.
00:54:09Um, I can start.
00:54:11I'm a, I'm a blabbermouth.
00:54:12Um, you know, I love her concept.
00:54:14I think it's fantastic.
00:54:15You know, um, I don't think she should be the hundred grand winner because I think her business is still, she's still figuring it out.
00:54:21Um, she still has to learn the business of the business.
00:54:24To be honest, I was surprised to see how much of the actual business side.
00:54:28I think she's a, a creative entrepreneur.
00:54:30She's a passionate entrepreneur, but the success for her business would really be finding somebody who's the business head.
00:54:38To really stick next to her and sort of, you know, navigate her through this business issues.
00:54:43Cause I can see that really passionate creator who just loves the product and loves what she does, but doesn't really pay attention to the business of it all, which is, uh, quite normal with the entrepreneurs.
00:54:53But you then have to find the yin to your yang, who's that person who's beside you, making sure you understand budget money, how things work and how to operate successful business.
00:55:02Um, yeah, I, I would agree, but I also think, uh, she may have some challenges scaling in terms of her distribution and manufacturing.
00:55:10So I think that that could be a weaker point for her as well.
00:55:14Yeah.
00:55:15Yeah.
00:55:16I mean, I shared the same views.
00:55:17Um, I thought product development looks like a place where it's a sweet spot.
00:55:21Right.
00:55:22Um, but you really have to, you know, she's currently doing everything craft and that has its own limitations in terms of scale.
00:55:29If you're moving into retailers, there's a whole different machine there.
00:55:32So, but I, I thought, you know, pretty impressed by what she's been able to build so far.
00:55:37Um, but yeah, she was on my 50,000 list as well.
00:55:40I agree.
00:55:41Definitely.
00:55:42Definitely.
00:55:42And to be honest, if we were, um, um, in a different world, I would even say like taper.
00:55:47Or if we just don't have that option, because I think she does need quite a bit of time to figure out her business.
00:55:53Like what, what do you actually want from this business?
00:55:56And what, what is the business of it all?
00:55:58Like right now I sort of see it as a really beautiful art, um, but now converting art into a business.
00:56:04And I think she still has a way to go to do that.
00:56:07Um, I mean, I, I really, I loved her passion for self-expression, how she leaned into art.
00:56:13It seems like she's really homegrown, her community, who is very passionate about the space and what she does.
00:56:19Um, I also think she is hitting the nail on the head, no pun intended, um, with really thinking about non-toxic and clean.
00:56:26Um, I think there's a big opportunity for her to help, um, bring on more people who have a little bit more of that business acumen to really just strengthen her business.
00:56:35Absolutely.
00:56:35And I think, you know, I mean, um, her product development skill is amazing.
00:56:39I mean, she's thinking about the right categories, she's thinking about the right products to sort of complete the assortment and complete the range.
00:56:45And that's phenomenal.
00:56:45You can sort of see the pocket, she's thinking quick, dry, you know, two multitasking tools.
00:56:50She's, she has all the right thoughts.
00:56:52So I think that's always a bonus and a plus and incredible.
00:56:55And now it's just about, you know, supercharging the business side of it.
00:56:59And then that's a winner, winner, winner.
00:57:00Yeah.
00:57:01My sister has built a pretty impressive craft business.
00:57:04Um, and so you'd be surprised how far people can go, but there, there definitely is a transition point.
00:57:09And so, you know, she's, she's achieved a lot as a team of one.
00:57:13And so I'm really excited to see what she can do, um, with some resources.
00:57:19Okay.
00:57:20Um, Peculiar Roots.
00:57:22Should we, should we go to Tara?
00:57:24Yep.
00:57:25With my lock envy.
00:57:27Woo!
00:57:28Lock, look, look!
00:57:30Her hair is so beautiful.
00:57:32It's so beautiful.
00:57:35And you can, you can clearly see, I mean, she, she and her husband have had locks for 10 years.
00:57:39You can clearly see they understand the products.
00:57:41And, um, my experience just going through the reviews and the community and hear what people had to say.
00:57:47I think, you know, to your point, um, sharing around, how are you going to build, you know, for retail?
00:57:53I think she has the makings of what it takes to build for retail by getting people in and making them feel as if to say the brand is taking care of them.
00:58:01Um, I love the point around, you know, military folks, um, ordering from abroad, you know, that, that speaks to the reach and, and, and, and the ability to pay, quite frankly.
00:58:10So.
00:58:11No, absolutely.
00:58:13I think I love, I love her business model.
00:58:14I mean, she's found a white space, uh, which is incredible in this space.
00:58:18It's incredibly, um, saturated.
00:58:20She's found an absolute white space that she can really just go into.
00:58:24She has a community that trusts her.
00:58:26She understands the space itself.
00:58:28So there's a lot of authenticity.
00:58:30I just love, love, love, love, love the model.
00:58:32She understands consumer experience and how to surprise and delight the consumer, which a lot of entrepreneurs, we miss that boat because we're too busy on the business stuff and forget about delighting the customer.
00:58:42So I think she's a winner there.
00:58:44And if I had one advice to give to our goal, nail smash D2C, like literally smash D2C because that is your access to the whole world.
00:58:52So every customer around the world, you can really take a number one spot without even diluting your margins, just continue to do what you're doing.
00:59:01So I personally would go, I love everything that she's doing.
00:59:04And if there's one thing I could give her advice with is double down on D2C, double down on your experiences and your gift boxes, because that in itself is a winner.
00:59:12Yeah.
00:59:13And I think she's built just such a passionate community that really engages and interacts.
00:59:17I love that.
00:59:18Um, she's really taking community listening and allowing that to help fuel her product development pipeline.
00:59:24Um, you know, one of my pieces of advice too, would just be also thinking about your, the breadth of your assortment and kind of really doubling down on your core product assortment to ensure that you have your bread and butter paying your bills.
00:59:36And then you're able to sort of test and learn into other categories.
00:59:39But, um, I was really impressed.
00:59:41And, um, you know, personally, I think she had one of the most, um, well thought out pitches in terms of hitting every single mark to give us the information to understand her businesses.
00:59:51She was definitely in a 100K bucket.
00:59:53Yeah.
00:59:53Yeah.
00:59:54So it's not unanimous.
00:59:57Yeah.
00:59:57I agree.
00:59:58Yeah.
01:00:00It's amazing to see that this started in 2020.
01:00:03Yeah.
01:00:06Okay.
01:00:07And we can move on to Pekin Valley.
01:00:10Uh, Nadine.
01:00:12I thought that was wonderful.
01:00:13I'm really super impressed.
01:00:18Yeah.
01:00:18I thought I can go, I can start.
01:00:21Um, I really loved, you know, sort of,
01:00:23sort of the educational aspect of it, because, you know, when you're building these businesses,
01:00:28you're always thinking about how, you know, how do I grow at our grow the audience?
01:00:31And I think her, her instincts around how to grow the audience were very spot on, very clear, um, in ways that somebody, I, myself, I'm not huge and holistic, but I'm ready to go.
01:00:42You know, so I think her angle beyond the product development, her technical credentials, but her ability to grow the audience, I think was really, was really outstanding.
01:00:52Yeah, I would, I would agree.
01:00:54I, uh, I thought she did a really great job presenting all the details and facts.
01:00:58I think she knows where her strengths are and where to bolt onto her team.
01:01:03So really thought it was interesting how she was thinking of bringing on a director of sales because of the challenges of getting into retail.
01:01:09So having someone dedicated and focused on that side and, um, this being such a challenging category, I really appreciated the time she spent on the education and content.
01:01:19And it's just a consistent message and that she actually didn't go too deep in her assortment, but really focused on bringing awareness and education around the products she had.
01:01:28So I'm super, super impressed.
01:01:30Yeah.
01:01:30I mean, I love it.
01:01:31I think, I mean, wellness and supplements is a huge category that continues to grow.
01:01:35Um, the pharmaceutical girl in me back in the day thought, man, this was not gonna, you know, it's hocus pocus, but it's not.
01:01:40And it's, it's amazing.
01:01:41And consumers are running to it.
01:01:43So I think, um, it is so amazing.
01:01:45And I think that there was just so much room to actually grab and there's space to grab.
01:01:49And I think she's found something unique and something really special.
01:01:52Um, and, and to your point as well, the fact that she understands team, she understands structure in terms of what it actually takes to scale.
01:01:59I thought that was quite impressive.
01:02:00And I just think that she set up for success.
01:02:02So, um, there you go.
01:02:03Another billion dollar block of business.
01:02:07I like it.
01:02:09So she was a hundred K for me.
01:02:11Me too.
01:02:12Me too.
01:02:15Ladies were whizzing along.
01:02:16I thought this was going to be so much harder.
01:02:19The first one was harder.
01:02:21We, we, we were tied on one.
01:02:22Yeah.
01:02:23Yeah.
01:02:23The first one was definitely tied.
01:02:25Okay.
01:02:26And then it brings, it brings us to Dorian, um, with Undefined.
01:02:30I mean, what an amazing, beautiful brand.
01:02:34I, I mean, she, you could tell she has the pedigree of working in beauty, um, really understands how to bring something beautiful and delightful to the market.
01:02:42Um, and super excited.
01:02:44She's getting into, uh, the wellness and adaptogen space.
01:02:48Um, I do think that there's going to probably be some challenges just thinking through the regulatory side of the fence.
01:02:52Um, but I mean, I can't believe what she's been able to do as a party of one so far.
01:02:56Um, look, I would say for myself, I'm completely biased when you put in the same pitch, um, CBD and shrooms, come on.
01:03:04Like, yeah, there was nothing she said after that.
01:03:08Like really, no, I'm joking.
01:03:09No, I think, um, you know, it's a cry word product and what I did love about her.
01:03:12I love her passion and I love her energy and her ability to pivot.
01:03:16I loved her as an entrepreneur.
01:03:18Like, I didn't care what she was selling because I know that whatever she puts her hand into, she's going to figure it out.
01:03:24She's going to get challenges.
01:03:25She's going to like try and figure it out and, and, and she will come up with a solution.
01:03:29So, so I did like that about her.
01:03:30I liked that.
01:03:31Um, you know, I was like it.
01:03:32I love, I love seeing crazy founders.
01:03:34And I think, uh, um, and that's a positive thing.
01:03:36I'm like the most cuckoo founder ever.
01:03:38Right.
01:03:39And so, uh, and so when I see her, I see that energy, I see that kind of, um, um, crazy founder energy and everything.
01:03:45And I really love it.
01:03:46And I think, uh, what I did like about her, because when I saw her, it reminded me very similar to me, ideas that was popping everywhere.
01:03:52And it was, would you have the discipline to focus on one thing and sort of like pick the one thing that you want to do instead of, you know, like usher it in.
01:03:59Like when she talked about community and this and that, and just so much you want to do right away and all at once.
01:04:04And I really liked the fact that I could see her now where she's narrowing down and she's sort of going, yeah, this is what I'm going to do first.
01:04:11And that's what I'm going to do next, which is an incredible skill when you have that real, real creative, wide mind.
01:04:17Yeah, absolutely.
01:04:18And I loved, I loved the, clearly product development.
01:04:21I mean, she's got a gift, right?
01:04:22And so you look at the packaging, you look how intentional the packaging is, her ability to move quickly.
01:04:27I mean, to be, to be pivoting and then ending up in Whole Foods, like that's moving at breakneck speed.
01:04:33So I think she has the ability to execute as well.
01:04:36But yeah, I thought, I thought she was great.
01:04:38I'm really looking forward to seeing, to buying some in Whole Foods actually.
01:04:42I know.
01:04:44Yeah.
01:04:44So she was a 50K winner for me.
01:04:48Stay here.
01:04:49I'm unanimous.
01:04:49I'm like, bye.
01:04:51Awesome.
01:04:51Awesome.
01:04:51Awesome.
01:04:52All right.
01:04:52Well, we have to bring these ladies back and ask them what they're going to do with the money.
01:04:56Yeah.
01:04:56Yeah.
01:05:09Judging is never easy.
01:05:11So I really want to thank our judges.
01:05:12And to be able to announce the winners, we are pleased to have Rich Dennis of Essend Ventures New Voices Foundation and New Voices Fund joining us today to help announce our Pitch Please Grow and Scale $100,000 winners.
01:05:27Hi, Tierra.
01:05:28Hi, Tierra.
01:05:28How are you doing?
01:05:30How are you doing?
01:05:31Ah, well, I've got some news for you.
01:05:35You want to hear it?
01:05:36Yes, ma'am.
01:05:37Are you ready for it?
01:05:38I don't think so.
01:05:39Give me a second.
01:05:39Well, guess what, girl?
01:05:42You are the proud winner of $100,000.
01:05:47But not only that, you're also going to get some amazing coaching and amazing mentorship from the folks at New Voices Foundation.
01:05:59I am so pleased for you.
01:06:01So please, please, please tell me, what are you going to use this $100,000 for?
01:06:07Hold on.
01:06:08Let me catch my breath.
01:06:09I am going to...
01:06:12Send some over here.
01:06:14While you think about it, just send a little over here.
01:06:20Oh, gosh.
01:06:21First of all, thank you so, so, so much for this opportunity.
01:06:25I've been a part of the New Voice family since it started.
01:06:29Thank you, Rich, Dennis, and everyone.
01:06:31This really is, like, a moment beyond just me.
01:06:37It really solidifies that what we set out to do with Peculiar Rules to show that there was a market for locks, that it is real.
01:06:44And so I'm definitely going to take the money to continue to expand nationwide, as I said, in stores, in Sally's, throughout the nation.
01:06:52We have another amazing partnership coming up with another retailer.
01:06:56So I'm definitely just going to prepare for that opportunity as well.
01:06:59We're going to hire our operating manager, like I said.
01:07:04So this is going to be good news for her and bring her on full-time and continue to expand and just honestly have products available.
01:07:12No one tells you, like, having a great product that you're going to run out of inventory all the time.
01:07:18And I don't like being that brand, telling my customers we don't have products.
01:07:21So the first order in agenda is to order more products.
01:07:26I love it.
01:07:27I love it.
01:07:27And I am so, so, so delighted that you are actually one of the first recipients of the Pull Up for Change Impact Fund.
01:07:34I am a founder myself, and I understand how difficult it is for Black women like us to raise money, regardless of how great our ideas are.
01:07:41And so I am so delighted that you are such a worthy winner.
01:07:46And I can't wait to see your billion-dollar empire.
01:07:50It's going to be fabulous.
01:07:51And thank you to the New Voices Foundation for coming on board to really support you with that coaching and that mentorship and pull up for change.
01:07:58We're going to continue being out there in the scene, raising money to continue to support amazing founders like yourself.
01:08:05I'm cheesing so hard.
01:08:07My cheeks hurt.
01:08:07You know, and your teeth are going to hurt a whole lot more because there's a lot more of those smiles in your future.
01:08:14Yeah.
01:08:14But I think, so I just want to, and this will be true for, but the power of Black women empowering Black women, the power of Black women investing in Black women.
01:08:29You know, Sharon could be just focused on Oma and just concerned about herself, but she thought about the broader world that we live in, launched Pull Up, and now is leveraging Pull Up to impact other Black women in their businesses.
01:08:47So, first of all, kudos to you, Sharon.
01:08:48That's exactly what we should be doing and how we should be doing, not just talking about the things we're going to do and not just complaining about the things that we don't have, but doing things about it ourselves and using our resources to do it.
01:09:01And then to have you, you know, not just, not just be a recipient, right, but to have spent time in an ecosystem to develop you, right, to help you develop your business, to help you think about it, to help you be able to plan out what you do with 100K and what you do with a million, what you do with 2 million, be able to have that conversation with whoever's in front of you.
01:09:26So you don't, you don't put yourself at a disadvantage by not having had the conversation in a safe space, I think is, I think is the real value of this, of this New Voices ecosystem, of these, of these partnerships that we, that we try to do.
01:09:41But I just, I just want to hear from you what your experience has been with New Voices and how that's helped you get here or how you think it helped you get here.
01:09:55But more than getting here, because we're designed to get here, how do you think it helps you get to where you want to go?
01:10:01Yes, I was just a part of the New Voices Pace Bootcamp a few months ago, and it was incredible.
01:10:07I was learned, I was able to learn how to scale my business efficiently, how to go through retail, how to raise capital.
01:10:14And so being able to raise 100K non-equity capital is insane.
01:10:22And I am a woman of my words, and I can't wait to see the couple millions that I make and make you all proud and invite you guys to dinner and treat you back.
01:10:34It won't be 100K treated back.
01:10:36All I know is I promise that we're going to make an impact, we're going to show up for the lock community, we're going to make change, and we're going to be loud in every retail store and showing that locks is needed, products for locks is needed in every retail shelf.
01:11:00So thank you guys so much for the opportunity.
01:11:03I don't think you guys fully know how this impact is going to change what I'm doing, but I can only show you through action.
01:11:12And I'm definitely going to follow up with every single person to share what you are, what's going to be happening for us.
01:11:21So thank you so much again.
01:11:23You're very welcome.
01:11:24And thank you.
01:11:24I'm thanking you in advance for what you're going to do for this community.
01:11:30You know, I joke a lot, but it's really a powerful place to sit and watch people like yourself transform their communities themselves.
01:11:46All right.
01:11:46And so I'll be watching.
01:11:48I'll be cheering.
01:11:49Like I said, I'll be here to help in any way that I can also.
01:11:52So I'll be as active as I can be.
01:11:55Thank you so much.
01:11:56That really means a lot.
01:11:57Okay.
01:11:58Congratulations.
01:12:00Congrats.
01:12:01Okay, I'm going to go scream.
01:12:04My feet hurt.
01:12:08How are you?
01:12:10I am.
01:12:11I'm doing amazing.
01:12:12I'm a little nervous.
01:12:14I am really excited.
01:12:15Tell me why you're nervous.
01:12:17I don't say nervous at all.
01:12:18Yeah, I mean, I really hope that I was able to get across everything that I'm trying to do with this brand, like the impact that I'm trying to make.
01:12:31And just really excited to hear what you guys have to say.
01:12:34So you said you hope.
01:12:36Where do you think you nailed it?
01:12:37Like, what was the thing that you said or did that you're like, you know what?
01:12:41I got them.
01:12:41I feel like the thing that really differentiates us the most and the thing that really drives my passion with this business is just the fact that we're directly sourced and that we're able to go back and empower communities.
01:13:00Most of the communities of color by, you know, cutting out all of the middlemen and, you know, purchasing herbs from them.
01:13:10I think that's what drives me with this business, apart from, you know, just contributing to other people's wellness.
01:13:19And maybe that's the part I think where I hit on the nail.
01:13:24So you think you think the part about where you invest back in your community, where you're not selfish and take it all for yourself and go find the easiest way to do it.
01:13:35You think the part that says, hey, you know what?
01:13:38This is about community.
01:13:39This is where I make my money.
01:13:41I'm going to invest my money there.
01:13:42I'm going to spend time to figure out a path that brings other people along with me.
01:13:47You think that all of that goodness is why you want?
01:13:50Heck yeah.
01:13:51Yeah, I mean, what are, what even is a business that doesn't invest in back into its community?
01:14:00I feel like that's the model that we all should have.
01:14:05Yeah, that's, that's what we've been building for 30 plus years with this community commerce model.
01:14:10Right.
01:14:10And that's what you're starting to see and to see that you're, that people are taking it in different genres, different industries, different approaches.
01:14:19You know, you don't have to do it the way that we did it, but investing back in your community is the most important thing because that's how we're going to have sustainable communities.
01:14:29That's how we're going to have economic equity.
01:14:32Right.
01:14:32And it's up to us to do it for ourselves and, and, and, and with ourselves with a lot of help.
01:14:37Right.
01:14:38Um, but we have to be contributing to that as well.
01:14:41So, so I'm here to let you know that, you know, you just, you just added a hundred K to your, to your business, um, to go, to go, to go invest back in your community.
01:14:53Right.
01:14:54Oh my gosh.
01:14:55Wow.
01:15:01Yeah.
01:15:02Yeah.
01:15:02Yeah.
01:15:03And so, so I'll, I'll let you have your moment.
01:15:07Right.
01:15:08Um, and then I got a whole bunch of questions as you can tell.
01:15:14Um, thank you guys so much.
01:15:18Uh, thank you.
01:15:21It is, it is, it is, it is women like you that are going to make the generations that come after us sustainable and independent and free.
01:15:33Right.
01:15:34It's, it's women like you that they will grow up and watch you and the things that you do and say, Hey, I can emulate that.
01:15:40I can, I can do that.
01:15:42So, so you, you, you, you've done a few things that I think are extraordinary.
01:15:47Right.
01:15:48One of them is that you're a neuroscientist, right?
01:15:55I mean, so, so what you're also saying to our community is that you can go deep and you can go far in institutional knowledge, in structural knowledge, but you can take that and you can apply that to business and wealth creation and community development.
01:16:16So, so, that would be why you would have won for me.
01:16:21Now, there are other people who just think you got a dope product and a dope offer and that would have won.
01:16:25I mean, that's not bad either, right?
01:16:27But you, you, you, you, you've, you've pulled it all together and, and, and, and we're, we're excited for you.
01:16:35We're, we're proud of you.
01:16:37We're, we're, we're excited to watch how you do this and how you keep moving.
01:16:41And so the thing that I would then ask is, so what are you going to do with this, with this, with this, with this non-dilutive investment?
01:16:49Oh, my gosh.
01:16:53I primarily am going to make, invest it into making sure that we have the product to put on the shelves of Whole Foods and hopefully target in the future.
01:17:05It's going to go towards that, it's going to go towards ensuring that our launch at the Whole Foods is successful and that we can, you know, really bring that change, like bring more diversity to those shelves with, you know, we have a woman of color on the front of every bottle and to make sure that we can, I'm sorry, I'm a little speechless.
01:17:30You know what, take your time, I ain't got nowhere to go.
01:17:38Oh, you guys have no idea the impact that this is going to have in my business.
01:17:47Not all of our ingredients are directly sourced.
01:17:50We have a sourcing trip that we're going to be taking over to India at the end of this year.
01:17:56And I'm going to use this to not only source ashwagandha, which was our initial goal, but to source Eleuthera Root as well.
01:18:07And perhaps, you know, at the end of, probably even sooner at the end of 2022, we're going to be 100% directly sourced, which is the goal.
01:18:19Yeah, there's so many plans.
01:18:21Fantastic.
01:18:22Have you been through, have you been engaged with New Voices before now?
01:18:27Oh, yes.
01:18:28New Voices has been just so impactful for me.
01:18:32I have been in the Chase Business Boot Camp.
01:18:36And I still contact my mentor, Lisa, to this day.
01:18:40She's always helping me get my finances under control.
01:18:42And I was in the Clean Beauty Summer School last year.
01:18:47And both of those programs were so important to the growth of my business.
01:18:52Yeah, fantastic.
01:18:53It's good to hear and to see the results of that work.
01:18:59And I'm just so proud of you and proud of all you.
01:19:03And if you need any help and you need anybody to give you bad ideas, I'm here to help.
01:19:14Well, congratulations, Nadine.
01:19:17We're so honored.
01:19:18You are one of the first recipients of the Pull Up for Change Small Business Impact Fund.
01:19:22And it's such an honor to be able to give it to such a bomb-ass, you know, wonderful, intelligent Black woman who's going to be the next billionaire.
01:19:31So we can't wait to build your yacht.
01:19:32We can't wait to see you also pay for what's other people.
01:19:36And I want to say thank you so much to New Voices Foundation for not only for coming in and really powering this,
01:19:42in terms of also to continue to support you with the mentorship and the support that you need to go even beyond.
01:19:47So on behalf of myself and the Pull Up for Change organization, I cannot wait to see the amazing things that you do.
01:19:53We're not only going to fund you.
01:19:54We're going to be watching you.
01:19:55We're going to be supporting you.
01:19:56We're going to get everybody to go out and push us.
01:19:59And we cannot wait to see your journey to the top.
01:20:03So thank you so much for your great ideas and blessing us with your presence.
01:20:08Congratulations.
01:20:08Thank you, guys.
01:20:10Congratulations.
01:20:12So I think today we had the opportunity to see a number of really impressive entrepreneurs,
01:20:19not just impressive in what they've been able to do in spite of COVID, but the business models that they're building, right?
01:20:26The sort of ways that they're connecting with customers, building community, figuring out ways to be innovative,
01:20:32everything from supply chain to how they're actually reaching the customer.
01:20:36And I think with support, right, you have that kind of talent.
01:20:40Most people we've heard from today, they'll tell you, I'm a team of one.
01:20:44I'm a team of two, right?
01:20:45And you look and see what they've been able to accomplish is incredible, right?
01:20:49And so I think today was just a reminder of what we have in this community and a reminder of what we can do together.
01:20:56And so I'm really excited.
01:20:58It's been really great to sit in and listen to the pitches, connect with folks, but then also really hear how impactful the News Voices Foundation has been to them,
01:21:08working with small teams, and basically what their dreams are, right, and where we can be helpful.
01:21:14And so I'm pretty excited.
01:21:16I mean, I definitely second that.
01:21:19I'm so inspired by the pure grit and passion that have driven these women to create businesses.
01:21:26It is no small feat and all the sacrifices and compromises you have to make to really follow your dreams.
01:21:33And so I'm just, I'm constantly impressed and just so proud that they're going to be able to get the support from New Voices Foundation to continue to fulfill,
01:21:42you know, these amazing dreams and goals that they've set out to accomplish.
01:21:46So I'm super proud to be a part of this, but just very, very inspired by the entire group of participants.
01:21:53Best of luck to all of our winners today.
01:21:55I'm so incredibly proud of you.
01:21:58I can't wait to see what you do out in the world and we'll be watching and we'll be supporting.
01:22:01And everybody, this is not just a pitch contest.
01:22:04Please support, please support, follow these businesses and show them some love.
01:22:08Thank you so much.
01:22:09Wow.
01:22:10What an incredible session.
01:22:11I just want to thank all of our sponsors who've come together to make this possible.
01:22:15Huge thank you to Walmart.
01:22:17Thank you to Beautiful All, also known as BFA.
01:22:22Thank you to Ama Beauty.
01:22:24Thank you, Flower Beauty.
01:22:26Thank you, Ulta Beauty.
01:22:28Thank you, Milk Makeup.
01:22:30And thank you, Essence.
01:22:50And thank you.
01:22:53You're welcome.
01:22:54COLLEGE.
01:22:54Creoci.
Comments

Recommended

Beauty Carnival All Day Saturday July 2 2022-07-02 at 14:29
Essence Virtual Events
13 minutes ago
070222 Center 09 Disney Aftershock 2022-07-02 at 18:10
Essence Virtual Events
14 minutes ago
HOLLYWOOD HOUSE: ESSENCE Conversation: #ScriptMePlease: A Cold Reading Exercise
Essence Virtual Events
17 minutes ago
070222 Beauty 06 MBIB 2022-07-02 at 17:42
Essence Virtual Events
23 minutes ago
G-SALIH
Essence Virtual Events
24 minutes ago
IDA DIVINE
Essence Virtual Events
27 minutes ago
Beauty Carnival | Raising Black Children to Feel Beautiful
Essence Virtual Events
27 minutes ago
ABC New Entertainment with Tamron Hall
Essence Virtual Events
29 minutes ago
Wellness House - back up 2023-03-26 at 15:17
Essence Virtual Events
30 minutes ago
Beauty Carnival | #BlackOwnedEverything Tik Tok Conversation
Essence Virtual Events
34 minutes ago
Beauty Carnival |Aveeno Accelerator Showcase
Essence Virtual Events
37 minutes ago
070122 Center 14 Break and Ignatious 2022-07-01 at 20:23
Essence Virtual Events
37 minutes ago
ESSENCE Hollywood House 2023-03-10 at 20:47
Essence Virtual Events
39 minutes ago
Wellness House: Cracking the Code
Essence Virtual Events
42 minutes ago
HOLLYWOOD HOUSE: ESSENCE Conversation: Director's Cut
Essence Virtual Events
43 minutes ago
Copy of 001 Bambuster Test Stream 2022-09-07 at 21:13
Essence Virtual Events
43 minutes ago
Wellness House: The Fight of Our Lives: Improving Womb Health
Essence Virtual Events
45 minutes ago
TEST CHANNEL 1 2022-07-01 at 03:36
Essence Virtual Events
45 minutes ago
Wellness House: Sculpted Abs with Dashaun Johnson
Essence Virtual Events
46 minutes ago
Beauty Carnival | Face Off and Know it All
Essence Virtual Events
47 minutes ago
WELCOME REMARKS TO HOST
Essence Virtual Events
48 minutes ago
070122 Beauty 04 Face Off 2022-07-01 at 16:17
Essence Virtual Events
48 minutes ago
BWIH - Livestream - Monday 3/28 2022-03-28 at 22:24
Essence Virtual Events
49 minutes ago
HOLLYWOOD HOUSE: Welcome
Essence Virtual Events
50 minutes ago
Essence Holiday Special Sponsored by Walmart
Essence Virtual Events
51 minutes ago