- 1 day ago
One of your most powerful marketing assets is your story. In this session, we’ll explore how founders are transforming personal history, lived experiences, and family legacy into brands that resonate far beyond the shelf and services. Join us for a conversation on how storytelling builds connection, trust, and a legacy that lasts.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey! Thanks for staying around. So as I said earlier, my name is Arielle. I'm the founder of V's Bayou.
00:06I am one of the New Voices family founders, and I'm very excited about our next showcase.
00:12So we've got some entrepreneurs who are going to tell their story, but also show you their products.
00:17So I want to bring to stage Jasmine Lewis of V Beauty and Bianca Tatum of Cree & Co.
00:24Give it up for them, you guys. Yeah, y'all look fabulous.
00:28Did y'all know y'all were both wearing pink? Did y'all do that?
00:31No.
00:31Y'all look amazing.
00:35All right, so we have a little bit of time here.
00:37So before we dive into your amazing products, we want to hear about you.
00:42So if you could please give us an introduction of who you are, where you're from, and a little bit about your businesses.
00:48You want me to go first?
00:49Yeah, sure.
00:50Okay. Hi, everybody. My name is Jasmine Lewis. I am the founder of V Beauty.
00:54We are actually in the BeautyCon area. I'm originally from Houston.
00:58And currently live in Atlanta.
01:02And just tell us a little bit more about V Beauty.
01:04Okay. I'm actually a licensed esthetician.
01:07So V Beauty is a skincare brand that focuses on healthy, hydrated skin.
01:12And we wanted to start with the foundational principles of everything.
01:17Love that. And introduce yourself, your business.
01:20Hi, everybody. My name is Bianca Tatum.
01:23I'm from a small town in Georgia called LaGrange, Georgia.
01:27I'm here with Korean Company. I'm the owner and designer.
01:29My booth is about four rows that way.
01:32I started Korean Company in 2020, but I've been making jewelry since I was 13 years old.
01:38And it has evolved over time.
01:40So now I'm here at Essence with you guys.
01:43Well, thank you both for being here and sharing.
01:46So entrepreneurship is not easy.
01:48And I know that there are ups and there are downs.
01:51Can you share some of what you've overcome while being an entrepreneur?
01:55Some of the lessons maybe that you've learned?
01:58I would say for me, some of the challenges is just building as a small brand with a very limited capital and a small team.
02:06And when I say small team, sometimes it's a solopreneur effort.
02:09Like my family is here today helping me at the booth.
02:12So if y'all came down there, everybody that's there is like my mom, my sisters, my really good friends from college.
02:18And so it's just sometimes harder building like that at a larger scale when you're really trying to take it to the next level.
02:26But I think leaning into community and learning how to ask for help has helped me a lot.
02:31Because I've had founders of other businesses step in to help just by me outwardly saying, hey, I'm going to need help.
02:39That's honest.
02:40Something that Jasmine and I were talking about backstage earlier was finding your people.
02:47So that's something that's kind of difficult sometimes when you're vending and you're going to different shows and you're online marketing.
02:54Sometimes it's a bit difficult, but once you find your people and you find your group, things will become successful.
03:02Yeah, where two or three are gathered, right?
03:04So tell us more about what your brand is built to inspire, who your brand is built to inspire.
03:10Like what was the inspiration for you to go from this is something I can do to this is something I have to do?
03:17As a licensed esthetician, I realized there was so much lack of education within our community and how much it was get kept when it came to skin care.
03:27Like even when you think about mainstream beauty in general is very, it's not black.
03:34You know, it's just that you don't see us reimagined in a way that feels comfortable, in a way that feels inviting.
03:43So I wanted to make skin care more simplified, something that was inviting, something that was intimidating.
03:49You didn't have to get on TikTok and be like, okay, I need this to have my skin look like this.
03:53It's more like we can start at the foundation principles of what this is.
03:57And, you know, even if you don't support me, let me help you find something that's going to work for you so that we can get you on something that's consistent.
04:04You feel comfortable because ultimately, you know, when you look better, you feel better.
04:07And it just becomes a whole overall thing.
04:10So we're really for the everyday woman, the everyday man, anybody that's like, I feel a little intimidated, but I still want to look beautiful.
04:19Like I still want to have glowy skin.
04:21I still want to learn more.
04:23We're for that person to kind of, you know, remove that barrier of what that looks like.
04:28Love it.
04:29So my company is called Korean Company.
04:33That's my son's name.
04:34And after I had him in 2018, I was working for a company.
04:39They paid me well.
04:40I did well, but I wasn't really happy.
04:43And I figured if I needed to be away from my son for 12 hours, 14 hours, then I needed to be doing something that I really enjoy doing.
04:50So I picked up my bead box and I started back making my jewelry.
04:55And it kind of just snowballed from there.
04:58But our mission in our company is do what feeds your soul.
05:01If you look on my socials, if you look anywhere on my website, you'll see it says do what feeds your soul.
05:06And I really believe that God gave all of us a gift that we are supposed to express.
05:11And through showing my gifts and through being creative, my hope is to inspire other people to follow their dreams and do what feeds their soul.
05:20Because ultimately, we're all here for a reason.
05:23And it is a big blessing once we figure out that reason and find out what our contribution to the world is.
05:30That's beautiful.
05:31So let's piggyback on that.
05:32What are some of those lessons that, not necessarily lessons, but maybe advice that you would give anyone who wants to go into the jewelry making business?
05:40And then I want to ask you the same about skin care.
05:43Okay, I always like to say Google is your friend.
05:49Google, YouTube University, TikTok, start there.
05:54So that once you speak to someone who is a professional, who has been in the business, you can really get to the questions behind the questions that you could have figured out yourself.
06:04And I feel like through mentorship, whether I was on the mentee or mentor side, it was maybe that question wasn't deep enough.
06:12So if we do our own research and kind of understand what we're trying to do first and then reach out to mentors or other people in the business, that'll give us more insight about what it is that we're trying to do.
06:26And also, I think a lot of people go into business.
06:29I mean, any business person will tell you it's about the bottom line, but I don't believe that.
06:33I believe that if you're doing something that you're passionate about, the money will come and you'll want to get through the hard parts through jewelry design or whatever the case may be, if you're passionate about it.
06:46Awesome. Thank you.
06:48I'm going to agree with everything that you said because I think passion is going to lead everything.
06:53And I also want to add how she said to do your own research.
06:56That is really important because a lot of the time when you're reaching out to people, their time is very limited.
07:01And you don't want to waste that time on asking something that you could find online and you want to go in deeper and like, OK, like I did this.
07:09And you want to also show like, hey, I put in an effort and like this is something that I'm really serious about.
07:14And also I want to add to it is just we have so many resources now as well with AI being so innovative where it is, like a lot of things that you can look on there and you can kind of compare and just kind of do a deeper dive as well as like YouTube.
07:31And then just reaching across like you don't have to always go up, you know, like reach, reach, high, high, high, high, kind of do like who's in your your social circle already.
07:41Like maybe they're doing something that is adjacent and just ask them, OK, like, hey, how do like how do you feel about this or how did you do this?
07:49And then kind of apply those principles to your brand, even if it's like how she's jewelry and I'm beauty, I may ask her something, but I can still apply it to my brand.
07:57Right. There's nothing better to me than being able to grow with your peers, especially like minded peers, because business is not easy.
08:06So you need those friends who understand and you just need a bit sometimes.
08:11And so one of the other pieces of advice that I would share for anyone who's starting a business is making sure that you're actually solving a problem that people have and doing something.
08:19Because like you said, you're going to put your heart and soul into it anyway.
08:22So you want to do something that people really, really need and give them something different.
08:26And so that's what you all are doing and you have products with you.
08:30So we want to see what those differentiators are that you have created as solutions for us.
08:35OK, so we're going to start with some skin care, Miss V Beauty.
08:38OK, I will be your black Vanna White.
08:41OK, and whatever you need me to carry.
08:44Yes, I will carry. I will hold.
08:46Y'all excited about some products?
08:49Yes, I'm excited.
08:50OK, I love skin care, obviously.
08:52OK, so what can I what can I hold for you?
08:55OK, I'm trying to see what I want to do.
08:56You've got a lot going on.
08:57Yes, we do.
08:57So I don't know if anybody has been down to the BeautyCon area, but we had just recently launched these beauty fans.
09:05Our hero product is a rose water.
09:08I was about to say, I see liquid in this.
09:10It is.
09:10OK.
09:11So our hero product is a rose water.
09:12It's called 30 Roses Hydrating Rose Water.
09:14And your skin looks beautiful.
09:16So I'm assuming you.
09:17OK, OK, so what we did is just think of your favorite rose water pair with your favorite mist and fan.
09:25This is on the go.
09:26Very innovative.
09:27So basically you have an on the go type of situation.
09:29So you can use it independently.
09:32You can turn the mist off.
09:33And it's hot down here, so we need this.
09:36And then you can, it has four different settings, about a six hour run time.
09:40And then we sell the refills with it.
09:42That refills the fan about eight times.
09:44That is amazing.
09:45Let me see.
09:46So it's your beauty gadget.
09:48This is beautiful packaging as well.
09:50OK.
09:51What else?
09:52I'll let you hope this one.
09:53Beautiful.
09:55And then.
09:55This is so nice.
09:56This is actually our hero product.
09:59And if you want to come and like test it and kind of feel what it feels like in person,
10:04please, please, please come and see us.
10:07So this is the actual rose water.
10:10Oh, it's pretty.
10:11It's a 30.
10:13It's called 30 Rose.
10:14It's hydrating facial rose water.
10:16We created it to be a vanity staple.
10:19We created it to be a vanity staple.
10:22So you just sit it on your vanity.
10:23It serves as a reminder to do your skin care every day.
10:26And it's something that, of course, again, like I told you, we wanted everything to be
10:30simple, not intimidating, very welcoming, inviting, but also luxury.
10:35You know, like we deserve luxe, beautiful things.
10:38And these are like your everyday bubble bath moments.
10:42And so this is the large bottle.
10:45OK.
10:45And then we also have a mini version of her of 30 Roses as well.
10:52And so can your refill be used for this as well?
10:55You can refill the minis and the big ones.
10:57Oh, nice.
10:58OK.
10:58You can refill the minis and the big ones with the refill pack.
11:01And then this is the mini one.
11:03Oh, it's cute.
11:07Oh, that's too cute.
11:07She's pretty.
11:08And she's little.
11:10But she fits into your bag really, really well.
11:12So if you have a clutch, if you have a cross body, if you're going to the concert tonight
11:16and you're like, I'm hot, let me kind of miss myself, you could do it.
11:21But I also recommend the fan if you go to the concert today.
11:25And what's their booth?
11:26We're in BeautyCon 84-51.
11:30OK.
11:30Yes.
11:31We're in BeautyCon.
11:31OK.
11:31So what you see is you won't miss these big old pink bags.
11:35So if you are here and you want a big pink bag, just come down to the booth and you can
11:39get one for free.
11:40Tell them you came and you was at the stage at SoCo Market.
11:45Thank you so much.
11:46That's our collection.
11:48I know I can't keep them all, but I'm going to keep them on display.
11:51There we go.
11:51They're beautiful.
11:53I like that.
11:53Perfect.
11:54All right.
11:55So we've got some time.
11:57I would love to see your beautiful, I want to say art.
12:00I don't want to just say jewelry because it's art that you're wearing.
12:03Y'all see her earrings?
12:04That's the first thing I saw.
12:06Besides her beautiful braids, I'm like, oh my God, your earrings are beautiful.
12:09OK.
12:09You got it?
12:11Yes.
12:11All right.
12:12OK, guys.
12:13So here we have the acrylic earrings here and here and the ones in my hand.
12:19This style, I just did a tester badge for Essence, but they're all
12:23almost gone, but they will be available online in about two weeks.
12:30I just started making the acrylic earrings about a year ago.
12:34They're super lightweight.
12:35Definitely a statement piece.
12:37And there's a bit of a story behind these ones.
12:42So, you know, one thing that I feel like we don't talk about enough in black motherhood
12:48is the rate that we miscarry or the rate that we have lost in our journey to fertility.
12:57So after I had my son, Cree, I miscarried a few times and I really wanted to make some
13:02earrings that represent just our stories and our pain.
13:07And I was asleep one night and it came to me in a dream.
13:10So I started making the collateral beauty because even though I experienced that loss,
13:14I believe that, you know, God doesn't make mistakes.
13:17So I just wanted something to represent my brand that was really important to my heart.
13:22So I came up with the Sari fabric earrings.
13:25They're huge, but they're super lightweight.
13:27They're pretty, though.
13:28Let me see.
13:30We have them in all colors and prints and they're really special to me, a very special part of my brand.
13:35We also have rings, different styles, different stones.
13:40This is an acrylic ring that's also lightweight and adjustable.
13:44And, yeah, we have about four or five different styles outside of this.
13:49We have our tassel earrings.
13:50We also have bracelets, beaded bracelets.
13:55And then the frame earrings, I actually think I just saw the last pair, but they will be restocked.
14:00What I will say about the acrylic earrings, most of them are one of one.
14:04So if it is something that you purchase, you'll be the only one to have it.
14:07Pretty unique.
14:08That's amazing.
14:09Yes, and I think that's it.
14:12How hard is it to design?
14:14Or is this just coming like you go to sleep at night and you dream of a new design idea?
14:19It's not hard.
14:20For me, it's not hard.
14:22Okay.
14:22Yeah.
14:23Because I've been doing it for so long.
14:24But as an artist, I've known about or heard about different mediums to design.
14:30So I always want to try my hand at it and put my spin on it.
14:33But I definitely feel like, you know, we need to beautify ourselves on the outside to intensify how we feel on the inside and not the opposite.
14:42So I really enjoy making the earrings.
14:45They're something that I love to contribute to the world.
14:48And I like to make them lightweight and friendly and fun.
14:51And they're great conversation starters.
14:53Yes, and I love the colors, the textures.
14:56This is beautiful.
14:57So, yes.
14:59So, what's next for you guys?
15:02Like, what's new?
15:03What's going on?
15:04What can we follow and support next?
15:08You can find me on Instagram at Cree and Company.
15:12Right now, we have a bit of product placement.
15:15If you guys have seen Sisters on BET, if you've seen Bel Air on Peacock, we have some placement there.
15:21So, I really want to transition into producing my jewelry for large television and films.
15:30And where can we follow?
15:32And we can follow at Cree and Company on Instagram and on Threads.
15:37That's it.
15:37Awesome.
15:38Okay, what's next for you and where can we follow?
15:40So, well, we are definitely going to be focusing on the fans because it has been a hot item for us.
15:47So, we are taking it all the way into the summer.
15:50So, we don't have everybody, you know, super hot.
15:53It's a hot girl summer, but you don't have to be hot.
15:56So, that's what we'll be focusing on.
15:59And then, also, our transition over into hospitality and travel.
16:04We are targeting that market and exploring what that looks like so that you can experience us at your hotel stays and also, like, while you're at the airport.
16:13So, that's what it's made for us.
16:15I love that.
16:16And where can we follow?
16:17You can follow us at V-BeautyX.
16:20So, it's V-I-E-BeautyX.
16:22So, it actually starts with a V like Victor.
16:25BeautyX.
16:26All right, y'all.
16:27Give it up for these amazing entrepreneurs and their amazing products.
16:31Y'all are awesome.
16:32Thank you so much for sharing with us.
16:34And y'all make sure to check out their booths and go shop as well online.
16:38All right.
16:39Thank you, guys.
16:39Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:40Thank you, guys.
16:47Thank you, guys.
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