11.24.20
Nine beauty entrepreneurs have been selected to participate in the first national crowdfunding pitch event for Black and Brown woman-identifying founders, hosted by Black Girl Ventures (BGV) and Rare Beauty Brands (RBB). The public can stream the pitches tonight (Nov. 24) at 6pm EST by registering here.
The pitch competition can be streamed online at www.blackgirlventures.org for one week. Voting closes on Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m. CST / 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be announced on Dec. 2, 2020.
The winner of the virtual competition will receive distribution on ulta.com in 2021, cash prizes, business mentorship with Rare Beauty Brand’s leadership and more. The participants will also have access to the BGV Connect Incubator, which provides access to community, capital, and capacity building through entrepreneurial education including webinars, VC feedback sessions and trainings as well as business development resources including virtual co-working sessions, virtual pitch practice, mentorship, and funding opportunities.
The nine finalists are:
Gianne Doherty, Organic Bath Co., Boston, MA.
Organic Bath Co. believes in self-care made simple: Mindful moments, peaceful thoughts and nurturing your skin from the outside in. We know what you put on your body is as important as what you put in it—so we created an award-winning bath and body line using only organic and natural ingredients that are safe, effective and easy to use. Our products are an invitation to slow down and indulge. Nourish your skin. Enhance Your Natural Beauty. Trust that what you’re using is clean, not complicated.
Aja Frierson, Habit Cosmetics, Malibu, CA
Aja created Habit in 2013 when she couldn't find a nail polish brand that had everything she was looking for: a clean formula that was good for her nails with gorgeous on-trend colors and sustainable packaging that looked good on her bathroom counter. After two years of development, Habit was finally born. Habit Cosmetics is a vegan and cruelty-free, non-toxic and sustainably packaged makeup brand with a focus on high-performance, multitasking formulas.
Chinonye Akunne, ILERA Apothecary, Detroit, MI
Born to Nigerian immigrants, Chinonye developed a strong sense of pride for her Igbo culture. Through her studies and experience in the prevention of exposure to harmful chemicals in the workplace, she honed-in on her passion for creating holistic skincare products to protect and revive the skin and body. ILERA Apothecary was launched in 2015 with the values of creating plant-based skincare products with the highest quality and ethically sourced ingredients.
LaToya Stirrup, KAZMALEJE, Miami, FL
In her 16 years of experience, LaToya led teams through the process of ideation, creation, development and launch to bring advertising campaigns and projects to life for some of the biggest global brands. In 2016, she launched her own brand KAZMALEJE. From innovative hair tools to stylish cosmetic/travel bags and leisure wear to fashionable home accessories, KAZMALEJE creates lifestyle amplifying tools and accessories that empower women, men and kids to pamper and groom themselves with love, care and style.
Kim Roxie, LAMIK Beauty, Houston, TX
After her mother passed in 2014, it became Kim’s mission to give women of color access to safe, natural beauty products. LAMIK started as a local makeup shop and now offers clean color cosmetics for women of color who historically have been marketed more toxic makeup options than their counterparts. LAMIK is transforming the standard of beauty with makeup made with safe, natural and organic ingredients.
Kitiya King, Mischo Beauty, Washington, D.C.
While pregnant with her son, Kitiya was unrelenting in her search for chic, richly hued polish that would cause no harm to her or her unborn baby. With a degree in chemistry and licenses in Cosmetology, Esthetics, and Makeup Artistry, Kitiya was well equipped for the challenge before her—that of filling the void of luxe, non-toxic nail lacquer in the beauty landscape. In 2013, Mischo Beauty was among the daring to revolutionize a highly-toxic beauty segment – nail lacquer – which has been notorious for formulas with synthetic chemicals and endocrine disruptors. Mischo Beauty is committed to the philosophy to do no harm as they innovate across the beauty landscape.
Takia Ross, Accessmatized LLC d.b.a. KiKi Thunda Cosmetics, Baltimore, MD
Takia is a professional make-up artist and owner of Accessmatized Make-Up Artistry and KiKi Thunda Cosmetics, a small batch cosmetics manufacturing company started in 2013. Busy professional women were looking for no fuss lip products that they could rely on to help them to make a statement without saying a word. In response, she developed KiKi Thunda products, a line of highly pigmented, long lasting, water resistant, smudge proof liquid matte lipsticks.
Angela Fields, CurlyCoilyTresses, Tampa Bay, FL
Angela created CurlyCoilyTresses in 2014 to provide fragrance-free hair care options for people with naturally textured hair. The CurlyCoilyTresses®️ difference is products that are: Effective, enriching, ultra-nourishing textured haircare in minimal-ingredient, carefully curated formulations. Clean, plant-based, ageless, genderless, cruelty-free, vegan formulations. Rejuvenating to chemically- and physically damaged hair restoring its youth-like luster while calming porosity using organic, wild-harvested, thoughtfully selected ingredients. 100% fragrance, scent and masking agent free.
Symone Gates, Bade Collection, New York, NY
Symone started creating pain management products she could use post-workout, utilizing herbs heavily researched and shown to relieve both inflammation and soreness. After a year of testing, she brought the Bädé Collection to life in 2017 and incorporated more advanced ingredients, such as Hemp derived CBD. Delivering skin loving benefits in a luxurious and safe way is the continual driving force behind the Bädé Collection. With that in mind, all products are synthetic and preservative free and focus on simple formulations that consistently deliver.
The nine founders initially presented on Nov. 17, 2020 with a three minute to pitch, followed by a two-minute Q&A with a panel of beauty industry professionals and celebrities, including American TV personality of Project Runway fame, Vanessa Simmons; Vice President of Skincare, Suncare, Fragrance and Bath at Ulta Beauty, Penny Coy; and Executive Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at AfroSheen, Kendria Strong
The pitch competition can be streamed online at www.blackgirlventures.org for one week. Voting closes on Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m. CST / 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be announced on Dec. 2, 2020.
The winner of the virtual competition will receive distribution on ulta.com in 2021, cash prizes, business mentorship with Rare Beauty Brand’s leadership and more. The participants will also have access to the BGV Connect Incubator, which provides access to community, capital, and capacity building through entrepreneurial education including webinars, VC feedback sessions and trainings as well as business development resources including virtual co-working sessions, virtual pitch practice, mentorship, and funding opportunities.
The nine finalists are:
Gianne Doherty, Organic Bath Co., Boston, MA.
Organic Bath Co. believes in self-care made simple: Mindful moments, peaceful thoughts and nurturing your skin from the outside in. We know what you put on your body is as important as what you put in it—so we created an award-winning bath and body line using only organic and natural ingredients that are safe, effective and easy to use. Our products are an invitation to slow down and indulge. Nourish your skin. Enhance Your Natural Beauty. Trust that what you’re using is clean, not complicated.
Aja Frierson, Habit Cosmetics, Malibu, CA
Aja created Habit in 2013 when she couldn't find a nail polish brand that had everything she was looking for: a clean formula that was good for her nails with gorgeous on-trend colors and sustainable packaging that looked good on her bathroom counter. After two years of development, Habit was finally born. Habit Cosmetics is a vegan and cruelty-free, non-toxic and sustainably packaged makeup brand with a focus on high-performance, multitasking formulas.
Chinonye Akunne, ILERA Apothecary, Detroit, MI
Born to Nigerian immigrants, Chinonye developed a strong sense of pride for her Igbo culture. Through her studies and experience in the prevention of exposure to harmful chemicals in the workplace, she honed-in on her passion for creating holistic skincare products to protect and revive the skin and body. ILERA Apothecary was launched in 2015 with the values of creating plant-based skincare products with the highest quality and ethically sourced ingredients.
LaToya Stirrup, KAZMALEJE, Miami, FL
In her 16 years of experience, LaToya led teams through the process of ideation, creation, development and launch to bring advertising campaigns and projects to life for some of the biggest global brands. In 2016, she launched her own brand KAZMALEJE. From innovative hair tools to stylish cosmetic/travel bags and leisure wear to fashionable home accessories, KAZMALEJE creates lifestyle amplifying tools and accessories that empower women, men and kids to pamper and groom themselves with love, care and style.
Kim Roxie, LAMIK Beauty, Houston, TX
After her mother passed in 2014, it became Kim’s mission to give women of color access to safe, natural beauty products. LAMIK started as a local makeup shop and now offers clean color cosmetics for women of color who historically have been marketed more toxic makeup options than their counterparts. LAMIK is transforming the standard of beauty with makeup made with safe, natural and organic ingredients.
Kitiya King, Mischo Beauty, Washington, D.C.
While pregnant with her son, Kitiya was unrelenting in her search for chic, richly hued polish that would cause no harm to her or her unborn baby. With a degree in chemistry and licenses in Cosmetology, Esthetics, and Makeup Artistry, Kitiya was well equipped for the challenge before her—that of filling the void of luxe, non-toxic nail lacquer in the beauty landscape. In 2013, Mischo Beauty was among the daring to revolutionize a highly-toxic beauty segment – nail lacquer – which has been notorious for formulas with synthetic chemicals and endocrine disruptors. Mischo Beauty is committed to the philosophy to do no harm as they innovate across the beauty landscape.
Takia Ross, Accessmatized LLC d.b.a. KiKi Thunda Cosmetics, Baltimore, MD
Takia is a professional make-up artist and owner of Accessmatized Make-Up Artistry and KiKi Thunda Cosmetics, a small batch cosmetics manufacturing company started in 2013. Busy professional women were looking for no fuss lip products that they could rely on to help them to make a statement without saying a word. In response, she developed KiKi Thunda products, a line of highly pigmented, long lasting, water resistant, smudge proof liquid matte lipsticks.
Angela Fields, CurlyCoilyTresses, Tampa Bay, FL
Angela created CurlyCoilyTresses in 2014 to provide fragrance-free hair care options for people with naturally textured hair. The CurlyCoilyTresses®️ difference is products that are: Effective, enriching, ultra-nourishing textured haircare in minimal-ingredient, carefully curated formulations. Clean, plant-based, ageless, genderless, cruelty-free, vegan formulations. Rejuvenating to chemically- and physically damaged hair restoring its youth-like luster while calming porosity using organic, wild-harvested, thoughtfully selected ingredients. 100% fragrance, scent and masking agent free.
Symone Gates, Bade Collection, New York, NY
Symone started creating pain management products she could use post-workout, utilizing herbs heavily researched and shown to relieve both inflammation and soreness. After a year of testing, she brought the Bädé Collection to life in 2017 and incorporated more advanced ingredients, such as Hemp derived CBD. Delivering skin loving benefits in a luxurious and safe way is the continual driving force behind the Bädé Collection. With that in mind, all products are synthetic and preservative free and focus on simple formulations that consistently deliver.
The nine founders initially presented on Nov. 17, 2020 with a three minute to pitch, followed by a two-minute Q&A with a panel of beauty industry professionals and celebrities, including American TV personality of Project Runway fame, Vanessa Simmons; Vice President of Skincare, Suncare, Fragrance and Bath at Ulta Beauty, Penny Coy; and Executive Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at AfroSheen, Kendria Strong
