04.03.17
Sephora has named the new entrepreneurs who will participate in the 2017 Sephora Accelerate Cohort, its program supporting a growing community of female founders in all areas of the beauty industry through a collaborative structure with a focus on social impact.
This year’s participants were selected from among hundreds of applicants across the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil and will be mentored by beauty industry leaders, including Pamela Baxter, founder of Bonafide Beauty Lab, and Dianna Ruth, chief operating officer of Milk Makeup.
“The 10 female leaders chosen for our 2017 Cohort represent an exciting mix of product brands, cutting edge technology, and sustainability-focused entrepreneurs,” said Corrie Conrad, head of social impact and sustainability for Sephora.
“We’re excited to mentor this next generation of leaders, as we march toward our goal of supporting more than 50 women-led beauty businesses with a social impact through bootcamps, mentorship, and funding by 2020.”
The 2017 Sephora Accelerate Cohort members are:
This year’s participants were selected from among hundreds of applicants across the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil and will be mentored by beauty industry leaders, including Pamela Baxter, founder of Bonafide Beauty Lab, and Dianna Ruth, chief operating officer of Milk Makeup.
“The 10 female leaders chosen for our 2017 Cohort represent an exciting mix of product brands, cutting edge technology, and sustainability-focused entrepreneurs,” said Corrie Conrad, head of social impact and sustainability for Sephora.
“We’re excited to mentor this next generation of leaders, as we march toward our goal of supporting more than 50 women-led beauty businesses with a social impact through bootcamps, mentorship, and funding by 2020.”
The 2017 Sephora Accelerate Cohort members are:
- Barb Stegemann, founder and CEO of The 7 Virtues (Halifax, Canada): Motivated to act after her best friend was severely wounded serving the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, Stegemann wanted to carry on his mission of peace and created The 7 Virtues as a “socially responsible fragrance” company. The company sources fair market essential oils from nations rebuilding after war or strife, including Rwanda, Afghanistan, Haiti, India and the Middle East.
- Mary Futher, founder and CEO of Kaia Naturals (Toronto, Canada): Kaia Naturals is an indie eco-beauty brand that produces 100% non-toxic and cruelty-free products. Applying her minimalist beauty principals to her brand, Futher created Kaia’s Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloths, offering a completely natural alternative to rayon cleansing cloths, as well as a line of natural deodorants made from charcoal.
- Sara Panton, co-founder and CEO of Vitruvi (Vancouver, Canada): Vitruvi products are multipurpose and good for both people and the planet. The company sources traditional essential oils from more than 30 countries and formulates them in contemporary ways for every facet of a women’s day, according to Patton.
- Adriana Oyevides, founder and CEO of Aloe Vida (Mexico City, Mexico): Aloe Vida is a line of self-care products using organic, Ecocert, kosher and food-grade Mexican aloe vera as a main ingredient. This high-quality line of products combines selected natural ingredients to give skin nourishment, health, and beauty.
- Dana Rae Ashburn, founder and CEO of Able Cosmetics (Brooklyn, NY): Able Cosmetics is a solution-oriented beauty brand aiming to solve everyday beauty problems through user-friendly tools, instructions and tutorials. Ashburn’s own experiences with a learning disability inspired her to create a line of patented color tools as a way to provide hands-on learning experiences for her clients.
- Jihan Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Swivel Beauty (New York, NY): Swivel Beauty is a digital platform that’s revolutionizing how women of color discover and book hair appointments with talented stylists who are equipped to work with their unique hair type and texture. A veteran editor of top women’s magazines, Thompson and her co-founder designed a “Yelp-like” listing system which curates stylists based on referrals.
- Kirsty Williams, co-founder and co-CEO of DashHound (San Francisco, CA): DashHound is a data-science backed social commerce platform for beauty, making it easier for users to follow their favorite influencers and purchase the products they recommend.
- Marta Cros, founder and CEO of The Ritualist (Brooklyn, NY): The Ritualist offers in-home, professional skin care treatments performed by licensed estheticians. Appointments replicate the spa experience at home and include full-service facials with Apto skin care, the in-house line of plant-based fermented skin care products
- Pollini Jorio, co-founder and CEO of Brandlovers (Sao Paulo, Brazil): Brandlovers is an app that matches users with the best beauty products for them, using big data and machine learning.
- Yve-Car Momperousse, founder and CEO of Kreyol Essence (Homestead, FL): Kreyol Essence is an eco-luxury brand that creates 100% natural and ethical beauty products from Haiti with a focus on hair and skin. The signature product is black castor oil, a century old wonder cure sustainably harvested by farmers, produced by more than 50 women, and exported to the US, Canada and Europe.
