Connect Who or what is your inspiration in business?

My inspiration is little Black girls who were just like me - struggling with anxiety/confidence, and for every Black Girl who were told they weren’t good enough/wouldn’t amount to anything. As a Black girl at a PWI, I felt the struggles daily. I mixed activism & innovation, and at 18 years old from my dorm room, my brand was born. My cosmetics were like magic- something to make the small number of women of color around me feel powerful in a place where we had been silenced.

How do you stay motivated?

My motivation comes from God, past struggles of poverty, & from the little Black Girls who look like younger me. Everyday I strive for higher education, scholarship, service & the advancement of social entrepreneurship within Black communities. I am the change & mentor/inspiration that I needed growing up, so I know someone else needs me. Feeling pretty IS a protest and beauty should be a reflection of REAL life. The world wants to silence us, but make them have no choice BUT to feel

What would you do with the $25,000?

With the $25,000 I will invest back into my business and community, changing lives through cosmetics and therapeutic touch while growing more eco friendly manufacturing efforts, create jobs for women of color, and scaling + expanding into larger markets. This funding will ensure that I become a fully functional cosmetics line, purchase a studio/storefront to create & sell rather than working from my home kitchen and continue to revolutionize ALL people.