Tisha Thompson brings two decades of beauty industry knowledge to her current role as founder and CEO of LYS Beauty, a “clean” cosmetic company specializing in skincare for people of color. After working for others in the industry, the 41-year-old entrepreneur accumulated diverse experience in product development, brand management, and marketing. 

Beauty and makeup were always her first love, but she began her professional life in the unglamorous world of accounting. 

“Makeup was my side hustle,” she explained. “It’s what I loved to do, but it didn’t seem like I could make a career of it. I had very traditional military parents. They wanted me to go to college and get a real job.” Following their instruction, Thompson pursued an accounting degree, which turned out to be “the best decision I ever could have made.” 

Thompson’s accounting training gave her the financial skill set that proved essential years later when she transitioned into entrepreneurship. Long before that happened, however, accounting opened the door to the industry she loved. 

“I was fortunate to be hired as an accountant for an established beauty brand,” she said. “One day, I took a demotion when a marketing coordinator position opened up. I went from balancing books and booking journal entries to getting coffee and opening retail locations nationwide. It was an opportunity to propel myself to what I wanted to do.” 

Thompson rose to the position of senior vice president — an experience she described as being in “boot camp.” Eventually, she was ready to strike out on her own. “I said to myself, ‘I can do this for myself. I have what it takes to run a beauty brand.” She launched LYS (for “Love Yourself”) in 2021 during the height of the pandemic. It was a precarious moment to introduce a small venture to the marketplace, and Thompson’s mentors in the beauty industry advised her to wait. She decided, however, to follow her entrepreneurial instincts. The gamble paid off. “Oh, my goodness, people showed up and showed out when we launched the brand. It was phenomenal. We projected four months of inventory at launch. We sold it in 10 days.” 

Thompson credits the brand’s initial success to the story and mission behind LYS Beauty. 

“We fill a void in the clean beauty space,” she explains. “I had seen so many other brands treating people of color as an afterthought in their marketing and product development. I wanted to create a brand that prioritized people of color. It was important to me to create a brand rooted in inclusivity. Right out of the gate, I ensured we had a scalable brand that worked for every skin tone.” 

LYS Beauty achieved success during a pandemic – no small accomplishment. Thompson, however, is now focused on longevity and legacy. That has meant a significant concentration on money management and financial planning for the business and her household. Thompson admits engaging in a steep learning curve to ensure growth and stability. 

“Even though I came from accounting, I didn’t come from wealth,” she maintains of her working-class upbringing. Initially, the millennial founder didn’t believe she had the tools to necessary create generational wealth and gain solid financial footing required for the long haul. To gain a comprehensive financial education, Thompson leaned on industry mentors for advice as well as enlisted a financial advisor to help her manage finance and avoid common money traps. 

She asserts: “I had to establish a budget and a financial plan. As an entrepreneur, it’s very easy when you start getting liquidity to go crazy and try to keep up with the Joneses. The way I was brought up, for example, you got your tax refund check, and the next day, it was gone. It’s important to make something of those opportunities.” 

Thompson has embraced a sensible saving and budgeting strategy and places a high value on insurance – a hard lesson she learned from a family tragedy. “I started the company with very little money. I didn’t think it was something that I would ever be able to do. Then, I lost my dad to a massive heart attack, but he had an insurance policy. The policy covered his burial costs, but the additional inheritance allowed me to invest in my company. That’s how I started my business. That’s why insurance is important to me,” she explains. 

As a business owner, Thompson has benefited from insurance protection to navigate problems typical of product retail – transit damage and the like: “Creating and generating the revenue is one side of the equation, but then protecting it is another. You have to protect your downside.” 

Beyond insurance and budget planning, Thompson is now exploring investing more aggressively in real estate and building a diversified portfolio as part of wealth management. She believes the identification of multiple revenue streams as a savvy way to generate wealth and help finance a contingency fund as protection against unexpected circumstances 

“When you talk about things like a pandemic or all those situations you can’t [forecast] like the market being unstable or consumers not spending as much, you want to weather the storm. Remember, makeup is a discretionary [buy]. I want to make sure that we have liquidity and are being y smart financially.” 

As things stand, the future looks picture perfect for LYS Beauty. Thompson has plans to extend the company’s reach in the US and expand her brand globally. Moreover, she’s optimistic about the progress of Black voices in the beauty industry. “I pinch myself every day because I have a business that’s done over $12 million in sales since we launched. It’s breathtaking. Many of us who began in the industry working for 

established brands in instrumental positions now have the opportunity to create our own. We can bring our thinking and our voices to the light.” 

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Nyckoles Harbor II is not just a top-performing athlete. He has also displayed his potential as a visionary and adept investor. 

At 18, he is one of the fastest high school sprinters in the nation. A top-rated football recruit, he aspires to represent the U.S. at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and make a lasting impact in the NFL.

Beyond his demonstration of athletic prowess and declaration of his amateur and professional standing, he is also focused on personal wealth building for himself and his family. He has aimed high, seeking to achieve billionaire status by leveraging athletic talents and NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deals and gaining a solid financial education in money management, insurance planning, and investing. His greatest advantage: Time is on his side.

Harbor’s journey is a narrative of hard work, resilience, and seizing opportunities. He overcame asthma and other health challenges. Early on, he failed to start on the varsity football team during his freshman year and eventually became one of the top players within two seasons. His passion for track and field led him to join Full Speed Athletics, a youth track club that provided him with the support and encouragement he needed to flourish in that arena.

Now, at the University of South Carolina, Harbor has chosen to major in exercise science, reflecting a broader interest in health and wellness. His academic pursuits coincide with his dual-sport endeavors, balancing football and track. He showcases his agility and speed as a receiver on the football field. Moreover, he excels as a sprinter on the track, participating in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter dashes and relays. 

The introduction of NIL has played a pivotal role in Harbor’s financial journey, propelling him closer to his goal of amassing $1 billion. The flexibility afforded by NIL has enabled him to venture into investments and explore ownership opportunities beyond his reach just six months ago. In shaping his long-term wealth goal, his inspiration has been NBA superstar-entrepreneur LeBron James, who has not only amassed massive wealth in the sports and business arenas but has made a significant impact through the upliftment of communities.

“NIL opens up a lot of new [opportunities] that can help me and my family. Even though my mom and dad don’t want me to help them,” says Harbor, who hails from the Washington, D.C. metro area. “I want to retire them early, as fast as I can. So, investing in real estate [and] getting equity in companies is something I want to do.”  

Harbor’s NIL deals include partnerships with a fragrance company, an insole venture, a trading cards company, and even a smoothie producer. Through gaining advice and representation, he has gained valuable insight regarding the reciprocal nature of success: His contribution to the growth of these enterprises will, in turn, enhance his brand.

Beyond his athletic and financial pursuits, Harbor has sharpened his focus on his post-college career. Determined to continue his education, he plans to obtain bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in exercise sports. Moreover, engaging in a career that can quickly change one’s professional trajectory due to unforeseen, career-altering setbacks like injuries, Harbor has developed a laser-beam focus on money matters. In fact, he emphasizes how foundational lessons from his mother about money management represent the cornerstone of his approach to financial self-sufficiency.

Although he has envisioned glory on the gridiron, he does not allow himself to take his eye off the ball when it comes to building wealth through frugal spending, impactful investments, and asset protection, as well as developing multiple income streams.

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Legions of Black entrepreneurs possess the passion, acumen, and resilience to launch and grow businesses. Still, scores of them stumble when it comes to personal financial planning and creating deep-rooted family prosperity.

Roughly 78% of U.S. small business owners believe business success serves as one of the routes to generational wealth creation. In fact, more than a third of these business owners plan to leave cash or assets to their progeny.

Providing such financial security, however, tends to be a tough proposition for Black business owners challenged by issues like retirement financing, saving for their children’s college education, or securing the right insurance policies to pay whopping medical bills that may come with long-term catastrophic illness. 

Among those seeking to avoid potential financial pitfalls are Chevalo and Monique Wilsondebriano, founders of Charleston Gourmet Burger Co. 

When they started the Charleston, South Carolina-based venture in 2012, the enterprising couple knew such planning proved essential to their well-being and the company’s sustainability.  

For over a decade, the Wilsondebrianos have sold Gourmet Burger Marinade and Gourmet Burger Sauce—condiments to add flavor to burgers, chicken, turkey, pork, and vegetables.

Their tasty product lines have been widely successful and are sold everywhere, from grocery stores to e-commerce platforms. One plan the couple has recently cooked up: Relaunching their once-popular frozen burger line for grilling season this year.

Building family wealth has been a part of the Wilsondebrianos’ long-term strategy from the start. As they evolved as shrewd business operators, they realized the importance of staying focused on retirement, financial education, and life insurance, among other financial tools. 

Estate planning and business succession have also served as critical components. “We have always looked at it as a business that can be passed down or made sustainable for the children,” says Chevalo, citing that he and his wife were the first within their families to own and operate a business. He plans for their three daughters — Brianna, 29, Shannon, 28, and Amber, 18— and son, Ashley, 19, will not be the last, having taught them the principles of wealth accumulation since childhood. 

Asserts Chevalo: “What was important for us is breaking those generational curses. I didn’t want our kids to ever be on welfare; I didn’t want them to have to struggle. And so, we wanted to really, really be smart and be intentional about how we were building Charleston Gourmet Burger Co.”

Monique says she grew up in a poor household where money management and investing were not among the topics discussed during dinner. As Monique came of age, she did not learn much about the rudiments of managing debt, saving, and investing. Charleston Gourmet Burger served as the catalyst for changing the family’s financial behaviors. 

Along with financial guidance on taking a disciplined approach to planning, saving, and investing from mentors like family members and financial professionals, the husband-and-wife business team sought help to engage in asset allocation and build a diversified investment portfolio that includes a mix of conservative stocks, bonds, and real estate. Monique says: “We were making smart investments with the money. It’s more than just making money; you must know what to do with the money once you make it.” 

The couple talks to their children a lot about family finances, gaining their children’s input on a range of issues. Says Monique: “We feel like the best way for us to really generate that generational wealth, is the kids must be involved with financial planning.” 

One of the advantages that Gen Z media makers have over previous generations is the ability to leapfrog the so-called “gatekeepers.” Thanks to social media, you don’t have to stand in line to connect with your audience if you have the talent to support your ambition. Just ask ascending media personality Sárah Lee.

At 21, this recent Hampton University graduate with a degree in broadcast journalism has established a solid niche for herself as a podcaster, celebrity interviewer, and social media influencer. She has interviewed A-listers like popular actor Michael B. Jordan and chart-topping rapper-producer Pharrell. At the same time, her podcast, Set Up 4 Success, reaches a growing audience of Gen Z students and recent graduates hailing from HBCUs with original content focused on managing shared life, career, and financial struggles. 

Lee launched Set Up 4 Success in June 2023 and has used her platform to showcase accomplished young people breaking new ground and forging exciting, unconventional career paths. Guests have also included popular Gen Z influencers like DeAndre Brown; Brooke Hart Jones, founder of HBCYOU Dolls, the HBCU-inspired doll collection; and DJ and media personality Nyla Symone.

Lee’s journey has inspired the podcast. “Set Up 4 Success started right after I got out of college,” she explains. “I worked so hard during undergrad, and I was surprised to find that I didn’t have a job after graduation. I understood the pain that a lot of Gen Zers go through trying to find their purpose and what they want to contribute to the world.” 

Lee wants the podcast to inspire her audience by presenting her Gen Z peers’ relatable experiences. “I’m very intentional about the people I’m interviewing,” she continues. “These conversations are tailored to young people and finding purpose, how to build wealth and success. Gen Zers benefit from these conversations because I’m talking to people who understand the journey.” 

No one understands post-graduate life better than Lee, who, in a short time, has had to acquire financial skills and discipline to fulfill her ambitions. Her work ethic has always been there, but respect for the dollar was not apparent. “I didn’t always understand the concept of managing money well because I’d been spoiled – my parents always provided for me,” she said. “The first job I ever had—I was 14 years old. I had this hunger and this drive to make money, but as fast as I made it, I would spend it, like young people do.”

Too often, she leaned on her parents financially when she needed funds to prepare for various event appearances to raise her profile and build her brand.

“I really hated that. I had to learn to prioritize and determine what’s necessary and what can be held off on for a while.” Regarding money matters and running a business, Lee said she benefits significantly from the many HBCU alums in her social network and values their guidance and mentorship.

“This ties directly with what the podcast is about – setting young people up for success so they have a reference point when they start making money, enter corporate America, become entrepreneurs, or whatever path they decide to follow. These are the steps I should take right now as a 20-something to make sure that I’m prepared for what’s ahead.’”

Beyond the podcast realm, Lee has developed a growing presence within the media coaching and personal branding space, helping her young, HBCU-focused client base to improve their presentation skills as professionals and effective communicators. She also assists her clientele with creating compelling social media content to achieve staying power beyond the quick “flame and fade” viral sensation.

“I work with people who really are trying to build a relationship with the Gen Z community and provide educational, valuable content that will last for a lifetime,” Lee says. “I always lead with intention because young people are smart and know how to weed out the fake. Always make sure that you’re crafting an honest, true connection with the Gen Z community.”

Lee also gained a boost through the AT&T Rising Future Maker program. In 2022, she was among 25 HBCU students selected for its “Dream in Black” initiative, highlighting young people making a difference in their communities. The experience provided an important platform for Lee to amplify her voice and build her HBCU network, which has proved essential to expanding the podcast’s reach.

“My financial team is built solely from my HBCU network,” Lee said. “That’s why I always rave about attending Hampton University because, within that network, there are so many successful people in the finance space.”

Lee will further connect with that cadre of financial experts as she focuses on paying down her student loan debt and expanding her business, which earns the bulk of its revenue from podcast sponsorship and consulting fees. She has also tapped her advisers to offer guidance on such issues as finding ways to ensure income stability and growth and engaging in proper credit management to avoid derailing her finances.

Lee has also taken the initiative in her application of professional financial advice. “I’ve already started planning for retirement by opening my Roth IRA. When my income comes in, I set aside the money for my retirement, my student loans, and my business travel and expenses before I spend any money.” Her goal is to be as intentional with her finances as she is in her work.

Lee’s other advice for Gen Z entrepreneurs? “Trademark everything! Establish an LLC. Protect your content and ideas. And utilize your mentors, people who are really successful. I like to say that my biggest flex is my contacts!”

Amplifying the economic and professional strength of HBCU networking is not only Sárah Lee’s mission but also the foundation of her early success.

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Rod Johnson, 36, and Pernell Cezar, 37, are childhood friends who have leveraged a lifelong bond of shared values, complementing skills, and love of community into a thriving young business. BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages, which produces and distributes a product line of quality coffees and teas, is growing its market share while investing real dollars in America’s youth. The duo donates 5% of BLK & Bold’s gross revenue to nonprofit organizations that provide guidance and support to children to help them “become the best versions of themselves.” 

Johnson is BLK & Bold’s co-founder and chief values officer; partner and co-founder Cezar serves as CEO. 

Both friends hail from Gary, Indiana, but attended different colleges—Johnson at Indiana University and Cezar at the University of Northern Iowa. The two remained in touch through college and post-graduation, nurturing ideas of entrepreneurship and joining forces to start a new venture. 

“My professional background is in merchandising and consumer goods development, focused on building national and emerging brands,” Cezar explains. “Ultimately, that professional background, along with my passion for mixing community impact and entrepreneurship, is where Rod and I started maturing our conversation about what doing business together would look like. BLK and Bold is the byproduct of that.” 

Their talks during the Summer of 2017 helped solidify the concept, which joined Cezar’s love of coffee with Johnson’s passion for tea and their respective roles in what began as an eCommerce business. Johnson would take on the “digital experience,” managing social media, community outreach, and the company’s social impact mission, while Cezar would run operations and sales. 

“It was a very organic start,” Johnson said. “We were learning on the fly how to start a business.” 

Cezar set up shop, roasting beans in his garage in Des Moines, while Johnson worked on his laptop from his couch in Sacramento. The venture started coming together and finally launched in 2018. It didn’t take long for BLK & Bold to draw loyal customers and a growing corporate clientele. Soon, cafes wanted BLK & Bold to supply them. 

Business growth and mounting demand eventually brought the partners under one roof, first sharing space in a local brewery and ultimately moving into their current space, a 33,000-square-foot facility in Des Moines. 

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking broad economic havoc, BLK & Bold made a successful leap into national retail in partnership with Target. Today, BLK & Bold is a fixture on corporate and university campuses. At the same time, shoppers can find selections at an estimated 12,000 retail outlets across the United States, from regional grocers to big chains like Albertsons, Safeway, and Walgreens. 

“We’ve been able to secure some landmark partnerships, like working with the NBA and Ben and Jerry’s, because of who we are at our core,” Johnson said. Microsoft, Amazon, and Bank of America are anchor partners, also. “We are a social impact company that is trying to invite more people into conscious consumerism by way of their everyday habits. And that philosophy—that ethos—is entities with a similar focus.” 

For both men, the determination to make BLK & Bold profitable and socially impactful comes with the understanding that the company’s money management structure must be coordinated with its dual priorities. The two are also engaged in keeping laser-beam focus on their personal financial needs as well. 

As Johnson put it: “As a bootstrap business, we have to be intentional with where we allocate resources so there isn’t a lot of frivolous spending. We don’t have the luxury to make those mistakes or take those risks.” He cited inventory missteps as valued learning opportunities that helped shape the partners’ disciplined approach. 

Cezar credits their successful merger of business and social impact with the ability to prevent company growth from outpacing the founders’ control. 

“Rod and I self-funded the business, and we are still 100% co-owners,” says Cezar, noting that while BLK & Bold has been fortunate to attract investor capital and lending support to fund its expansion, the pair have been careful to sustain the right balance—the price of capital would not be control of the direction of the company or a compromise of its goals. 

“We are almost six years into the business, and we’ve learned a lot about the various means of capital and the needs of investors and lenders. And so, we’ve been open to learning and pursuing opportunities. Nonetheless, we continue to navigate and control the pace of our journey.” 

Of course, the flip side of 100% control of a venture means assuming 100% of the risk—a responsibility both men take especially seriously. Entrepreneurs who choose the coffee business confront marketplace uncertainty and unique production challenges. Strong insurance coverage is a must. 

Cezar: “We’re roasting coffee beans to between 400 to 500 degrees. If we have a fire and the equipment that we’re financing is down, we’re screwed if we can’t replace it as fast as possible. So, it becomes essential to play offense by playing defense and having the right coverage across the different needs.” 

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Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl A. Cooper—both 34 and Morehouse College alums—are driving an expanding cultural revolution with their Eastside Golf lifestyle and fashion brand. Launched in 2019, the company brings youth and hip-hop swagger to traditionally staid golf courses. 

The duo’s creative sportswear is just a piece of a larger mission to attract young African Americans to golf and bring greater diversity to the sport. 

“When I first started playing golf as a child, golf wear was all khaki pants and a white Polo shirt—our culture and fashion were missing, and I didn’t enjoy it,” says Ajanaku. He was introduced to the sport at an early age and later aspired to a pro career. Unable to garner sponsorship, he turned to entrepreneurship to finance his dream. 

The two have also used Eastside Golf to not only drive their business passion on the greens but also use the venture to get on deck to master the lessons required for long-term financial success.  

Eastside Golf started with Ajanaku’s self-designed logo for his golf gear – a cool graphic of a Black golfer based on himself, with a club raised and a swinging gold chain. His friend and Morehouse brother Cooper, a PGA professional and Eastside Golf co-founder, immediately sensed that the logo was lightning in a bottle.

The response from the tee box has been strong. Ajanaku says he shipped the first 3,000 orders from his apartment in Detroit, where he lived during the company’s inception. At the same time, Ajanaku and Cooper forged a strong partnership based on their love for the sport and their desire to bridge the traditional golf world with the culture. “I think we’re well qualified to do just that because of our common experience,” Cooper says. “We both started playing golf at six years old and went on to compete at the junior and collegiate levels. Something that we’ve talked about forever is that golf needs culture…golf needs representation. We’ve worked together and figured out ways to align passion with purpose. That separates us from any other apparel business or golf company.”

Both partners have finance backgrounds and learned about money management and budgeting early on. 

For instance, Cooper gained his introduction to personal finance and business while in grade school. He and a friend realized they could buy a box of brownie mix for a dollar, sell the cut-up baked product for 50 cents each, and earn a tidy profit. He’s been focused on figures ever since. 

That’s not to say that Cooper hasn’t had to learn valuable lessons from financial challenges. “I was introduced to saving and investing really significantly around college. Because, again, you had an allotted amount of money, and it had to stretch. I can also remember my first credit card. I went off to spring break and ran it all the way up. I’m fighting this hole, right, because I didn’t have the steady income coming in, he says. “But as I progressed. It taught me how to really learn how to manage finances by setting a budget, which we do obviously for the company, but that’s something that we need to do with our own personal finances.” 

Ajanaku, who graduated from Morehouse with a degree in accounting, worked in regional sales management for eight years after graduation. He says money management was vital once he launched the business since “I started off with my savings, a credit card, and my cryptocurrency [account].” With limited funds, he had to be extremely precise about managing inventory – how quickly he sold items and when he had to replenish stock across an array of different sizes. “I didn’t do a very good job of that at the beginning. But now, we’re hiring a fractional accountant. Hiring people [who] can actually help us figure [out] what those sizes are that we need. Learning from our mistakes is definitely helping us move forward.”

The company bootstrapped for a year and a half, but it was clear to Ajanaku and Cooper that they couldn’t sustain the business on savings and sweat forever. It was time to raise capital to promote business growth. The funding avenue they chose was a SAFE note – a Simple Agreement for Future Equity. 

For many startups, SAFE notes are a simpler, more “founder-friendly” alternative to more traditional funding sources and represent a simpler alternative to convertible notes and other more conventional routes to funding. A SAFE note is a legally binding agreement that allows investors to buy future shares at a set price. Like convertible notes, SAFE notes include valuation caps and discounts but provide the founder with a more straightforward formula and greater flexibility.

“You still need to hit your valuation threshold, but there are safeguards in it,” says Cooper, adding that the SAFE note documentation opened the company to the kinds of investment opportunities they weren’t prepared to take advantage of in the earlier stages of the company’s development. “We had the desire, we had the intensity, but at the end of the day, you needed the paperwork.”

Another critical challenge for growing e-commerce retailers like Eastside Golf is keeping pace with tax requirements across the many states where the business is bringing in sales. Cooper stressed the importance of enlisting a CPA to ensure tax compliance and conducting a nexus study to determine when earnings hit tax thresholds in each state. “If you don’t do the study, it’s easy to fall behind in your tax payments and not realize it until it’s time to file.”

The hard work and lessons learned have produced impressive dividends for the company. The founders recently announced that Eastside Golf secured an investment from the PGA, marking the first time the golf association partnered with an apparel company. “To have that credibility, to have the game’s governing body decide, ‘We’re going to park our money with you” – that’s huge,” Ajanaku says. 

The company continues to grow. Their focus on promoting diversity in golf has bolstered its partnership with NIKE’s Jordan Brand, including its Change 1961 collection—inspired by the year the ban on Black golfers earning tour cards and participating in competitions was lifted in professional golf. 

Adds Cooper: “Having a partnership like that puts us in a unique position to get young people back to the game.”

The two are also focused on building generational wealth as they build the business. “The advice that I would give to other entrepreneurs as they develop their own personal finance goals, and even for the business, is you need to start preparing today. I know it’s a cliché, but you need to be looking [at] ‘where I am today is, not where I want to go.’ In order to be prepared with where you want to go, there may be financial advisers that you need to start talking to now.” It doesn’t necessarily mean you need a ton of money, but at least you’re prepared, as Ajanaku mentioned earlier when the moment does arise.

The partners are still focused on their personal finances. Cooper, who manages his money from a conservative standpoint, says: “We need to be saving. We need to be thinking about contingency plans. One of the things that I’ve always done is never make a move that can affect my lifestyle.”

Asserts Ajanaku: “At the end of the day, what do you want to do with your life? That is what the money is for. You can do your job for 40, 50 years, then retire, and then you can go on to your retirement, or you can take that money and actually invest it into your dream and make that retirement even so much larger.”

Swing by swing, Eastside Golf continues to build bridges between words and bring youth and cultural authenticity to professional golf.

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If it’s true that necessity is the mother of invention, then it was inevitable that a Black woman would create an all-weather head cover to protect that fresh-from-the-salon hairstyle from the elements – unexpected rain, wind, and humidity. And, of course, the inventions would have to be practical, affordable, and certainly fashionable. 

The inventor turned out to be Tracey Pickett, founder and CEO of Hairbrella, an Atlanta-based company offering a chic line of elevated hair coverings designed to preserve even the most delicate or elaborately coiffed hair’s shape and texture through inclement weather. 

“Growing up in Atlanta, I would go get my hair done, and it would rain every single time!” Pickett explains, echoing a common frustration of Black consumers who invest significant time and money in their appearance for both professional reasons and personal satisfaction. When it comes to Black hairstyles, a sudden downturn in the weather can ruin that ample outlay in seconds. 

She asserts: “I think for our generation, we’re the first to have an idea, go online and research it, and then be able to bring that idea to the market. With internet access, I could interest investors and bring the resources together and start a business.” 

Inspiration is indeed powerful, but there’s always risk in starting a venture, especially one dedicated to a product that has never existed. Would consumers grasp the concept and respond favorably? Would the research, development, and marketing cost overwhelm whatever revenue came from that first critical sales stage? 

“Well, starting your own business means taking a personal financial risk, and that’s exactly what I did,” Pickett says. A law degree and full-time work at one of the nation’s largest public companies provided her with stability and a year’s worth of savings to get started, but the path was still treacherous. “I wish I had saved for three years because I needed that money. There was a period when I was very vulnerable and not in the best place financially.” 

Pickett’s perseverance and willingness to put everything on the line to realize her vision helped Hairbrella through growing pains and make a strong impression on potential investors: “If I was going to have anyone invest in my business, I needed to show that I was willing to risk my well-being and financial resources to see it grow.” 

As with many new entrepreneurs, one of Pickett’s most significant obstacles was her inexperience in running a business and managing its assets. 

“As I was building the business and finally bringing in venture capital, I realized that I had to think differently about managing the company and my finances. I had to Hairbrella understand what investors were looking for in terms of return. That was new territory for me – definitely a learning experience.” 

At the same time, Pickett did make some smart early decisions, like filing a patent for the Hairbrella concept out of the gate – that’s the attorney in her – to protect against copycats. Even with such protection, imitators have invaded her space as the audience grew and her concept has become universally understood and accepted. 

“The real core of how you protect yourself is execution,” she says. “If you know your consumers better than your competitors or those trying to infringe on your IP, then you can execute and serve your community better. At the end of the day, that [will] win the game, and they can’t copy that. 

Pickett also realizes that meeting the customer’s needs goes hand-in-hand with the management of the company’s finances. To that end, she meets weekly with her team of financial advisors and her mentor/investors to report out the latest numbers and get feedback on the company’s progress. She has become just as methodical and diligent in handling her personal money matters. 

“I’m creating accountability,” she says. “You build a team of people who constantly hold you accountable, so the financials don’t become a blind spot. I was able to put together my own group of advisors who helped me grow and become savvy to run the business effectively. And also make sure that I have a good outcome for myself.” 

Now in her late 30s, Pickett is starting to think about legacy and leading Hairbrella through the next phase of its evolution. While Hairbrella has some ground to cover, Pickett holds business aspirations for achieving unicorn status –$1 billion or more in revenue – for her baby. 

“We’ve been around now for seven years. I definitely want to have an exit event, but I want the business to continue to thrive. I’m focused on bringing about the financial resources, the board, and the advisors to help us reach that next level.” 

She is also focused on executing her personal wealth plan as well. 

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