Sephora is not just the beauty mecca where women go to spend their money shamelessly on Fenty Beauty and Pat McGrath. The personal care retailer is also responsible for helping to accelerate Black beauty founders’ innovative ideas through Sephora Accelerate.
Sephora Accelerate is a six-month program designed to build a community of forward-thinking businesswomen. The commitment begins with a one-week boot camp, then the founders experience a series of mentoring sessions and business challenges. The entire initiative culminates into Demo Day, where participants present their company to gain investments.
This year, Sephora Accelerate has selected 13 founders for the 2020 cohort, including women from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico, Singapore, Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. Among those selected to participate in the accelerator are Kymberlee Hill, a co-founder of Curl IQ; Helena Mendes, founder of Mawena; and Dawn Myers, founder of THE MOST.
To date, the accelerator has supported 58 founders across ten countries and provided over 1,750 hours of mentorship. According to a statement released by Corrie Conrad, vice president of Sephora Stands, the company reached its 2020 goal.
“We see a unique opportunity to draw from our history of working with entrepreneurs to build a supportive community for early-stage female founders,” Conrad said.
The program will continue to widen the network of resources for women entrepreneurs.
“We look forward to building an even richer and more diverse experience now and into the future,” Conrad said.
