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Beyoncé haircare line is shattering projections at Ulta Beauty. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, in early 2024 the “Cowboy Carter” artist launched Cécred, a science-backed and self-funded haircare brand that was six years in the making, with inspiration from her mother Tina Knowles’ salon. Its products cater to all hair types and include a clarifying shampoo, scalp scrub, moisturizing deep conditioner, and r estoring hair and edge drops, which reached its first-year projections in just one month, WWD reports. View this post on Instagram A post shared by CÉCRED (@cecred) Cécred secured a retail deal with Ulta Beauty, bringing its products to 1,400 Ulta Beauty stores starting April 6, 2025. A party was held at Ulta Beauty’s Westwood location in Los Angeles, CA, to celebrate its launch with Beyoncé sharing kind words. “I grew up in a hair salon, as most of you guys know, with my mother, and this was [our] dream,” Beyoncé said at the event, according to Glossy. “Our team worked so...
Tabitha Brown has claimed a new title to strengthen her commitment to small businesses. In her journey as an entrepreneur , she has leveraged her social media platforms—originally catapulted to fame by a viral video of her enjoying a TTLA (tempeh bacon, tomato, lettuce, and avocado) sandwich from Whole Foods Market—to foster meaningful connections with her community. Through her vibrant spirit and authenticity, she has also cultivated a strong following base, leading her to benefit from customer acquisitions. That support is evident through ventures such as her natural hair care brand, Donna’s Recipe, which is available at retailers such as Ulta Beauty. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DONNA’S RECIPE™️ (@donnasrecipe) “Social media has been EVERYTHING for my business – it’s how I got my start! I know people say that ‘Followers are not dollars,’ but for me, it has been the secret ingredient to my success,” Brown said in an email Q&A with AFROTECH™. “It has allowed me to...
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has done it again. Cécred The iconic entertainer, who earned her first Grammy in the prestigious album of the year category for “Cowboy Carter” in 2025, shows no signs of slowing down. Her influence stretches far beyond music and into the business world, where she has made a significant mark in the haircare industry. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Houston, TX, native launched the science-backed and self-funded haircare brand Cécred, drawing inspiration from her early years spent at her mother Tina Knowles’ salon. This venture highlights her entrepreneurial spirit and deep connection to the beauty industry. “Hair has always been a very big part of our lives,” Tina, who served as Cécred’s vice chairwoman, told Essence. “Just as fashion saved our family, hair is how we made a living.” The inception of Cécred was six years in the making. Its hair repair technology has led to its first line of products, which includes Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub...
MC Lyte wrote her first single at 12 and later became a pioneer in Hip Hop. The Brooklyn, NY, rapper, born Lana Michele Moorer, would bet on herself early on and auditioned for First Priority Records, in front of its signees Kirk “Milk Dee” Robinson and Nat “Gizmo” Robinson, as the label, ran by Nat Robinson, were looking to sign a female artist. With the permission of her mother at the time, she went to the audition, which was held in a basement. “Here I am going to this guy’s basement in Brooklyn. It could have ended so many different ways. However, I laid the first rendition of ‘I Cram to Understand U’ down on there,” she said in an interview with “The Breakfast Club” podcast. Ultimately, MC Lyte’s talents led to her signing to the label in 1986, per Blackpast. She reveals she was given a $5,000 advance, which was spent to purchase a vehicle. “I got an advance, which was $5,000, and I took that $5,000 and I put it on my Jetta, the whole thing like ‘Yeah that’s all I need is a...
An interest in computer science has led Candace Mitchell to raise millions in funding for Black hair care. Forbes reports when Mitchell was 10 years old, she tinkered with installing software on the family computer, marking her official exposure to computer science. “I remember thinking, ‘I want to create software that can run on millions of computers like this one day,’” Mitchell told Forbes. She would study web design in high school, and in higher learning she attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science. She then ventured into the workforce landing IT roles at Siemens and Pepsi but made the decision that she no longer wanted to work for other companies. She wanted her own. With just $1,000 collected in a checking account, she became an entrepreneur and launched Myavana, a platform that taps her interest in technology for the purpose of disrupting the haircare market for Black women. Per the company’s website, it requires users...
Artificial intelligence (AI) can sometimes seem unpredictable and even scary, but Cliff Worley wants to help business owners understand how it can help them take their companies to the next level. Worley stresses the importance of taking the time to learn AI tools rather than immediately running away from the ever-evolving technology without ever attempting to understand it . As an accomplished marketing leader and growth advisor to startups, he has an affinity for helping entrepreneurs elevate their businesses. Worley is on a mission to do so by teaching them how to use AI to the advantage of the business they’re looking to grow and scale. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH™ Conference (@afrotech.conference) Currently, Worley is the head of portfolio growth marketing at Kapor Capital. He provides strategic coaching to venture capital-backed companies on how to effectively go to market and scale customer acquisition. He also curates a newsletter called “Cliff...
Morgan State University is receiving extended financial backing from a leading company that works to “build breakthrough crypto solutions.” On May 14, the National FinTech Center at the Baltimore, MD-based HBCU announced it had been awarded a three-year $1,050,000 grant from Ripple. The new funding will go toward advancing the center’s blockchain and fintech research, education, programming, faculty and student technical projects, ecosystem development, operational support, educational workshops, blockchain clubs, and a fintech solution incubator, per a news release. “This generous $1,050,000 grant is not just an investment; it’s a catalyst that propels our ability to innovate, collaborate, and prepare our students to be at the forefront of the FinTech revolution,” said Ali Emdad, Ph.D., f ounding director of the National Center for the Study of Blockchain and FinTech. “The ongoing partnership with Ripple stands as a beacon, illuminating the path toward a transformative educational...
What better time to give Black women their flowers than during Women’s History Month? Although the recognition should be 365 days of the year, the annual observance is a special time. As the celebration continues throughout March, AFROTECH™ is spotlighting Black women in technology and across various industries. On Nov. 13-16, AFROTECH™ Conference 2024 will return with its Women’s Summit. During last year’s conference, the Women’s Summit’s topics ranged from disrupting the beauty industry with technology to redefining leadership. In the meantime of finding out this year’s panel lineup and discussions, here are five women speakers who have previously graced AFROTECH™ Conference 2023’s stages, held memorable sessions, and spread gems of wisdom. AFROTECH™ 2024 speaker applications now open!
Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, has announced a historic expansion of its curriculum. The liberal arts college’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program will now include a concentration in cosmetic chemistry for students majoring in chemistry and offer a minor in cosmetic science for students with outside majors, according to a news release. The announcement reportedly marks Spelman College as the first-ever Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to offer such a cosmetic science program. The expansion’s purpose is to provide students with technical knowledge for working in beauty and raise awareness about career opportunities in the ever-growing industry. Moreover, the school’s mission is to “ensure a gendered and racial perspective in product formulation and development” as only 2.5% of the beauty market is occupied by Black-owned brands, the news release notes. “This expansion of our curriculum speaks to Spelman’s innovation and commitment to giving...
Raising $4.25 million, co-founders Jasmine Shells and Denise Umubyeyi are two of 250 Black women to raise more than $1 million in venture capital. According to a press release shared with AfroTech, their software company Five to Nine closed a seed round led by Black Ops Ventures with participation from Slack Fund and Cleveland Avenue. To date, Five to Nine has raised $5.75 million with the help of recurrent investors such as Mike Gamson, Sterling Road, and Concrete Rose Capital. The funding will expand its product and engineering teams, strengthen its sales capabilities, and launch new customer solutions.
To ensure bias is removed from skincare product development, Revea has raised $6 million in funding. According to a press release, the Seed II round was led by Alpha Edison. In addition, Ulta Beauty, WaldenCast Ventures, GISEV, Verlinvest, Kathaka, and Stanford Co-Chair Musculoskeletal Imaging also participated in the round. “Ulta Beauty was founded to disrupt the status quo and today, we remain focused on doing just that across every touchpoint – with greater personalization than ever before,” said chief digital officer at Ulta Beauty Prama Bhatt, according to a press release. “We are thrilled to support Revea as they continue to disrupt and deliver unique, personalized skincare solutions.”
Camille Rose — one of the largest Black-owned hair-care brands in the U.S. today — is not new to mass retail partnerships, as it has existing relationships with retailers like Target, Sally Beauty, CVS, and more. After being in business for over 10 years, Camille Rose has announced today that it has scored its most distinguished partnership deal to date with Ulta Beauty, launching in both physical U.S. stores and online, according to Glossy. Retail Brew reports that after becoming the most-requested brand from Ulta shoppers, the retailer reached out to form the new partnership. “Ulta will heighten our awareness and provide a different consumer, one who may be more ingrained in the beauty experience,” founder Janell Stephens told the outlet. The news of this new partnership arrives after Ulta announced a grand diversity plan to do a bigger push behind Black-owned beauty brands and double the amount of brands stocked at its store locations. Similar to the retailer’s action plan, we’ve...
Ulta Beauty has reiterated its commitment to investing in Black-owned beauty brands. Not only has the beauty retail giant announced Tracee Ellis Ross as its new Diversity and Inclusion Advisor, but it will also invest $25 million into providing more access to the industry for BIPOC brands along with more shelf space for Black-owned brands. In her new role, Ross will provide insight and counsel while driving accountability to Ulta Beauty with a primary focus on diverse leadership development, BIPOC brand development, and supplier diversity. “I look forward to formalizing an already existing dialogue and partnership around diversity and inclusion with Mary Dillon and the Ulta Beauty team,” said the “Black-ish” star in a press statement. “This work requires commitment and accountability from Ulta Beauty to ensure measurable goals are achieved. I am hopeful and optimistic our work together will create foundational change.” Inclusive branding within marketing campaigns is another...