Diary of a Founder: Business of the Beat March Podcast Roundup!

#FlashbackFriday to Women’s History Month on Business of the Beat and four incredible women in the beauty and wellness industry who are breaking down barriers and paving the way for future generations:

• Rebecca Allen, Co-Founder and CEO of Helix Hair Labs, talked about the significance of hair wellness, her entrepreneurial journey, and the importance of partnership.
• Kim Roxie, founder & CEO of Lamik Beauty, shared her mission of creating a clean beauty makeup line for women of color and provided valuable insights on her path to success.
• Anisa Telwar Kaicker, founder & CEO of Anisa International and Anisa Beauty, discussed the importance of securing financial independence and expanding with purpose.
• Mahisha Dellinger, founder & CEO of Curls, talked about her drive, intentionality, and her program, Black Women Making Millions Academy.

These women are truly inspiring. From their determination and perseverance to their focus on financial independence and having a support system, they have set the standard for what it means to succeed as a female entrepreneur.

If you missed any of these episodes, take a listen now! You can catch up on all of them on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. We hope that their stories have inspired you as much as they have inspired us, and that they will continue to inspire future generations of women to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals.

Rebecca Allen

@reballen @helixhairlabs

Bridging the Gap of Universality

Rebecca Allen, Co-Founder and CEO of Helix Hair Labs—a brand focused on innovative hair tools and silk hair accessories that promote the health of your hair—shares her views on hair wellness, the evolution of her story as an entrepreneur from footwear to beauty, and the value of having a dynamic career. Rebecca gives insight into the pivot from her liberal arts background, to her foray into finance, and how business school ultimately helped her bridge the gap between the creative and operations side of her business. She also highlights the beauty of partnership with co-founders and dives into the importance of expanding the conversation rather than segmenting communities.

“For me, I’m always trying to expand the conversation. And with hair tools, what is true, is that there’s much more universality.”

Kim Roxie

@thekimroxie @lamikbeauty

“Beauty is revealed, not applied”

Kim Roxie—founder & CEO of Lamik Beauty, a makeup line for women of color made with vegan, natural and organic ingredients—discusses the mission behind creating the clean beauty makeup line that she wished her mother had. From at-risk to risk-taker, Kim’s grace, kindness, and beauty are revealed in how she overcame adversity to become such a changemaker in the beauty industry. Today, she is a maverick shaping the economy in her hometown of Houston, and even has June 23rd named “Kim Roxie Day” for her contributions.

Kim leaves us with several key learnings on her path to reach this point of success and celebration. Kim and LAMIK Beauty have been featured on QVC, HSN, CBS News with Gayle King, and more. She also holds the title of first black-owned clean makeup brand carried by the major beauty specialty retailer—Ulta:

• “To come out of that environment and not become what you’re told, it’s pretty transformational.”
• “If your kids make a mistake, don’t label them for what they’ve done. Sometimes things happen.”
• “It’s actually you showing more of who you are that reveals your beauty.”
• “I had a gift for doing eyebrows. When I got diagnosed with alopecia, that was my calling card.”
• “I’m not going to act like I still don’t grieve my hair sometimes. It’s the love and kindness people show that makes a difference. 
• “My responsibility is to be ready when the opportunity comes.”

“I worked 7 days a week. I’ve helped thousands and thousands of women with their makeup and eyebrows. To then be upfront helping millions of people at one time was just a dream come true.”

Anisa Telwar Kaicker

@therealatk @anisabeauty

Securing Financial Independence

Anisa Telwar Kaicker is the founder & CEO of Anisa International and Anisa Beauty. After almost 3 decades of providing superior products to the best brands in the business, Anisa chose to further expand her innovation with a specialized category of cosmetic brushes focused on skincare application through ANISA Beauty. This week, Anisa dives into her almost three decade journey and her commitment to never give away her value, create a profitable business and be financially independent. She shares how she overcame adversity to build a multi-million dollar business that is a true reflection of her determination, tenacity, and dedication to her passion: “I am still really in love with what I do. Yes it’s “just brushes”, but I think “just brushes” is really, really cool”.  She further explains that it is important never to expand unless there is a purpose and to focus on what’s not working to guide the opportunity. 

As Dorion Renaud, Founder & CEO of Buttah Skin, said on Business of the Beat in Season 1: “The key to being a successful CEO is letting others be great at their jobs” (S1, Ep. 15). Anisa has locked down the ability to be a true leader and CEO with her mindset around team: “I want them (my team) to be who they are. I don’t want another me. I’ve got that slot filled. I want them to be proud of who they are and  make sure that they shine too!”

Anisa leaves us with several key learnings on her path being recognized as a trailblazer in the space:

• “Nobody gets trained at the age I got trained at really”
• “I always used to say ‘I want to work on myself, I want to work on myself’, now I want to work with myself”
• “I didn’t want to work for work’s sake. I wanted to be able to take care of myself. That was always very important to me.”
• “It has always been an innate part of my business model [to create something innovative].”

“It is impossible to create a dream without believers in the dream.”

Mahisha Dellinger

@mahisha_dellinger @curls

Scaling with Intentionality

Mahisha Dellinger is the founder & CEO of Curls, an iconic brand founded in 2002 with a vision to be the leading provider of healthy hair care solutions for the entire natural family. Mahisha discusses her journey to taking control of her own career path and finances, her intentionality, and the “why” behind her drive. Leading with that same intention, Dellinger founded an MBA style program, Black Women Making Millions Academy, that is set to help 25,000 businesses with over $450 million dollars’ worth of free resources.

Mahisha leaves us with several key learnings:

• “Entrepreneurship is not for the weak of heart. You have to fight through the worst rejections possible, so many heartbreaks. It takes a special person.”
• “Have some sort of council that can help you. Because investors are not going to come in with their highest. It’s up to you to know what your value is or EBITDA.”
• On allyship & entering retail at Target: “I owe [Linda Sullivan] a great deal of support, acknowledgement, and gratitude. She took her chance on us when everyone else didn’t.”
• “I see a different piece of me in all of [my children].”
• “I had to be intentional about every single penny because it was coming out of the bottom line.”

“The growth has been going on, but to say that you’ve made it…there’s always more to be done, there’s always more to do.”