Diary of a Founder: The Power of Networking, Crowdfunding, and Equity

I have this enchanting story to share. It’s about two teenagers in love who attended high school together and innovated an efficient brand that placed them in Forbes 30 under 30, Oprah’s favorite things, and 93 on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest companies--all of this among several other acclaims.?It started in college when she decided to cut her processed hair and make the transition that Black women tend to coin “going natural”.?In fact, she asked him to cut her hair. He obliged and remained involved in the journey of helping her to find the right, clean haircare products to maintain her new style.?She was dissatisfied with the retail product options at the time and chose to purchase ingredients from Whole Foods Market to make her own products.?One night, an episode on Shark Tank sparked her next big entrepreneurial idea! She watched a woman pitch a DIY box filled with ingredients to make organic cookies. The concept inspired her to expand the personal products that she made for herself into a curated box for sale. In her own words, she used the Blue Apron model to create the first natural hair care ingredient box, and thus the story begins.

However, there is no happy ending to boot because this isn’t a fairy tale and the story is still unfolding.?Meet Kim and Tim Lewis, Co-Founders of CurlMix, the husband and wife duo writing their own tale of innovation, collaboration, and passion rooted in community and family.?

What I find enchanting is the purposeful intentionality of the CurlMix model. At CurlMix, marketing is product education and transparency. Promotion is the documented step-by-step usage of the product. Customer service is customer inclusion complete with an invitation to invest in the company.?

In this Sunday’s Business of the Beat podcast, Kim Lewis shared her lessons and insights on building CurlMix while prioritizing networking and community. The website states that the “CurlMix Story is simple: we create products made of clean ingredients that can easily be implemented into your beauty routine. We have nothing to hide! Instead, we have a whole lot to share.” Sharing has been a central motto of the CurlMix brand from its inception. There are videos of Kim standing behind a table with 50 receptacles of fresh, wholesome ingredients as she shares the process of selection for each CurlMix recipe.?In the early stages of the DIY box in 2015-2016, consumers, affectionately named CurlMixers, would be invited to mix parties where they use their subscription box ingredients to mix their own hair and beauty products onsite. It was the feedback of CurlMixers wanting a ready-made product that prompted the Founders to continue their experimentation and pivot to developing a signature shelf-stable product, a hair gel. Its success led to the expansion of CurlMix’s ready-made product catalog.?

“What I learned is that my business was a vitamin and not a painkiller. It was fun to make [their] own products but people were still going to the store to buy ready-made products.”

CurlMix’s signature “4 step wash+go system” made way for the continuation of a promotional model that featured mostly Black, Brown and Mixed Raced women with varied natural hair textures sharing their hairwashing rituals. There are videos of Kim herself stepping into the shower for her wash day while demonstrating the best methods to obtain product efficiency. She offered tips, used specialized brushes and tools that enhanced the often frowned upon process of curl detangling and moisturizing. Such a simple yet revolutionary act contributes to the visual representation and normalizing of the social-historical charged images of women of color loving on their kinky coils or looser curls. The goal of the CurlMix ritual is simply to maintain healthy, natural hair regardless of length, color or texture. Beyond CurlMix’s signature products, the brand develops a CurlMix’ed-inspired product variation each month. The community engagement and bond on CurlMix’s social media channels is a testament to an ongoing exchange of education and inspiration; the Founders remain connected.

Alongside the community building among CurlMix Founders, local staff, and brand supporters, Kim continued her creative networking with the dual goal of fundraising and clinching expert mentorship.

“In the beginning, we didn’t have a lot of money. We didn’t have anyone else’s money...I participated in over 50 competitions, and to this day I’ve yet to win money. [But] I have no problem getting up there and talking about what I’m doing because that’s going to expose [me] to more people.”

Kim’s strategic drive led her to attend an event that featured Black women making waves as Founders and investors. There she met Arlan Hamilton who invested in CurlMix the following year. While Kim waited for the financial investment, she took advantage of Arlan’s Backstage Capital’s resources and found the advisor that helped in the initial step of CurlMix’s pivot from a DIY to a ready-made brand. She has learned from several expert Beauty Industry advisors and has also met high net worth individuals including the former CEO of LinkedIn. In the podcast, Kim shared her process for cultivating the individuals in her network through periodic emails sharing the evolution of CurlMix, her 3 biggest wins, and challenges.??

“I did that for a year before formally pitching to an investor...I know the stats around venture capital are awful for us [Black Founders]...and so, I felt like no one is going to write me a check for my ideas but if I’m making a million dollars, I’ll be able to raise a million dollars.”

Kim’s humble tenacity and thoughtful strategizing helped her raise her first 1.2 million dollars through a network contact. Soon after, it was a full-circle moment when Kim and Tim stood in the Shark Tank studio. Having an intimate understanding of their business and its value, they declined a shark deal that did not serve them. Instead, they chose to request investments from their brand’s community and raised $1 million in the first few hours and over $5 million to date through crowdfunding. Kim chose crowdfunding on purpose to allow CurlMix supporters an opportunity to share in the company’s equity.

“It allows my customers to own shares of the company so that when they are buying CurlMix on their monthly subscription, they’re also getting equity. Equity is THE real...that’s our business of the beat;?that’s the whole game.?Many of us [referring to Black consumers] don’t know or may not understand equity but I understand it for them...how can I give them back what they’ve given me because CurlMix wouldn’t be here without them.?We have a really strong community of over 100k customers and 13k are in the Facebook group together.”

I applaud CurlMix on their unprecedented gains and the community re-investment that they model through their business philosophy and practices. I am aligned with Kim on the significance of opening pathways for Black Founders, and the communities that support them. Allowing affordable access to equity lines of fast-growing companies changes the outcome for generations to come. As we approach the launch of our own BrainTrust Founders Studio,?we have secured over $100M in soft value from our corporate partnerships that will deliver mentorship, education, marketing alliances, community, and capital. These gifts in kind help reduce the investment that Founders need to operate and scale their businesses.?