This episode is sponsored by The Diversity Agency. Anita, Salem, Kristina, Monique, and Seyi are the five winners of this year's Shea Moisture Dream Fund Grant. They know the costs and barriers of entrepreneurship. From Unilever brand Shea Moisture, The Dream Fund was created to support Black-owned women-led businesses across Beauty and professional services in Canada, awarding $10,000 to each of the winners. In this special episode, we sat down with the winners for a roundtable discussion. They talk about the financial barriers facing black entrepreneurs, how they found the courage to take the entrepreneurial leap in precarious situations, and why community is at the heart of what they do.
This episode is sponsored by The Diversity Agency.
Anita Grant (Hello Hair), Salem Berhane (IncluSV Beauty Solutions), Kristina Knox (Arbre), Monique Gallivan (Gyallivant), and Seyi Adaghe (ROUN Beauty) are the five winners of this year's Shea Moisture Dream Fund Grant. They know the costs and barriers of entrepreneurship.
From Unilever brand Shea Moisture, The Dream Fund was created to support Black-owned women-led businesses across Beauty and professional services in Canada, awarding $10,000 to each of the winners.
In this special episode, we sat down with the winners to hear about their journeys so far. They talk about the financial barriers facing black entrepreneurs, how they found the courage to take the entrepreneurial leap in precarious situations, and why community is at the heart of what they do.
The Winners talk about:
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Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).
Songs used in this episode include: "Air Hockey Saloon," "What Does Anybody Know About Anything," "I Don't See the Branches, I See the Leaves," "CGI Snake," "I Am Running Down the Long Hallway of Viewmont Elementary."
Used under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:00:00]:
This episode of And So, She Left is brought to you by The Diversity Agency, a speakers bureau and consulting firm based in the Greater Toronto Area. They provide their clients with coaching, speaking, training, and consulting services. Today's episode is extra special. You'll get to hear from not 1 or 2 guests, but all 5 winners of this year's Shea Moisture Dream Fund. In 2021, Unilever brand Shea Moisture launched the Salon Relief Fund. They wanted to help female business owners survived the challenging tides brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, they offered a $10,000 grant, generous salon gift baskets, and educational workshops. The dream fund continues the mission of that program.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:00:49]:
It offers financial support to the community, awarding a $10,000 grant to 5 black owned women led businesses across beauty and professional services in Canada. This week, I sat down with all of them. I'm Katharin Vasilopoulos, and this is And So, She Left, The podcast about incredible women founders and the wisdom they uncovered beyond the corporate world. Today, I'll be speaking with Anita, Kristina, Monique, Seyi, and Salem, the remarkable women entrepreneurs who won the Dream Fund grant through public voting. Monique, was your business a pandemic baby also?
Monique Pitt [00:01:45]:
Yes. It was. Gyallivant, my business, which is a wellness company for black women and women of color. It came out of a response to the fear that I was feeling, to the fear that my community was feeling.
Salem Berhane [00:01:57]:
My name is Salem Berhane. I'm the founder of IncluSV Beauty Solutions, based here in Windsor, Ontario.
Kristina Knox [00:02:04]:
Hi. I'm Christina. I'm one of the cofounders of Arbre, which is a sustainable sun care brand.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:02:11]:
My name is Shay. I'm the founder and CEO of ROAN Beauty. We are creating Canada's 1st plant based breeding hair extensions.
Anita Grant [00:02:19]:
My name is Anita Grant, and I'm the founder of Hello Hair. And, we're on a mission to rewrite the black hair experience, and we do this by supporting the next generation with representation and education that encourages the connection to their identity.
Monique Pitt [00:02:32]:
I worked somewhere for a short time and then got a role as a trauma therapist, a role that I've been wanting for a long time, and it was, like, the 1st or 2nd day of work, and we heard about lockdowns. So I was doing trainings from home. I was taking all my clients from home, and it it just was not a pleasant experience.
Kristina Knox [00:02:54]:
We're on a mission to create, a range of sun protection products that work for everybody.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:03:00]:
This is a solution that's intended to be itch free and biodegradable and to help black women who love to wear braids be able to enjoy that experience without the irritation that comes with, some of the harsh chemicals that coat braiding hair extensions.
Kristina Knox [00:03:16]:
This really, started as like a passion project, with my best friend at the beginning of the pandemic. My best friend had experienced a sunburn on her scalp that was really painful, and we realized there weren't, sun protection products that you could put there that didn't make your hair look greasy, or felt uncomfortable.
Monique Pitt [00:03:37]:
Through just listening to what people needed and listening to my body and my mind, I decided, you know what? It's a new job, but also I need to start this thing on the side, and I never knew that it would grow to be as big as it is now.
Anita Grant [00:03:49]:
So I started Hello Hair in 2020 as well. It may be reflecting the lack of relationship that I had with my natural hair. And at the same time, I was expecting my first child. So, once I found out that my first child was a girl, I made a commitment that I would raise her with intention to love every part of herself, especially her crown.
Salem Berhane [00:04:10]:
I started my business In August, 2020, after not knowing if I will still have my corporate job as a probation officer, due to being the last hiree, I did not know what, like, the future was going to hold, and I just felt that I needed, like, my finances to be in my own control, so I took a leap of faith, and here I am 3 years later.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:04:39]:
We've touched on some of the themes brought up in this conversation in past episodes, but There are also a lot that we haven't. So I wanted to dive right in and hear about some of the core problems facing the black women entrepreneurship community from the winners themselves. The common thread here is that you are all very successful and new entrepreneurs, relatively speaking. And I'd like to get your perspective on what it's been like to start your own business and to be a black woman in this space and to see how, let's say the themes like funding and affirmative action, and things like that. Are these, you know, fads? Are these things that you think will be around to stay? How are you dealing with that perspective?
Monique Pitt [00:05:23]:
I don't know if it's a fad for the world and for community. But for myself, because I'm in the wellness space, It can't be a fad. I think that we have come to a place now where we're exhausted, and we know now that as a community, It's important for us to not just have side projects or passion projects, but really turn our endeavors into businesses. And thankfully, there is funding like Shea Moisture, Canada Dream Fund, but it gets difficult. It does get difficult because I know about grants that are out there, but when I speak to other people in my community, they are not necessarily sure of where they should go, who they should talk to, or even how, they should write a grant in the way that it is going to be read and accepted by the people who are offering the money. I feel like sometimes we're in our business, and we can only see what's right in front of us. This past weekend, we did a coaching call. I did one of my first coaching calls through this program, and there was just so many things that I hadn't considered because I'm in the middle of my business.
Anita Grant [00:06:31]:
With any funding, I do think a lot of it is FAD based. It's for the time, whether it's Black businesses, it's clean tech, carbon emission. It's really focused on what's happening in the world right now. Right? But I think in order to really create change. We gotta really see who these funders are, like, the diversity within the funders. I think right now, you'll see a lot of these programs there, especially federal grants, they're in partnership with different specific organizations whether it's indigenous, on the black community, that help to review these locations because they understand the pain and the need for these businesses, but that will fall off. And if I have to educate the funders About why it's important, they're naturally going to choose a business that they're already familiar with. Right? They know they know the pain points.
Anita Grant [00:07:19]:
They know the market. They know the ink that that it can have. I'm only hopeful in the event that there's change on that level, whether it's focused on black women or not.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:07:28]:
I think for myself, yeah, this is, like, my first goal at being an entrepreneur and even starting something and reached out to couple different, like, accelerator groups and tried to join some incubator program with just an idea. And a lot of times what I faced was like, oh, you don't have, a prototype yet, so we can't really help you. Like, come back to us when you have that in tow. And it really wasn't until I joined a business incubator type program here in in Kitchener, where I'm based, that Was really focused on black entrepreneurs and was, like, stage agnostic and industry agnostic that I got that support that I needed to just help me figure out step 1. Like, you have an idea. Okay. You need to go validate that. And this is how you can go about doing that.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:08:17]:
So having someone who understands, the market, but who identifies with you, I guess, as a black person. It's it was that coaching, that thought of like, okay, who do you know within your network that could possibly help out, like, reach out to your professors. Okay. Like, these are the terms to use. Actually, you are more than just a hair extensions company. You are a bio clean tech company. And so being able to expand my view of what I was opened the doors actually for us in accessing different kind of, grant programs, being able to shape our language and position ourselves in a language that the funders could also understand. Getting creative in how to tell the story was a learning process.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:09:02]:
And, and I think one that has stuck with me.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:09:04]:
That's very interesting. It's this need to, to reframe and use different language when you're describing your business and what your why is to the people who don't know anything about you or your business. And sometimes they need to hear things said in a certain way, otherwise they're not going to connect. Is that what I understand?
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:09:24]:
Exactly. Yeah. Because if I'm pitching to a panel of men, if they don't have any hair loss issues, they're not wearing hair extensions, they don't understand fully the what it means to put in braids, what it means to wear a wig. It could be that their wife does it. Maybe their sister does it. Maybe they don't know a black woman who loves to wear braids.
Kristina Knox [00:09:44]:
I feel like, you know, like, as we've all been saying, like, starting a business is hard, you know, even creating a physical product. Like, what I've been doing for my company has been so hard, especially, during COVID. We had to deal with Trying to find a manufacturer when all of these manufacturers are not taking new clients, let alone taking on, You know, a company that's just starting out. So we had to go through this long process of cold emailing manufacturers, Seeing if they were even interested in working with us, before we found a manufacturer that we, loved and is based in Canada and that we're working with. I also think a challenge that's kind of unique to me is that I I feel like I haven't really had that and so she left moment because I'm still a student, while running my business. And while that's really challenging trying to, you know, balance, you know, this double life, you know, being, like, student by day, running a company by night. It's it's definitely, hard and challenging, but I I've also found that my student status has been really helpful. It's given me a lot of privileges in terms of finding funding and, networking and getting into incubators that are associated with my university.
Kristina Knox [00:11:14]:
Yeah. So, like, one that I've been a part of for the last 4 months, is called the Black Founders Network at U of T, and they've been so helpful in helping me to, You know, shape, my vision, learning how to pitch it, and also, you know, giving me funding and helping me find other sources of funding.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:11:34]:
Student by day, entrepreneur by night, it sounds like a description of a superhero.
Kristina Knox [00:11:40]:
Yeah. I wish It was like a comic book or something about it. That'd be kinda cool. But, yeah, it's definitely hard sometimes, but, I think having a Cofounder really helps, to share the the load and to also support each other and also having, a support system Like my family, my loved ones, my friends, really helped to, you know, just give me that energy and spirit, I need to keep going.
Monique Pitt [00:12:08]:
For me, because it started off the business Gyallivant started off being something that I wanted to do because of my own health and my own trauma. I've thought a lot about what it would look like to have a cofounder. And I think my biggest worry is that, is this person going to understand in the way that I currently understand, like, what I'm trying to do. But thankfully, I've been able to put down that mindset, and I've been able to work with, a lot of different black women who have come in and partnered with me. So not necessarily a cofounder, but I hire different black women facilitators to lead dance classes, to lead yoga classes, to lead paint classes. And it actually works out because I don't know how to do any of those things. So it's nice to be able to partner with people who are skilled in an area that I'm not.
Monique Pitt [00:13:05]:
So I can focus on, let's say, the therapy. And while I have clients, someone else is running a paint and sip. So I'm learning a lot now just about myself as an individual and then myself as a business owner and learning what areas personally I need to work on in order for My business to build, and one of those things is letting go of some of the control. Also, yeah, that superhero thing of the 9 to 5, But then in the evenings and on weekends, finding as much time as possible to be able to give the business the attention that it deserves.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:13:45]:
The winners bring up a lot of great points, especially about community. A 2021 study from the Black Business and Professional Association found that 75% of participants didn't know where to get help for their businesses. The same percentage didn't know other entrepreneurs who were pursuing similar work. I wanted to know more about major problems that the community experiences and how they've impacted the winners themselves.
Salem Berhane [00:14:12]:
You know, we're a brick and mortar, as you guys know, and because it's like a laxed environment, we're trying and braiding hair and stuff. People don't take it serious as, like, this is, like, my business. Like, this is my source of income. And so you we have a lot of times people will come in and be like, oh, that's too much or that's too or, like, can you do it for half the price of that or this and that or like, they'll have an appointment and they'll come in late or do this and that, so they don't think they don't consider it like it's like somebody working a 9 to 5, and at the end of every 2 weeks, they get a paycheck. Mine is just kind of like daily or how I decide to pay myself kind of thing. I have staff that I need to pay and overheads and stuff, and they don't think of it that way. They just see it as, like for example, this morning, I had 3 clients, You know? And all 3 of them, I think it took me maybe about 3 hours to do their hair combined, and each one of them paid $100 each. So It sounds like I'm making $300, for those 3 hours.
Salem Berhane [00:15:20]:
But while I was doing one, my staff was washing the other one, So I still have to pay her, and then there's overhead, and there's this. So at the end of the calculation, like, I might have made $45 an hour or $40 an hour for those 3 hours that I've worked, but they see it as, like, me making $300 for the 3 hours, like $100 an hour. And I'm like, that's not how it goes, you know, I'll kinda navigate around that by saying, well, if you want a discount, you know, let people know about us and, You know, tell them to tell me, like, okay. You know, so and so referred me to here, and then you get a discount. And so they're like, oh, okay. And then they're like, You know, I'm more prone to spread the word because they don't wanna discount kinda thing instead of just saying, like, no. This is the business and da da da da, and making it seem like it's mean because then they just won't come back. Right?
Anita Grant [00:16:11]:
The challenge is is time. Right? I'm a mother of 2 little babies, So they need my undivided attention. And then with Hello Hair, a lot of people only see the book, but I have an education piece. I have a media piece. I have a technology piece. And it's really the reality is if I can truly make an impact, I need to be Investment ready. So really preparing myself in in in positioning myself as as a brand, beyond the business. And to truly make impact, I have to start now.
Anita Grant [00:16:43]:
But I am a 1 man team, so it is hard. So to have it, it would be nice to grow the team. So all those those big, gorgeous goals that I have, I can actually, like, execute.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:16:54]:
But it's also challenging because you don't know when to stop. Like, when have you tried enough? Like, when do you know that you've tried all options and it didn't work? And, like, there's nothing else to consider? And so not getting stuck on each failure. I think for me, how how you would know is if it doesn't stop calling you. One of my first tests was, like, having the, the fibers sit in, like, a bath of enzymes, but I didn't really know what conditions it needed to be in, like, in terms of temperature, in terms of quantity. Like, I didn't have the right tools to try to measure the enzymatic activity that's happening, so I just had it there. I left it overnight. I was like, okay.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:17:33]:
I don't see any changes. I left it there for a week. I don't see any changes. At some point, I was just like, I don't know what I'm supposed to be seeing or not seeing. And I just, in a sense, abandoned it in the container. I was like, maybe this needs to sit for, like, 5 years. Who knows? But each time I'd, like, walk by my little, like, stewing pot of fibers, and it would just I'd, like, walk past, like, don't look, don't look, don't look, and it would just keep calling me and to be like, hey. I sometimes wake up in a state like, agh.
Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Adaghe [00:18:08]:
So that's how you know if it's if it keeps bothering you.
Kristina Knox [00:18:12]:
Yeah. I can speak a little bit to this as well. I feel like, for me, similar to Seyi, it's it's been about, like, falling in love with the problem and not necessarily the specific solution that me and my cofounder have developed. So, like, for us, we've been really passionate about, this idea of creating sun protection products that work for different people, but, we're not we're we're flexible in the way that we, figure out how to solve that problem, because we want to make sure that we create something that works. For the people who have this problem that we're trying to solve, not just something that works for us and that we like and we're happy with.
Monique Pitt [00:19:03]:
Yeah. And I don't know if it's initial or if it's just now that I'm seeing the when you just said called to do. That really stands out to me because now that I'm running all of these programs, I was looking back the other day when writing a grant, like, how get here. And I just remember all the times when I was younger and I was going to hip hop classes. I remember going to swim classes. My mom would force me to go after church, and I didn't wanna go because I didn't wanna mess up my hair. I remember being in high school and feeling very isolated and going to a teacher and saying, we need a girls group here.
Monique Pitt [00:19:41]:
And then from there, working at the community center beside my school and being able to run a girls group there. And I just feel like if we really look back, there's so many times where we've been doing the work, but we didn't call it work yet. So it brings me so much joy to be able to do this work, and I think that's what I heard Kristina saying that this is not just only about solving problems. It's also about the process and the joy that it brings us to be able to support our communities, people always ask me what event is next, and I I tell them, like, I really do what I wanna do, and I'm just inviting along for the ride. So it's nice to have a business that is also your point of joy and something that can bring happiness and excitement to your days as well.
Salem Berhane [00:20:28]:
Monique, you said that so well. Like, I have, like, the hairs on my arms. I just like rose. I'm like, oh, she said that so well with the, it being the joy. And I think for me, that was the realization. When when I first started, I was still working a full time as well as running this full time, so I I think for the 1st year, I was probably working, like, 16 hours, a day for a whole year, including Saturdays, while raising a 1 year old and an 11 year old. So, yeah, I don't even know how I'm still here. I would've lost my mind, but needless to say, I'm here to look back on that.
Salem Berhane [00:21:06]:
And so I remember it clear, it was on in October, so, like, I just finished doing a year and change. And I was just like, I cannot do a full time job and do this at the same time and, you know, did a little bit of calculations. Like, if I do this many clients between that 9 to 5, that makes up more than, You know, my full time, like, forget the benefits, like, you know, and I'll make up for that some other way, and I had to let that go. When I submitted my resignation letter, not even 5 minutes before me pressing send, my, and I was on a contract position. My supervisor at the time had sent me a permanent position, and I was just like, this just made it so much harder to press send, and I almost didn't press send. But I was just like, Salem, you've had so many cried nights because you, you know, didn't get time with your kids or this or that. You need to submit this resignation letter. And when I pressed send, it was like just like weight lifted off my shoulders kinda thing. But then then I knew that, God forbid, I wasn't able to pay my rent or whatnot.
Salem Berhane [00:22:22]:
I don't have a full time position that will be able to fund that temporarily until I get back up. So even though it scared me in the beginning, it helped me work 10 times harder, and I'd realized then, like, okay. It's not necessarily just the business that people want to be around, it's also like me, and I have a super bubbly personality. And, like, you know, I laugh and joke with everybody. When kids come in here, I become a kid myself. They cry. I'm crying with them and stuff like that. So, I realized, you know, there's a 1000000 people in this city that can braid, But there's not a 1000000 people with my same personality.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:23:03]:
And I like what you said before, when, when you said that, you know, people can go anywhere if they wanted to, to get their hair done, but they come to see you. You're a big part of the business. You're the face of this business. And if they like you, they'll come back. And I think in any business, you like to do business with people that You resonate with and that they make you feel good and you want to see their, their face or their name appear in your schedule or in your inbox. I say this over and over again. Like we just love to do business with people we love.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:23:31]:
And, it's such an important part of, of continuing to strengthen the relationships with the clients that we have in our suppliers and everybody else who's in that ecosystem. And it's so important. Let's not discount that part of of doing business. It's the personality and our the exuberance of the joy that we feel In doing what we do, well, it shows and it shines and it comes back to you over and over.
Salem Berhane [00:23:56]:
Absolutely. Yeah. I've had so many people say like, I'll just like, I've even called to make, let's say, like, reservations at, like, a Red Lobster, and someone will be like, hey. You're that hair lady. And I'm just like, how did you know that? They're like, your voice is so distinct and everything, or I'll walk through the mall and kids that, you know, follow my Instagram and stuff will be like, you're that hair lady and and stuff. Right?
Monique Pitt [00:24:21]:
Just to add, to this concept of, like, community and clients, I think I noticed the impact, when we all had to get people to vote for us. So a part of winning this grant was getting your community to vote, and they were voting daily. And they would message when they voted and said, hey. I voted. When we found out that we won. They messaged and said, did we win the grant yet? So your community ends up not just being a client, but really, Like, they're rooting for your business and for the business as if it's theirs. So I feel like it's been really awesome to just see everyone kinda rally around the purpose and the mission that we're all striving for.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:25:04]:
That's amazing. I love that. I'm smiling as you're saying that. It's true. It's the it's the community around you.
Anita Grant [00:25:10]:
Yeah. Definitely community. And, I always when I think about the realization, I always compare it with my first business. And my first business, I created on the backs of my passion in business. Right? It was a beauty tech start up. It was to support independent beauty professionals, but It really didn't have an impact beyond offering a solution, a business solution like any other platform. When I created Hello Hair, I like to say it's my purpose. Right.
Anita Grant [00:25:38]:
It's the 1st time ever in my life that I've been vulnerable. I'm inherently a very shy person. So it was the 1st time that I openly shared my story, about my journey with my my my hair. And when I seen how people connected to that story and I realized that I'm not alone, and it was a voice for many. It's I don't even consider Hello Hair work. Like, it's something that I truly, truly wake up, and I'm so excited to wake up for it. Like, I can work all hours of the day, but I feel like this is I have to. You know what I mean? Like, it it's part of my purpose and my my journey that it's something that I would say I know I don't think it's for me.
Anita Grant [00:26:19]:
I don't think with the monetary value. I just think about the impact. I'm thinking about my daughters. I'm thinking about the the girls in this world who who shouldn't experience what I've experienced. Right? To really rewrite that narrative, when it comes to black hair and just embracing yourself and your confidence and self esteem because I think in my life, the impact that my lack of relationship with my hair and how it negatively impacted myself and see my confidence hindered my growth.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:26:49]:
Thanks to all 5 of our guests, the winners of the 2023 Dream Fund. A big thank you as well to our sponsor, The Diversity Agency, who has partnered with Shea Moisture's Dream Fund and Cansulta to provide black female owned businesses with the tools, workshops, financial aid and visibility they need to thrive. Join us again next week to hear more from these remarkable entrepreneurs about their journeys. If you're listening on October 4th, today is the last day you can vote for And So, She Left for the Signal Awards. Please head to the link in the episode description to cast your vote. Your support helps us to continue our mission to highlight extraordinary women who found wisdom beyond the corporate world. And So, She Left is made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee. We'll be back next Wednesday with a new episode.
Katherin Vasilopoulos [00:27:37]:
Our music is by Chris Zabriskie, edited for your enjoyment. You can find a list of all the songs you heard here in the episode notes. I'm Katherin Vasilopoulos, and thanks for listening.