If you haven’t heard, Bea’s Bayou is one of the biggest up-and-coming Black-owned businesses. Built around her experiences dealing with an intense, chronic scalp condition during the pandemic, Louisiana native and Licensed Master Social Worker Arielle Brown created Bea’s Bayou — a haircare company focused on scalp health that has evolved to provide an array of inclusive hair and skin products.
Named after Brown’s grandmother Beatrice, Bea’s Bayou is inspired by Brown’s childhood in the bayou and the lessons bestowed upon her through her grandmother’s knowledge of nature and herbal healing.
“I would like people to understand that 50 percent of all people deal with dandruff, and it does not only affect one group, nor does it mean you’re “dirty” if you have scalp issues. Diet, stress, genetics, and environment all play a large role, and sometimes, it just is what it is, and you deal with it. Scalp care does not have to be harsh, but it does need to be consistent, or issues will return repeatedly,” she asserts.
While Brown and Bea’s Bayou have been thriving, especially with her recent acquisition of a prestigious $100k grant from Aveeno and Essence, securing financial resources as a Black woman-owned startup was a tedious process at every stage.
“I had to get over how much of my personal business I would share! I would have to back every loan for a while until my business reached a certain age and status, so I quickly dove into improving my personal finances – credit, cash flow, and types of loans. That process did not take very long, and the business was cash flowing well enough to secure some small business loans to float small expenses.”
Gender inequality in start-up investment
Despite the great strides that modern Black female entrepreneurs are making, the reality is that Black women experience gender inequity when securing investments for their businesses. Even with a record-breaking 17 percent of Black women in the United States starting their companies compared to 10 percent of white women and 15 percent of white men, Black women receive less funding than their white counterparts.
Recent studies show that Black women entrepreneurs receive less than 0.35 percent of overall venture capital funding.
“A commonality for Black people, especially women, is that it takes longer to obtain capital, and so they have to put in a lot more sweat equity,” Laquita Blockson, director of social innovation at Agnes Scott College and co-investigator on a study about the success of Black female-led entrepreneurial ventures tells Forbes.
Unfortunately, Black female business owners like Brown have experienced this situation firsthand while growing their businesses.
“When I launched Bea’s Bayou Skincare, I knew I was diving into a space with no Black founders – microbiome scalp care. I loved that about it, but I knew I would face challenges being new, young, female, and Black when trying to communicate our inclusiveness and possibly get VC funding,” she said.
The Bea’s Bayou Blooming Era
Unwilling to be discouraged by dismal statistics, Brown was confident in her deep understanding of her target demographic and their pain points.
“I truly do not put much energy into thinking about challenges because I’m going to push hard no matter what and go for what I desire. The stats will tell you that black women get less than half of a percent of VC funding, but I also know that I have a strong network, and it’s up to me to first.”
Brown’s experience elevated when she participated in a pitch to Black Girl Ventures.
“I was very ‘green’ to the venture capital world until I participated in Founder Gym and a pitch by Black Girl Ventures in 2020.”
One of the biggest supporters of Black women founders on the East Coast, Black Girl Ventures seeks to elevate Black woman-owned businesses through education and donations.
Despite her recent success, Brown’s journey wasn’t exactly straightforward.
“Until then, I self-funded, and that doesn’t mean $100k – no – that was $40. I just kept reinvesting, and I’d buy something I needed when I’d make some money. A few months into the business, I did those cohorts, and those were my introductions to what it means to put yourself out there completely, numbers and all.”
Uncharted Challenges and Future Changes
While societal issues are the biggest problem plaguing modern Black female entrepreneurs, Brown discusses an additional challenge with AfroTech.
“For many Black women, we have not been told we could allow someone to build a business with us… let’s be real. The world usually tells white men, specifically, ‘You can have anything” and ‘You deserve someone’s help.'”
For Brown, it’s all about looking ahead and doing what’s suitable for her company’s future. As for her recently received grant, Brown plans on using the money to launch an ambassador campaign and improve branding, shipping, and more.
Learn more about Brown and Bea’s Bayou here.
