Candace Mitchell founded beauty brand Myavana with a $1,000 investment from her checking account. The Georgia Institute of Technology graduate said in an interview that she originally planned to provide a more personalized approach for people who want to be seen or heard in the beauty industry. This was because, at the time, there were not many products that catered to black women or textured hair.
“And it just felt like it was just a huge oversight, and we were just kinda out there figuring it out on YouTube,” she said to Afro Tech. “I feel that hair is deeply connected to our purpose and identity, especially in Black culture. So my ‘why’ was just really deeply rooted in people understanding who they are and also having the technology that could cater to our personalized journeys.”
Today, the company has products like MYAVANA HairAI, which provides instant analysis of one’s unique hair texture and type with personalized product recommendations.
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“With MYAVANA HairSI™ we use scientific intelligence to analyze the hidden condition of your hair strands at the microscopic level and generate a digital hair care plan with products, ingredients, and regimens to restore hair health, led by our team of healthy hair experts,” the platform states on its website.
Her company partnered with Ulta Beauty last year, bringing its HairAI technology to its e-commerce site. Ulta Beauty subsequently became Myavana’s lead investor in the $5.9 million raise, which included participation from Amazon, Reform Ventures, and New Age Capital.
Mitchell once struggled to secure funding, but not giving up has led her to now own a company worth millions.
According to her, she stopped raising money during the company’s early stages and later embarked on a “nontraditional” path to funding. This was because many did not appreciate what she was building.
“When we started, a lot of investors did not understand our market and particularly didn’t understand the innovation that we wanted to bring, which I see now,” she explained to Afrotech. “We were 10 years ahead, so now it kinda makes sense. So for us to just formally close a seed round, very nontraditional, given that we’re 12 years in business, but I think the most important thing is it signals the right market timing.”
