As a child, Kimberly Lewis's only goal was to get out of her neighborhood. After a brief stint in the corporate world, she decided to control her own destiny. Armed with the grit she inherited from her mother and the support of her husband, she created CurlMix, a profitable natural hair care company.
“In college, I went natural, and I let my husband cut off all of my hair. From there, I started making all my own natural hair care products, and that's when the first version or the first iteration of CurlMix was born”.
“We found that our customers loved our Flaxseed Gel. So, while I was seven months pregnant on my feet, I came up with 50 different batches of a flaxseed gel that was stable that could scale. We pivoted our business to our flaxseed gel and then later our four-step kit, and we did our first million in revenue that year.”
“Early on in the business, I used to go live every single Wednesday doing my hair in the shower. I was fully clothed, of course. But I would literally be doing my hair from start to finish for an hour and a half, live, showing them how to use our product. And I think it really built trust.”
LEWIS'S FIRST INVESTMENT CHECK CAME FROM ARLAN HAMILTON, ONE OF THE PIONEERS OF INVESTING IN PEOPLE OF COLOR. HER NEXT BIG GOAL IS TO SHARE HER SUCCESS WITH ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORTED HER ALONG THE WAY.
“We have almost over 7,000 investors. The thing that I'm working towards next is an IPO or an acquisition so that I can provide a liquidity event for my crowdfunded investors. And so, I want to make sure I get them their money back and more.”
Business Review is a production of Livingston+McKay and the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.