This Black Scientist-Owned Haircare Brand Just Raised $2M In Funding

We love a good level-up story and Black-owned Alodia Hair Care is aiming to be the definition of power growth. The Maryland-based business just closed on a $2M funding round this month with New Voices Foundation.

[SEE ALSO: Grants & Resources For Black-Owned Beauty Brands]

Dr. Isfahan Chambers-Harris launched the brand in 2017 as a way to help textured hair consumers regrow and restore their haire using ethically-sourced natural and organic ingredients. She used her background as a trichologist and medical scientist to formulate the plant-powered line of hair and scalp care products.

The new funding marks a steady level of growth for Chambers-Harris after winning a $100K prize via the AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator Program in March 2021 and $250K via Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition in July 2021.

Since launching, the brand has generated over $1.8 million in sales, as well as secured shelf space as Target.

“My husband and I invested savings, pitch competition earnings, and every penny the business made back into the business for five years,” shares Chambers-Harris. “We even borrowed or received money from family to push the business forward during these years. However, last year, I realized that in order to truly scale Alodia into the international brand that I know it can be, I needed the type of funding that only investors could provide.”

The brand will use the funding to help scale its growth in direct-to-consumer retail as well as to develop new product innovations.

Chambers-Harris is now part of a small but growing pool of Black women who have raised $1 million or more in venture funding. Though they represent the fasting growing segment of entrepreneurs, they are the least funded. In 2020, there were only 93 women, up from just 34 in 2018, according to digitalundivided’s biennial ProjectDiane report on Black and Latinx women founders. The number now hovers somewhere between 150 and 200.

Her advice for women (and men) brand owners seeking to secure funding is to first make sure that your company has moved from the ideation and startup phases. “Make sure that your company is generating revenue and that you have bootstrapped your company as much as you can before going to investors,” said. This allows investors to see how committed you are to your company and it also gives you leverage when negotiating. Another important point is to make sure that you are partnering with investors that not only will give you the funding but are also invested in helping you and your brand succeed. This is what I love about my investors at New Voices Fund because they have the expertise and are truly invested in seeing you and your brand win.”

The New Voices Fund was founded by ESSENCE Ventures CEO Richelieu Dennis with an initial $100M dedicated to help level the playing field and close the funding gap for women of color-founded businesses.