Candace Mitchell, CEO of hair care recommendation platform Myavana, says the company raised $5.9 million and is now valued at $50 million. Mitchell spoke to Forbes on the Nasdaq MarketSite about her young startup.
CAndace Mitchell couldn’t wait any longer.
Mitchell, then 10 years old, was tired of staring at a big box in the family living room. Full of ambition and a thirst for discovery, Mitchell took it upon herself to hook up her family’s shiny new computer and install software on it. It turned out that Mitchell’s impatience sparked a passion for computer science.
“I remember thinking, ‘I want to one day develop software that can run on millions of computers like this,'” says Mitchell, now 36. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
In June, she came one step closer to realizing this childhood dream.
Mitchell’s software startup Myavana closed with a $5.9 million round funded by investors including Amazon, H/L Ventures, Reform Ventures and New Age Capital. Cosmetics giant Ulta Beauty led the round through its corporate venture arm Prisma Ventures. Ulta Beauty trades on the Nasdaq with a market cap of $15.3 billion.
After the raise, Mitchell says Forbes that Myavana is now valued at $50 million. In 2021, Myavana was valued at $20 million, according to venture capital data firm PitchBook. Myavana says it is profitable and expects revenue to exceed $10 million in 2024.
“We are in the perfect market environment,” says Mitchell. “But we should have started 12 years ago.”
August is National Black Business Month and ForbesBLK will honor the month with The path to economic strengthening. This journalism series highlights innovative Black entrepreneurs like Mitchell and features insightful discussions with business leaders and influential figures to shed light on important economic policy issues affecting Black America.
In 2021, there were more than 161,000 black or African American majority-owned businesses in the U.S., according to federal data collected by a think tank. Pew Research Center. Total revenue increased from $127.9 billion to $183.3 billion between 2017 and 2021. The companies accounted for only 3% of U.S.-based companies and employed about 1.4 million workers with a total payroll of over $53 billion.
Founded in 2012 and based in Atlanta, Myavana is one of the black-owned companies – a software-as-a-service technology company that has raised $6.2 million since its inception and employs 22 people.
Myavana’s platform uses a library of hair samples to train its software to make product recommendations for consumers that best match their hair texture. Myavana says the software works for all ethnicities and genders. However, Mitchell adds that the core target audience is black women, who make up more than 80% of Myavana’s customers. The company doesn’t manufacture or sell products, but makes money from software subscriptions and licensing fees from clients like Procter & Gamble, Nordstrom and Unilever. Myavana estimates that its mobile app Myavana AIhas 50,000 subscribers.
“Computer science and cosmetology allow us to do this,” says Mitchell. “This knowledge is incorporated into our algorithms – so it works for all hair structures, types and conditions.”
Healthier option: Myavana started with recommendations for hair care products, but also has ambitions to explore other areas. “There’s a lot to learn about your health, too,” says Mitchell.
Photo courtesy of Myavana
According to industry research firm IBIS World, the cosmetics and beauty industry in the U.S. is worth about $100 billion, with hair care products accounting for $15 billion of that. As consumers increasingly shift their shopping habits online, the industry is seeing increasing interest in “predictive cosmetics platforms,” says Oliver Libby, managing partner of H/L Ventures.
Libby first learned about Myavana’s software in January and was quickly convinced of its future revenue potential.
“This company has a lot of traction and is growing quickly,” says Libby. “They have this data, particularly chemical analysis of hair – that could become a Myavana health division.”
A native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Mitchell’s passion for software grew throughout her childhood. In high school, Mitchell studied web design. In 2006, she enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she learned to write algorithms before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. After college, Mitchell held IT positions at Siemens and Pepsi.
In November 2011, she took the daunting step of becoming self-employed. Mitchell watched the CNN show Blacks in America: The New Promised Land – Silicon Valley Motivational documentary. The program featured a businesswoman Angela Bentonthe founder of startup accelerator NewMe – the first accelerator of its kind for minority entrepreneurs.
“It’s like that moment when you think, ‘If I don’t try, I’m going to miss it,'” Mitchell says. She reflects on the decision to trade her apartment for a small room at her mother’s house and just $1,000 in her bank account to start Myavana. “It’s been a journey for me to get here,” Mitchell says.
Generative artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way people interact with computers. Although enthusiasm for AI is waning, investors still poured more than $21 billion of capital into AI and machine learning companies in the first quarter of 2024, according to PitchBook data.
Armed with a vast amount of data on human hair and growth capital, Mitchell predicts that Myavana will thrive in a changing AI environment. The startup will use the funds to improve digital infrastructure. Myavana plans to install kiosks in beauty salons across the country and also test a retail store in Africa.
In a few years, Myavana will go public. “That’s my guiding star,” says Mitchell. A lofty goal – one that requires patience.
Capital gain: Regard Watch the video to learn how Candace Mitchell Swas named Myavana after securing her first investment of $35,000.
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