Once you began receiving free products, how did you begin to monetize your business?
I went back to them again [with] another proposal. [I told them] I can help you reach thousands, probably millions, of African American [customers] in barbershops and salons nationwide. So, I developed teams on the ground that had relationships with salons and barbershops all over the country. They distributed promotional materials in each of these shops.
You’ve been in business for more than 20 years. Why do you think this hadn’t been done before now?
I think it’s been a blind spot for global brands because they didn’t understand the power in the cultural capital that existed in the shops. The shops are where conversations are started and everybody’s talking about different things. People let their hair down figuratively and literally, and there’s always somebody coming in there selling something. So, I think that companies never recognized the power that was in the cultural capital that existed. I think that it was just an overlooked environment.
