“This is a big thing in the black community that everyone is aware of,” said Imira, whose Oakland company Mayvenn seeks to bring technology-fueled convenience to the hair extension market. Most venture capitalists are white and male — characteristics shared by the founders they fund. About 87 percent of Internet startup founders who receive seed or Series A venture funding are white; 1 percent are black, according to research firm CB Insights. Mayvenn has become one of the few businesses targeting black customers to land significant investment from Sand Hill Road venture capitalists, recently raising a $10 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Imira, who is biracial, said of the general climate for entrepreneurs of color seeking venture money. Without a doubt, there’s cultural differences that are going to make it hard for investors at a gut level to connect with either the entrepreneur or the entrepreneur’s market, especially if the market is something they don’t know anything about. Over time, Imira came up with the business model for his company, Mayvenn, inspired by the Yiddish word for “trusted expert.” Stylist Destiny Monet said her customers struggled so much at beauty supply stores that she would drive from her Hayward salon to an Oakland retailer several times a week just to buy the right extensions for clients. Customers paid extra to cover her gas, but Monet said she didn’t really make any money off the service. Imira pitched his company at several startup competitions, often winning first or second place, but failing to turn contest judges into investors. “The panelists would say, ‘Ah, this sounds so great, but I don’t know anything about this market, so I can’t invest,’” Imira said. [...] panelists did help Mayvenn find another path, by recommending them to join an accelerator called 500 Startups. [...] Mayvenn joined several other startups that focused on more commonly venture-backed fields like gaming, video and real estate. 500 Startups introduced Mayvenn to angel investors who wanted to learn more and ultimately fund Imira’s business. The African American community is an underserved tech market, and Nakache saw the potential for Mayvenn to expand into other beauty products, catapulting the startup into Avon-like popularity. [...] she moved forward and when Nakache started talking about Mayvenn at a meeting, one of her male partners interrupted her: “Oh, hair extensions,” he said, “that’s a huge market.” Mayvenn says it aims to target more than just African American stylists, although this group represents the majority of the stylists. [...] if the company succeeds, it will cut into the business of beauty supply stores, often run by Korean immigrants. The startup will use its new round of funding to hire more engineers and other workers, expand its product line and improve its software platform.

Topics:  internet   cb   insights   sand hill road   andreessen   horowitz   yiddish   stylist destiny monet   customers    the    ah    mayvenn   the african american   avon-like   nakache   oakland   mayvenn   i   series a   imira   monet   the   startups   african american   market   company   venture   black   beauty   don   fund   money   male   entrepreneur   percent   expand   founders   stores   supply   

 

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