Introducing: Clean Beauty Summer School

 A letter from our founder, Amy Liu:

 

Starting a new business is hard and after 15 years working in the Beauty industry I had a head start. I am grateful to have the privilege of education, experience, and network which made all of it easier. And trust me, it’s still hard.

 

Recently, I got an email asking if Tower 28 would be offering grants or loans for Black-owned small businesses as some other beauty brands have pledged. As a small company ourselves, I wrote her back and told her that we are unable to offer financial help but that I would be happy to set up time to give her advice if that would help. And that got me thinking —more valuable than money, I could offer my time, resources, and knowledge, lessons learned from the front lines...  and what if I could get a few girl bosses from the industry to do the same?

 

And that’s how Clean Beauty Summer School was born.

 

Together, we are a group of Beauty industry vets turned entrepreneurs who understand firsthand the struggle and challenges of starting a brand because we are IN IT. Our mission is simple, to come together and collectively share our most valuable resource —time, mentorship, network and education— in an effort to accelerate Black-owned Beauty businesses and make the Beauty industry better, more diverse and inclusive.

 

We will be selecting 10 finalists who will attend Clean Beauty Summer School and receive:

 

• Education: 10 x 2 hr classes taught by amazing industry experts/mentors. Topics include Brand, Social, Digital, Finance, Ops and more.
• Network: Teachers, mentors, and judges who are thought leaders and industry movers
• Mentorship: Each finalist will be paired with a mentor and receive 4 x 1 hr one-on-one office hours.
• Access: All finalists will have the opportunity to participate in our PITCH DAY where they pitch Shark Tank-style to our impressive panel of judges, including Sephora AND Ulta buyers, a beauty editor, and potential investors.

 

The winner of Pitch Day will receive a $10K grant from New Voices Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization offering women of color entrepreneurs access, capital, and expertise to build, grow and scale their businesses with purpose via flexible funding, learning and networking opportunities. Plus, a guaranteed meeting with both Sephora and Ulta Beauty buyers.

 

Whether you’ve launched in limited distribution or you just have a prototype, we want to hear from you. Applications are open NOW and due July 15, 2020!

 

All applicants must meet the following criteria and agree to the Terms & Conditions:

 

• Majority Black-owned Beauty Business (specifically CPG or other hard good, any category) with clean and/or sustainable products or working towards it,
• At minimum, have a product prototype or launched with limited distribution,
• Available to attend all class sessions + Pitch Day,
• Have 3 employees or less.
• Please see here for full eligibility criteria.

 

Tower 28’s mission from the beginning has been to make clean beauty more accessible. We are thrilled to help bring our mission to the beauty industry and work towards making it a more diverse and inclusive one, too.

 

XOXO, Amy