Ruka Hair has raised $4.5 million in a new funding round led by Henkel Ventures, according to The Business of Beauty. The round also included participation from Big Issue Invest and Backed VC, as well as investment from Olympian Dina Asher Smith. Ruka Hair’s new funding The new capital will help support the brand’s research and development into Ruka’s alternative hair extensions. It will also help Ruka expand into the US market, where the brand is expected to join a major retailer by the end of the year. Ruka’s co-founder and
Natasha Sideris, the restaurateur behind Tashas Group, and DJ Black Coffee are teaming up to create a premium agave spirit label in South Africa, according to Bloomberg. The label, Leonista, is set to launch at the end of the year. Sideris and Maphumul will source agave from the Karoo, a semi-arid region known for its premium lamb products. Black Coffee launching a spirit brand Leonista will be similar to tequila, meaning that it is distilled from the same plant genus. But tequila can only be made in specific regions of Mexico
Black-owned AI grocery startup Vori has raised $22 million in a series B round led by Cherryrock Capital, led by former TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot, according to Fortune. Brandon Hill launched the company in 2024, with a family history in groceries. His grandparents ran a small store in Oklahoma, and his parents worked in a grocery store during their early career years. His mother currently works at Vori. When Hill visited his parents in Minnesota in 2020, he saw how they were still using paper invoices and wholesale catalogs. This
Uncle Nearest receiver Phillip G. Young Jr. has rejected a request to provide an emergency bankruptcy appeal filed in Uncle Nearest’s name, according to the Moore County Observer. Fawn Weaver filing for bankruptcy Fawn Weaver tried to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions for Uncle Nearest Inc., Nearest Green Distillery Inc., and Uncle Nearest Real Estate Holdings LLC. on March 17. But the bankruptcy court dismissed the cases two days later, stating that Weaver lacked the power to file them because the receivership order vested that power in Young. Farm Credit
A judge has ordered Adwoa Beauty to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning the company must cease operations and turn over its intellectual property and assets to a court-appointed trustee for sale. The beauty brand filed for Chapter 11 protection in October, while its lender, Aurous Financial Services, filed a lawsuit, according to Business of Fashion. Speaking to BOF, Adwoa Beauty founder Julian Addo said, “For me, conversion at this stage was the best outcome. I fought a really long, hard battle alone, and it just takes too many resources
Emma Grede recently announced on her book tour why she didn’t invest in Diarrha N’Diaye’s company, Ami Colé. On the “She’s So Lucky” podcast with host Les Alfred, Grede shared that she doesn’t back first-time founders unless she sees something “extraordinary” about both the person and the company, explaining she didn’t see that with Ami Colé. Emma Grede hiring Diarrha N’Diaya at SKIMS Whilst Grede did not think Ami Colé was worth supporting, she evidently thought she was worth hiring. After Alicia Scott of Range Beauty introduced N’Diaye to Grede,
Chris Gray, founder of the Black-owned scholarship app Scholly, is suing its acquirer, Sallie Mae, alleging that it sold data collected on the app, as reported by TechCrunch. Scholly, which allows Black students to easily search for scholarships, was acquired by Saille Mae in 2023. However, Gray is now alleging that his acquirer sold data his app collected, including information on minors, without telling users. He is also suing the company for wrongful termination. Chris Gray’s lawsuit against Sallie Mae In the lawsuit, Gray alleges that Sallie Mae fired his
Social network platform Series has raised a $5.1 million in a pre-seed round, according to TechCrunch. The round included investors such as Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and GPTZero founder Edward Tian. Founders Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow met at Yale after both joining the university’s Society for Aspiring Entrepreneurs. About Series Users on Series can request support from other network users, such as an entrepreneur seeking help writing a business plan. The request is made to an AI-powered agent, which Series calls the agent your “AI friend.”
This Married Couple Built a $38M Haircare Brand. And They Just Raised Capital while Keeping Control.
The Doux, a Black-owned hair care brand, has received a minority investment from VMG Partners, according to WWD. Maya Smith and Brian Smith launched the brand in 2011 as a salon in Germany, where Brian was stationed as a US Air Force veteran. “I opened a salon because at the time, there weren’t really any hair spaces overseas that really focused on curly hair. I started developing [the product line] in 2010, but we launched in 2012, and then when we came back to the States, our official mass launch was
Fresh Bourbon wins the appeal to have the right to say that they distilled the first Black-produced bourbon in Kentucky, at least for now, according to the Lexington Herald Leader. Black-owned Louisville-based Brough Brothers sued Fresh Bourbon’s marketing, alleging that the claim from Fresh Bourbon “to be the first Black-owned distillery in Kentucky” was false advertising because they didn’t have their own distillery at the time. The appeal Sean and Tia Edwards released a bourbon in 2017, distilled at Hartfield Distillery in 2018. The Kentucky General Assembly recognized the brand
