Slutty Vegan founder and CEO Pinky Cole Hayes has appointed Lauren Maillian as president of the plant-based burger chain; Maillian joined the company on June 4, according to Black Enterprise. With over 20 years of experience in the tech, food, and beverage sectors, Maillian sees this appointment as one of alignment: “This is also very personal for me… very synergistic with the life that I lead and allowing me to show up as Lauren Maillian wholly and fully in every part of my personal and professional life.” Cole shared that this will be the first
Women run 11% of companies on the 2025 Fortune 500 list. This marks a historic moment, as the number is over 10% for the first time, as stated by Fortune. In 2023 and 2024, 52 female CEOs led Fortune 500 companies, but this number increased to 55 in 2025. However, only two of these woman are Black. For 71 years, the Fortune 500 has ranked the largest US companies by revenue. In 2025, the companies that comprise the Fortune 500 are expected to represent $19.9 trillion in revenue, accounting for two-thirds
Melissa Butler, founder and CEO of The Lip Bar, shared that sales have declined by 30% since the boycott of Target began earlier this year. The boycott is in response to Target’s decision to roll back its DEI efforts, which include a commitment to increasing Black representation by 20% and a program to feature more products by Black- and minority-owned businesses. Butler is now calling on consumers to support Black-owned businesses through other channels, including buying from them directly. The Lip Bar’s sales declining In a video posted on social media,
AAPI, Black, and Latine entrepreneurship made durable gains in 2024, a new report by payroll manager Gusto has revealed. Additionally, many people were laid off from their jobs last year, but the percentage of entrepreneurs who started a business because they or their partner lost a job rose 67%. The findings come from a survey of 1,000-plus new business owners who launched businesses in 2024 by the Gusto Insights Group. Want to find out how well entrepreneurship did in 2024? Keep reading. AAPI, Black, and Latinx entrepreneurship have made durable
Women and non-white men hold 50.2% of over 5,500 board seats at S&P 500 companies, for the first ever, according to data compiled for Bloomberg by ISS-Corporate. Compared to five years ago, white men comprised nearly 60% of the directorships. This is significant as President Donald Trump has caused a DEI purge in the country. “It’s amazing that the shift in boards is occurring at the same time DEI is being dismantled in lots of organizations,” said David Larcker, a professor who studies corporate governance at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
For the first time in history, the FDA has approved a device that allows people to screen for cervical cancer from home. Teal Health launched the Teal Wand, a prescription device that lets patients self-collect samples and mail them to labs to receive the same testing that they would receive from a professional doctor. In January, it was announced that Serena Ventures, Williams’ VC firm, participated in a $10 million seed funding round for Teal Health. How will the kit work? Once a user requests a kit, a vetting process to confirm eligibility is
Aruwa Capital Management, a Nigerian investment firm, has raised $35 million towards its $40 million target for its second fund. The firm is set to reach its final close of $50 million, with a hard cap of $60 million within the year. The total fund exceeds Aruawa Capital’s first fund, which closed in 2022 at just over $20 million. The second fund includes new and returning investors such as the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF), Visa Foundation, global family offices and HNIs, and new LPs such as the Bank
Growth Warrior Capital recently raised $26 million for its first fund from investors like Bank of America, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and Pivotal Ventures, the investment firm founded by Melinda French Gates. Promise Phelon launched Growth Warrior in 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina to support underrepresented and overlooked entrepreneurs. Since then, the firm has written checks up to $3 million and has a portfolio of 11 companies. These include Capitan, an AI insurance claim platform that raised $104 million, and ForceMetrics, an AI platform for first responders. Supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs Growth
Topicals founder and CEO Olamide Olowe and its president Sochi Mbadugha have acquired Bread Beauty Supply through their holding company, Cost of Doing Business (CODB), which they launched in 2024. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. According to Business of Fashion, CODB plans to grow Bread Beauty Supply’s retail presence in the US, beginning with an expansion into more Sephora stores. Topicals and Bread: Two Visionary Black-Owned Brands Topicals is a Black-owned skincare brand founded by Olowe in 2020. It has gained prominence for its products that
H&M has ended its partnership with the non-profit Buy From A Black Woman (BFABW) and paid the $83,000 it owed the organization almost a month after it was due, as reported by ADWEEK. BFABW was founded by Nikki Porcher in 2016. It provides Black women with educational programs, an online guide to hundreds of female-owned Black businesses, and funding to help Black women business owners achieve success. In 2021, H&M partnered with BFABW, hosting special events, and participating in its business accelerator, and organizing activities and donations tailored to Black-owned businesses.
