by
Black Girl With Long Hair
Well… This is unfortunate :/ New York Magazine writer Kevin Roose name dropped NaturallyCurly.com in a recent article detailing 3 of the “stupidest” investments in Silicon Valley. While the site wasn’t one of the 3 companies detailed, it did get a dubious shout out in the article intro:
But Silicon Valley, like any other industry, has its share of truly dumb ideas. For every start-up that changes the world and makes its founders rich, a thousand die quick, anonymous deaths.
Some of tech’s clunkers never get off the ground, but others manage to get big, high-profile investments despite having no redeeming qualities whatsoever. (For example, what kind of genius decided to throw $1.2 million at NaturallyCurly, the “leading social network and community for people with wavy, curly and kinky hair?”)
In our new series, “Dumb Money,” we’re going to periodically trawl tech blogs for the worst examples of Silicon Valley stupidity, then subject the investors behind them to public mockery.
TextureMedia (the company that runs NaturallyCurly.com) CEO Crista Bailey jumped in on the comments to offer a rebuttal of Kevin’s statement:
As the straight-haired CEO of TextureMedia, parent company of NaturallyCurly, I thought I would share a few facts about the size and engagement of this market. The first is that approximately 60% of the world has textured hair (waves, curls and coils). That’s a lot of people — close to 80 million textured hair females 18+ in the US alone.
Combined with other brands in the TextureMedia portfolio, NaturallyCurly serves close to 2 million unique visitors every month who appreciate having an engaged community platform to share and learn more about products, stylists, photos, trends, hair health and more.
Women with textured hair spend 3x more on average than their straight-haired peers.
Our community alone spends an annual $1/2 BILLION on hair care. They create 15,000 pieces of content every week, and they constantly struggle with weather, frizz, body chemistry changes as well as with social feedback ranging from recruiters recommending straightened hair in order to be taken “seriously” in job interviews to millionaire matchmaker, Patti Stanger insisting guys don’t like girls with curly hair.
Every day is a new hair day. Hair does not define someone, but tied to hair are intangibles like identity, self esteem, confidence, and personality. It’s a big deal to a lot of people.
Our small, medium and global partners and advertising brands would agree naturally curly, wavy and coily hair is a serious market. I’m happy to discuss more in person with Kevin on my next trip from Austin (where the frizz factor today is high) to New York.
I think there are people both within and outside of the black community who are still ignorant about the increasing influence of textured/natural hair on media, business and culture. But I guess, at the end of the day, it’s their loss #Kanyeshrug. Ladies, what are your thoughts on this?
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The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as a lot as this one. I mean, I know it was my option to read, but I really thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you would fix for those who werent too busy in search of attention.
This article doesn’t upset me as the person writing about how stupid naturallycurly.com is clearly doesn’t know anything about the natural/curly hair market. But what does upset me is that the parent company of naturallycurly.com has no one of color at the top. Neither the founders or any member of their management team are African American. For a site that capitalizes on the natural hair movement within the black community you would think that they would add some color to their management team. http://www.texturemediainc.com/company
I am black and relax my hair,I love the natural hair. I work out a lot and because of my job, I wear a uniform and my position It is easire for me. I work around a lot of all races, and guess what? All races have issues with their hair, including men. We all talk about breakage, age, stress, what color looks good on us, should I cover my greys, it is so humid outside look at my hair, I got to workout my hair will mess up. And I notice, that 95% of people have culy, waviy, and course hair. I can’t wait for the day I can go natural.My last 3 years I will start the process of growing out my relaxer, and when I arrive to sign my retirement papers, I will have one of those bright red rinses in my hair, with fat plaits. : )
I have been tryin grow my hair out for the last 3 years. And was consistently getting breakage. I have black kinky hair. I also use a relaxer which I will NOT give up. Anywho, this past winter I had the most breakage in the crown area, so that if I pull my hair up it looks like a crown. Shallow in the center and long around the hairline. So I bought the Shielo VOLUME Collection out of desperation. And as one last go around before I get the clippers. But the VOLUME Shampoo and VOLUME Conditioner work! My hair less of my hair is falling out. And it just feels better after. Some of their products did not work so good on my hair, like the Shielo HYDRATE Mist. But the VOLUME regimen does work! Loyal customer here.
Seriously. Why would ANYone give a person who looks like this, a second thought? Please. Does not even show up on my radar. http://www.flickr.com/photos/68073433@N00/4569203713/
How ignorant. Like he’s actually paid attention to the natural hair market. Ugh, open your eyes, man!
I guess I don’t find it THAT bad of an article. He stated his opinion as he has a right to and who gives a rats toosh what he thinks. Sounds like he is bitter that maybe one of his friends or his ideas did not make it off the platform but here that site did. . bleh. Nothing to give too much attention too. . .
The title of this post ought to be altered. (Perhaps the text as well.)
NaturallyCurly.com isn’t a “natural hair” site. Its focus is on all types of curly hair. That includes kinky hair. However black folks’ hair isn’t their sole focus.
Years ago, I thought of it as a curly hair haven for the non-black population.
The problem with USA is the obsession with the almighty dollar as a measure for success. What happened to forming a natural hair website purely to educate other women and promote the idea that natural hair is not an affliction but simply a beautiful variation of texture?
The truth is that when you start doing things for money, that is what becomes your guiding light……..money.
Let us be honest, the vast majority of natural hair websites are not profitable and those that are are modestly profitable (certainly not in the range of several hundred millions or billions of dollars as would be expected in silicon valley).
Why take it as an insult because someone pointed that out? Is it not the truth?
Truth!
BriBri,
Why does any critical analysis of the Curly Nikki site or the selling of it to a white-owned company always have to equal “hating” on Nikki the person?
CurlyNikki can only do giveaways or scholarships precisely because she sold out and was acquired by NaturallyCurly.com. Why isn’t NC.com sponsoring scholarships or promoting a difference aesthetic for black people globally? Because they don’t have to. In fact, they can continue to cater to us in iconography only, and we will still spend our time and money on them.
Just like why doesn’t Obama do anything to improve the lives of Black folks in America? Well, because he knows so many of our dumb asses will vote for him only, because we are moved by the symbolism of it all.
I hope Curly Nikki is smart with her money, because now she must make whatever “undisclosed amount” extend and compound in other ways – hell, she may not even have the rights to her name or brand anymore!
I support Leila and BGLH. At least she allows real debate and discussion – not just fawning and compliments about her – in the comments section.
Former Dread,
(1) Because I see a whole bunch of hating. If the site’s quality has diminished I would understand, but I see Nikki taking initiative and doing things that no one else does. So lets keep the analysis about CN professional and not just simply call her a sell out bc she did a smart business deal. Not to mention its a bit racist to say that its wrong to sell to white people just bc their white. If they did that to us, we’d be calling Al Sharpton.
(2) I agree, the deal with NC preceded an uptick in giveaways. Um…whats wrong with that. In her interview with Black Enterprise, she stated that “her first obligation is to provide value to the consumer” (paraphrase). So if this is a way that she could give more to the community, why should she be hated for that? I don’t understand. That still doesn’t explain why BGLH which is a huge website making a lot of money hasn’t found it in her heart to do a scholarship for other black women struggling through school. Does that make her a good person?
(3) I agree about Barak Obama, but the reason I vote for him, is because there is no alternative. I certainly can’t vote for the other guy. So Obama has to be smart and try to get more white votes. I understand that. We are a minority group and this is not our country…I don’t like it anymore than you, but I deal with it.
(4) I hope CN is smart with her money too, but I don’t count her money bc that’s none of my business. Whether she continues to get richer or goes broke, she’s already done great things for the community…wouldn’t you agree. You should get your money up…boo boob.
(5) I also support Leila and BGLH…because I support all god’s children and especially all my sisters…even though she seems like a messy bitch.
Love and Respect,
Bri Bri
Honestly, every black person who though Obama was going to visit them in their “hood” and give them a handout is legitmately stupid. If we are really going to say “why hasn’t Obama improved the life of black people,” first you need to ask why didn’t Bush improve the life of white people. He improved the lives of rich people – both black, white, asian, hispanic, and so on – but he didn’t do anything for the middle or lower class.
And here is a 5th grade US government history lesson; the US government has a system of checks and balances. The President of the US cannot do anything without the support of the House and Senate…which Obama has not had.
=)
Isn’t this hating on Curlynikki getting old already. I have just a few points to make.
First, her site has not changed at all, save for the fact that she does a whole lot more giveaways.
Two, she uses a lot of guest bloggers, but she always has. All you have to do is go back to 2008 and look at the post. More importantly, most other sites have taken this model and used it, including this site. Why not criticize them.
Three, CN got famous from this hair thing, but if you read her interviews you’ll notice that she really only did this as a hobby, not a business venture. She says over and over again that she is a therapist and happy with that.
Four, why is Leila letting this site become a forum for hating on other black women. Lets be real, whenever this debate is being had, it usually has her name on it or is taking place on her site.
Fifth, what about all the good that CN does? Somehow that is never a part of the conversation. Where is BGLH’s scholarship for black women…hmmm? Where is Titi and Miko’s scholarship for black women? Where is their cultural sisterhood trip to Brazil? I’m tired of black people acting like black ownership equals good for the community…put your money where your mouth is.
I agree 100%! CN does give back.
You should go back and see how much curlynikki has taken from this site. Copied outright. And if you go all the way back you could see the email exchange between Leila and cn over the “copying”. CN published those personal emails on her website then deleted them. I know someone remembers.
Thanks chloe.
Alison, why wouldn’t we see a lot of overlap when a bunch of black women are talking about the exact same topic? If you have clear examples of plagiarism provide the link. If not, its just slander. Also, if I was CN and some chick I don’t even know started accusing me of plagiarism I would put her on blast too. In addition, when I look around the web, I see people stealing CN’s style all the time. I think its safe to say that everyone borrows liberally from everyone. For instance, look at how many people do meetups now. At least CN’s meetups are still free. I think its your choice if you want to support BGLH and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I love the site, Im just not willing to hate another black woman for no reason.
I don’t know what I would do if it had not been for the natural hair websites and books. All I have to say is we can show you better then we can tell you.
Why do we care what he thinks?? o_O….I mean…it’s not like the fact that there are a ton of ignoramuses in existence is actually new to us… *shrugs and sashays* as I bob my kinky-curly Afro side to side…
Men (not all of course, but many with access to an audience and think they know too much) are always up in arms/ignorant about the way women utilize technology. This is similar to the reaction I heard about Pinterest. What? Women use technology? To talk about hair and the junk they like? Not to build computers and spend hours playing video games? Yeah, we do some of that too, but we also use the internet and tech for other things. Get over it.
Bravo! Sexism is probably at the root of his angst.
I would have told him to go f*** himself, but that’s just me…
This is ridiculous! The textured hair culture extends past the black community to even those of European descent and Asian descent. These sites are for EVERYONE who has textured hair and what we go through on a day to day basis. People need to have someone to talk to who understands what they are going through. It is not a dumb investment, but rather an irreplaceable investment in women’s (and men’s) self esteem.
This takes me back to the “Why Natural Hair Should Not Be Considered Unprofessional” post. It’s a White man’s world and the reason our hair seems militant or unimportant is simply because they don’t find it so. Same thing went for the Africans they found in Africa who they felt were just wasting space on Earth and whom they felt needed “civilization”.
Technology is a blessing and a curse. It can help educate the masses but it can also do massive damage at keeping a large amount of people ignorant. Kevin is ignorant by choice despite all the knowledge at his finger tips and his ability to access it moreso than majority of people on the Earth be it via online or just going to a nice cushy library. His ignorance, intelligent ignorance, is the worst kind.
All White men are not ignorant – thank God – it is a generalization. The mentality comes from the good ole boy network types and any younger person who wants to emulate after their ideals because they feel it puts them that much closer to elitism. These people can be White, Asian, Latino and yes, even Black. Tres sad. I guarantee you, if silicon valley was singing natural hair praises, Kevin too would be singing natural hair praises and giving naturalistas high-fives whenever he ran into us. He needs to get his life together and stop being so chicken to just be a decent human being. No one will look down on you Kevin if you love Black people. Ok, some might but just ignore them.
Ignorance breeds itself. And it’s colorless…that’s why there’s so much money to be had in the natural hair industry in the first place – plenty of us, just now awakening to the beauty of rocking our naturals, and plenty of “other people” who don’t have a friggin clue about the potential in that at all.
We’re all in this…together? Hmmm….
I think he was writing from a position of ignorance, and that’s fine. His ignorance doesn’t take anything away from the experiences of curly-haired people. I’ve met plenty of people like him: people who encounter an idea and laugh at it because they think it’s stupid. They think it’s stupid because they haven’t heard of it before.
I do wonder, if he got it so wrong in that one sentence about the website, to what extent does the rest of the article get it wrong?
what this writer is failing to understand is that naturallycurly isn’t TRYING to COMPETE with Facebook as a social network. Facebook isn’t catering to my curly/textured hair needs. Also, NaturallyCurly was NOT created FOR women of color. It was created for ALL people with curly hair. As it turns out, women of color spend even MORE on hair and products than other women with curly/wavy hair. Their platform has always INCLUDED 3c, 4a, and 4b textures and those boards naturally got more attention than the others. It grew SO much that I believe they were LOOKING for a rep to specifically cater to us and they approached curlynikki who already had a fan base and was a frequent poster. I do not believe that naturallycurly are the bad guys. They sought to provide a service, stumbled apon a severely underserved market and met a need where they saw one. I have received great advice for my hair from naturallycurly and attended lovely events as well. My recommendation however for those looking to support black owned mediums/businesses – buy products from black owned companies. nc.com is selling those too! they have carried such products MUCH earlier than other outlets. nappturality is a black site that also offers superb advice for those of us really interested in changing our entire standard of beauty. When I was first going natural nappturality helped change my frame of reference if you will. I understand that I might never compete with a straight haired woman’s ponytail but she can’t compete with my fro!
What I find even more disconcerting is that the writer’s view seems to be more of a offhand, first blush, no research involved commentary which speaks to his critical thinking process. He definitely wasn’t basing his views on concrete numbers.
Kevin Roose updated his NY Mag article to include this:
Update: In the introduction to this post, I cast some doubt on a $1.2 million investment in NaturallyCurly, the self-described “leading social network and community for people with wavy, curly and kinky hair.” That line drew some criticism in the comments to this post and over at the Huffington Post, which pointed out that there’s a large market for natural hair businesses, especially those targeted at black consumers. I should have explained myself in more detail: My point about NaturallyCurly (which sells products and provides advice to curly-haired people of all races) was simply that a social network built around a single community of any type is, in general, a dicey proposition. The annals of Internet history are littered with niche sites that have lost out to more general hubs. (How many book-only e-commerce sites can survive in the age of Amazon?) On the Internet, there’s usually one big winner in each category, and in social networks that winner is Facebook. My criticism was of the idea of a social network for curly-haired people, not the influence or viability of the curly-hair market in general.
Sounds like a feeble attempt to back-peddle. He says, “My criticism was of the idea of a social network for curly-haired people, not the influence or viability of the curly-hair market in general.” Well….why? Why critique a social network for curly haired people if the influence of said network is far reaching and, in turn, has become highly profitable?
Mmm-hmm!
Huffington Post response to the piece:
“Kevin Roose, New York Magazine Writer, Disses Investment In Natural Hair Business”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/30/kevin-roose-natural-hair-business-investment_n_1719828.html?ir=Black+Voices
Textured ladies (most of whom happen to be of color) are currently showing that they have the nerve to believe in self, love self, and find beauty in self despite continued and protracted efforts to decimate their self esteem.
I *heart* the re-post. Hope this means you see virtue in the words…
WOW I love her rebuttal. I’ll bet Kevin was sitting around with his finger in his a*& after that!
Idiot should have thought twice. I can’t stand how people feel the need to insult what others consider valuable. Even the “failures” of silicon valley should at least be applauded for taking a chance. Where would we be if ppl didn’t take chances on things they believed in?
“Even the “failures” of silicon valley should at least be applauded for taking a chance.”
2nd!
This is good! He actually took the time write about the website which actually helped to promote it, because i have never seen this site before and Im here now because of the article. Your site has a purpose keep u the good work. 🙂
I’m gonna cry wolf. $1.2million is a lot of money for a HAIR blog. Also, when I visit naturallycurly.com I don’t think of African-American women as I do when I visit this site and another like curlynikki.com. Yes, I see a few pics but its focus is on women of all ethnicities and often when that happens our particular struggle gets washed out or dimished. So, call me a bit biased, but I’m not gonna hold up the blood stained banner for it as I would if he took a swipe at this site.
And to think, the site is for naturally curly women but the CEO is straight haired. really? Isn’t that the same craziness that Essence did with having a white male editor and a white fashion editor? Or weight watchers which is largely supported by women but it has a male CEO? or even Carol’s daughters and its white male leadership. What is up with companies appointing CEOs who do not reflect then their target market?
If they see a need, you’re saying they should hand over their idea and their monetary investment to someone who looks like their target audience? Should one forgo starting a home for orphaned children because they were never orphaned? If there’s a need and no one else has tried to meet it, why can’t people who haven’t been through it help out from the top down? So basically it seems (and please clarify if I am way off base) that if someone is not directly affected by something then they should keep it moving and let someone else maybe figure it out.
+100000000
Thank you for this- I agree completely! We can’t turn around and exclude others just because they’re not the “right colour”, and then get upset that they continue to return the favour.
Agreed! Yes, i do believe that the hair struggle amongst Black woman for and against our natural hair has been most intense of all. However, this is not a pissing contest! A good friend of mine is a curly-haired Greek. She was called ugly (her hair was mentioned in the insult), by some straight haired, blond guy. We’re not the only ones who suffer because we’re not the “norm” or seen as less than ideal.
4th! Nothing to add.
I do believe Dana was referring to the curious pattern of a lack of ownership amongst people who have specific needs like natural hair, or media representation for black women etc. Your argument sounds good if it was simply a case of nobody from marginalised groups sitting around doing nothing to meet those needs but this is just not true. Essence, curlynikki.com, Dark & Lovely all were once black owned companies. As a black person I find it disturbing that we will regularly start up businesses and create opportunities for ourselves only to then hand it over to white people and lose what little wealth we managed to generate for ourselves.
I agree with you, but I have to wonder if that is really what is happening. I think the better quesiton would be, do black investors want to invest in black people. I hear about a ton of black celebrities buying stake in facebook, professional sports teams, and clothing companies, but none of these things are black owned and I have to wonder are white investors more willing to invest in a black company than a black investor. For all the accolades Solange and Beyonce have been getting on natural hair blogs, not once have I seen any news about them investing in Shea Moisture, Kinky Curly, or any other natural hair care product. It is a curous case that I don’t think has only one side to it.
Beyonce and Jay Z have invested in Carol’s Daughter. That’s why Solange is a spokesmodel but I get your point. If we invested in our own start ups we wouldn’t need white investors.
I don’t know if that is true because Carol’s Daughter does a good job of letting everyone know the celebrities that use and promote their products (Jada Pinket and Will Smith, Mary J. Blige, Oprah). I have yet to hear about Beyonce and JayZ. Solance was picked because the second she BC’d every natural blog posted pictures raving about her hair every week so they took advantage of her popularity and used her as a spokesmodel. They also chose Cassie and Selita Ebanks. I highly doubt Diddy stopped dancing long enough to sign a contract so Cassie could be spokesmodel for a hair company and I get the sense that Victoria’s Secret could careless about anything with the word “natural” in it.
But if this is true, if you could link the press release, I would really like to read it (not being sarcastic, I would actually like to read it).
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jay-Z are among the big-name investors in a Brooklyn-based beauty line called “Carol’s Daughter,” according to the New York Post. http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/18/news/newsmakers/cosmetics/
THANK YOU! Finally somebody who backs their claim up. I know this off topic but I am so sick of the people who are like “Oh it happened, but I can’t find the article” or “You just have to go look for it.” So thank you Chloe for making me day.
I see that as the other side of the same problem. A lot of black people scoff at the potential of natural hair as a business, even those of us with natural hair. You therefore get less people interested in wanting to invest and black business owners having to go elsewhere out of necessity. Then at the same time a lot of people (consumers) are simply happy that there is a company that provides their needs regardless of the scruples of those supplying those needs, so don’t see the need to support black businesses. It all adds up and it’s obviously mulitfactorial. At the end of the day it all leads to the same ending – we don’t own anything substantial.
I will take a couple of educated guesses regarding your last sentence, CJ (since I don’t have any background in business). What I assume could be the case is that a company/person with a lump sum of money offers to buy another profitable company and the smaller company agrees that what they were offered is more than they stand to earn in profit that year or for the next couple of years. Some people see this as a sell-out, others see it as simply handling business. Another scenario is that some of these companies are public and someone else buys up their shares and ends up “strong-arming” the smaller company into being bought out…a backhanded way of buying a company that may, up front, refuse an offer to be bought out. I have a lot more research to do into these situations to ever be able to stand in certainty about what’s really going on out here. Right now I’m just tossing out some examples.
I understand possible reasons why it could be happening but I’m not trying to call all black people as sell outs if they do sell their business. I just hate the fact that no major black companies seem to be in it for the long haul, to the point where you have communities that used to have plenty of black owned bussinesses being monopolised by racist asians. It’s just so irritating and every opportunity we as a whole get to turn it around seems to be squandered. Do you get where I’m coming from?
“So basically it seems (and please clarify if I am way off base) that if someone is not directly affected by something then they should keep it moving and let someone else maybe figure it out.”
You are right. You can also add that black women/people are dumb as hell.
People fear & put down what they don’t understand. Typical response from a very ignorant man who didn’t bother to research his own statement. Clearly shows his lack of objectivity and how he can’t report on something unbiased or even properly. Speaks volumes of his education as a so called journalist/writer.
This has nothing to do with cluelessness. If your perception of people with naturally curly hair, most specifically black women, is that they are uneducated, welfare mothers with no income, let alone disposable income, to speak of, then investing in a company that would target that demographic would seem ridiculous to you. Silicon Valley is made up of Mitt Romneys, and we already know what he thinks about black people who “want free stuff.” Not every business is oblivious to what is happening in the natural hair community. If you look at any tv or print ad recently, you would think every black woman in the world was rocking a twist out.
The fact that some uninformed venture capitalist just confirmed to me that racism is alive and well is low on my list of shocking revelations.
Wow this shows how ignorant some people are even when they are touting how politically correct they are.
I fear he is completely unaware at how clueless he is. Of course it is a big deal to a lot of people. Thank you for pointing it out to us. The scary thing is that this dismissive attitude by “power brokers” happens daily which stunts the growth of non-straight haired/ non-white/ non-male opprtunities/services and business.
“The scary thing is that this dismissive attitude by “power brokers” happens daily”
2nd!
Sometimes the use of a word tells more about the one that uses it than the one who it is thrown at…Maybe the dumbest one is NOT the one he thought… Give that a little thought next time You kevin NOONE Roose wants to qualify someone/something as being dumb. Just saying…
My only question is what is Silicone Valley? Lol…Obviouosly the journalist-analysist is not aware of the money spent from consumers on beauty and hair care, it is him who is in fact foolish not only because lack of due diligence but because he is a mirror to this entry in the ‘dumb’ factor, this is not a personal attack on naturally textured hair ladies, I invite us to not take it there…peace and blessings<3
Silicon Valley refers to an area in Northern California, in which many internet and tech companies started to boom. It is where you will find tech corporations like Google, Yahoo, and Apple. HTH!
I think people need to chill a bit. He didn’t question the meaningfulness of the site. He questioned the investment sense. Even facebook strives to make money from its popularity. Not everything is insult to our hair.
how shall minded!!!! they always expect us to bow down for them by embracing all their ways!!!!
+1 I think he is talking about the monetary gain from these sites. This doesn’t seem like a slight at the actual textured hair types. Yes we by a lot of hair care products but that doesn’t mean a site on the topic of hair care would be just as profitable when a $1.2 million investment is made. I think NaturallyCurly.com’s response about their figures was good but again, I am not sure if this proves the profitability of the site based on the amount of the investment. Its just business…not personal.
I don’t think it got seriours until he (ForemDread) demeaned someone’s response that merely highlighted the fact that there are two evils in the business world. People are just asking everyone to look at the two evils and decide which one (if one at all) do you choose to support.I see his point, but I see the point of the others,’Why not support companies that support your own community’ vs. ‘What’s the point of supporting a business, that poisons you, just because they are black owned?’ While they are both great points, no one shoud put someone down just because they shde light on the other side of the story. I, personally, choose to either make my own products, or order some from a business owner off of Etsy.com. I will go out of my way to support a smaller person in the business realm, rather than buy something due to a celebrity telling me it works great, despite the fact that they may have never tried the product.
NaturallyCurly.com is a white-owned business with no black leadership in decision-making or strategic positions of influence.
NaturallyCurly.com is a business that has made the hair of black women its bread and butter, and reason for its success, but has not invested resources or dollars into black entrepreneurs, experts or professionals.
NaturallyCurly.com’s profits are not circulating within or benefiting the black economic base.
NaturallyCurly.com, from its formation, has been supported by natural-haired black women. But as it has grown, it has sought to embody a more inclusive brand that, by extension, has dimished the vital and unique role of the black natural-haired movement and the women that have advanced its cause.
NaturallyCurly.com has no corporate consciousness or sense of obligation for the black community.
Here we are, again, supporting white businesses that know us no better than we know ourselves!
CurlyNikki has been bought and paid for by NaturallyCurly.com.
Don’t believe the hype, ladies. Think critically.
I’ve heard of Curly Nikki but not Naturallycurly. I will look into your claim though. Very interesting
Wow. Double Wow…will do my research. Thanx for the info…
AMEN FormerDread. I was thinking the same thing as I read the reply from the “straight haired” CEO. We ( people of color)spend billions of dollars that go into everyone’s pockets except our own. When I read things like this I want to yell “WAKE UP” like Laurence Fishburne in School Daze.
Co-sign, CurlyG. Our people, our people. Connect the dots and follow the dollars and we will realize, ultimately, we are “benefitting” symbolically only, not in ways that really matter and change the game.
How do you know what deal CurlyNikki got? I always hear this rumor but did she say this? Is this fact? I know some people close to her and this doesn’t seem consistent with what they told me so I would just like to know how you know this information about her deal with NaturallyCurly.com.
Nikki,
Yes, it is a fact. The terms of the deal have not been made fully public, but that she got one has been. NaturallyCurly bought out CurlyNikki, to whatever extent, aligning her with them and elevating their brand, while leaving her with the symbolic crumbs. Whatever she got PALES in comparison to the brand recognition and profits being driven by having a “black representative” aligned with them.
So what your saying is you don’t really know since the terms haven’t been made public. I don’t know how anything can be fact without the terms being released to the public. Sounds like speculation and assumptions. I have known her husband for years through work and when we have talked about it about what she worked out with NaturallyCurly.com. He laid it out and it isn’t what you are saying here. Rumor mills are interesting. I feel like people take what they see at face value and don’t ask the questions that verify their “facts.” Just wanted to check.
NaturallyCurly.com issued their own press release, which alluded to the deal. It has also been mentioned and covered in media coverage.
Why, really, would her husband let you in on all their business anyway? Get real.
I have seen the press release and it never said “bought and paid for” or even the word purchased. I have some background in business and there are any number of contracts that could have been worked out with the site that wouldn’t necessarily me it was “bought and paid for.” You have a press release but some how I am the one that is not informed because her husband is going to make stuff up. OHHHH K! As I said before, basically you don’t know whats up but since you want to make an argument that NaturallyCurly.com is not a company that is supportive of Blacks you can continue with your assertions.
Your laser focus on CurlyNikki is a minute detail of my bigger-picture supposition. Feel free to creep out of the rabbit hole and examine the wholistic nature of my point, of which CurlyNikki is merely a feeble example.
I think your bigger point is also problematic. You make assertions about the company and what they are doing with black businesses or their work with Black professionals but how do you know these as fact either? Are there reports out there about their work with Black professionals? I am actually interested to know but you seem to just becoming out of left field with out facts or figures.
Excerpt from Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/04/black-hair-natural-relaxed-_n_918200.html):
Perhaps no one knows this better than Alicia Nicole Walton, the writer and psychotherapist behind CurlyNikki.com, a natural hair care blog. Curly Nikki’s blog stands out in the sea of online voices talking about the decision to “go natural” and the care and maintenance of natural hair. Walton does more than just evaluate products, she pays attention to the emotional and social issues that surround black women’s hair in a regular series of posts written by Walton and guest writers called On the Couch.
Walton grew up in a home where chemical hair treatments were banned because of an experience that her father had with “a bad Jehri Curl,” she said. But in college, Walton had a harder time getting to a salon to have her hair temporarily straightened with a heated straightening comb. Then she damaged her hair when she used a flat iron, another temporary heat straightening method, too often at home. Her boyfriend — now husband — pointed out that Walton’s moods, even her self-esteem seemed to rise and fall around the appearance of her hair. When it was straight, Walton was up. When it was not, Walton was down, he said. Walton decided this wasn’t emotionally healthy and began experimenting with wearing her hair in curly and braided styles. Her father wasn’t pleased.
“He said, ‘Please don’t sacrifice your career for this hair choice,'” Walton said. “‘How will you get a job or get into graduate school with that hair?’ But that was the thing: What I was doing wasn’t really a choice, like dying your hair pink. This is what grows out of my head.”
For older African Americans, natural hair or appearing in public with one’s hair un-straightened can seem a lot like going somewhere without pants, Walton said.
In 2010, NaturallyCurly.com purchased Walton’s blog for an undisclosed amount.
“Let’s just say that my husband and I don’t absolutely have to work,” said Walton, a new mother who hopes to establish a therapy practice for women with body image and self-esteem issues. Choosing a natural hair style in the 1970s often conveyed a political message, Walton said, citing Angela Davis’ afro.
Thanks for posting this! I can agree that we do need to address the investment in products that are made and sold by us — a very valid issue. However, I don’t think that Naturally Curly/Curly Nikki or even Curly Nikki/Miss Jessie’s as others have mentioned, should be drawn into this.
Let’s not turn our argument on each other — Black women in business (Curly Nikkie, Miss Jessie’s, Carole’s Daughter, etc.). Let’s focus on the lack of the capital, investment and support of Black-owned hair companies. That’s the real issue here.
We can debate this until the cows come home, but until you are a business owner facing roadblocks trying to get funding, who cares?
Because Miss Jessie’s, Curly Nikki.com, Carole’s Daughter get funding, investors, get bought out, whatever you want to call it, that makes it that much easier for that next person coming up through the ranks — and that’s the game changer. They are naturally curly pioneers and I can’t hate them for that. Their struggles and triumphs make it easier for the next Black woman with a hair care line — of which there are many.
Naturally Curly saw an opportunity, took it and now have aligned themselves with CurlyNikki. They have targetd Black women with curly hair as a PART of their market, not the entire thing. This is business, folks. We may not like it, then fine, let’s change it.
We don’t have the lock on curly hair (pun intended). The last time I checked, Black women aren’t exactly overwhelming Naturally Curly.com with our support.
We all vote with our dollars and pageviews, LOL. I give two less than a damns about Miss Jessie’s or Carole’s Daughter products for MY hair.
But because they’re owned by Black women, I support them as fellow business women. I support their hustle (no, I don’t own a hair care company, but I do own a service industry firm). It’s not easy and, until you’ve done it, you don’t know how hard it is. It’s easy to sit back and complain.
Curly Nikki, started by a Black woman, got a handsome amount to be aligned with Naturally Curly. Good for her family and her business, though we don’t know the exact terms of her deal. This makes it easier for the next company seeking to buy, sell, invest, fund, and evaluate Black owned media/hair blogs, etc.
I also own a blog — yes, shameless plug — http://www.HairNista.blogspot.com.
If Naturally Curly.com approached me about buying out my blog so that I don’t have to work, do you really think that I would turn that down? Hell, no!
As long as it’s from a company that’s aligned with mine and that I don’t see an ethical or business conflict, what’s the problem? Should you wait until you get a Black buyer?
Seriously?
We can argue about someone else’s money or spend that energy creating our own, supporting products we believe in — or, more importantly, fighting the author’s very commonly held belief in venture cap circles that investors shouldn’t invest in Black owned products, hair or otherwise.
Curly Nikki was bought by NaturallyCurly. But what is contradictory about the OP’s statement is that if NaturallyCurly truly did not want to support black entrepenurs, experts, or professionals, they wouldn’t be supporting CurlyNikki as we speak. I also question if the OP knows of any other person besides the CEO who is or is not of color.
How do you know she was bought? How do you know that she gave up complete control of her site? This is why I ask this. There are many types of deals/partnerships/buyouts that can be done where she may or may not be giving up her rights to her site. You see certain changes to the site in that maybe certain things are advertised more or maybe there are more tie ins with NaturallyCurly.com but I feel like the dialogue is always that she “sold-out” but no one knows this to be true. It is just assumed based on what people are seeing but know one knows the contract that was done.
There are certainly noteable changes. Most of the CN entries now are articles which appear on other sites day(s) before they appear on Curly Nikki.
I see original articles on Hairscapades and Around the Way Curls which then appear on CN a day or two later.
I dont see many articles which originate from the CN site anymore. It has become, from what I can see, a conduit for other bloggers.
Nothing wrong with change, but it has been quite noticeable. So, for me, I like to read articles when they first appear. As a result, I have found myself going straight to the sites and bypassing CN.
I also agree with you @Mai. I think the assumption about NaturallyCurly.com and the support of Black professionals is just as problematic as well. We don’t know but people are assuming they do. Do you work there? Do you know the people who run the company? Are you looking at their business numbers? Where does the information come from?
“Support” does not have to mean “buy out.” That we so easily correlate support with buying someone out shows how far we’ve gone in losing our business sense and entrepreneurial bent. Is NaturallyCurly.com helping the black community, or black hair experts, stylists, products developers or others in any meaningful way? Are they changing the distribution game? Are they investing in black community service organizations? How many black people are even on their staff?
That we do not question these sorts of things or seek to research them, before jumping on a bandwagon, is quite disturbing.
What’s worse is that we don’t even seem to care.
So Titi and Miko (I don’t care what their names, the Miss Jessie owners) feel like they are benefiting the black community when they load their products with mineral oil and petroleum and recommend silkeners or texturizers despite promoting natural hair. Does Andre Walker think he is benefiting the black community by saying all 4-types need a relaxer?
Please, we have foxes in the chicken coop. I’m a worry about them before I go outside to deal with the ones I see.
Keep your straw-woman arguments in their appropriate space. I am talking about business strategy, economics and corporate-social responsibility.
Please tell me what is “straw-woman” about it.
Tito and Miko pad their products with mineral oil thus saving themselves money while still aiming their products to natural hair. By offering a relaxer and texturizer, they are able to market to all woman of color despite the small but growing (my opinion) natural hair community. If I am not mistaken that is business strategy and to be a honest a big lack of corporate-social responsability. Andre Walker is the same way; it is apparent he has no clue how to style natural hair so he keeps money in his pocket by saying all type-4s need a relaxer. And all of these effect economics related to the beauty industry and also tapping into the purchasing power of the black community. What is worse is that these companies are black owned but deceiving black people. Like I said, tell me what is “straw-woman” about my comment.
If you want to correlate the state of black economics to the ingredients in Miss Jessie products, feel free.
I am done with this conversation. I have made my points, very plainly and transparently. These are not esoteric observations. But if you don’t want to see them for what they are, for whatever reason, you won’t.
Comments like yours make women like the owners of NaturallyCurly.com and other white-owned businesses that make money off of us very happy.
If you want to correlate my online comments to my “blindness” then go right ahead. I am sure the owners of NaturallyCurly are extremely excited to know that I don’t visit the site nor purchase products through their website also.
If you want to ignore the parallels I am making about some black individulas who are taking advantage of the “natural hair movement” to only make money (which is obvious by their poor hair care products, advice, and meetups – Tyra Banks and the TypeF vidoes ring a bell) to white-owned businesses profiting from black buyers despite not giving back to the black community, then fine by me.
We seem to be concerned with putting blame on white-owned businesses and Korean owned beauty supply stores instead of addressing our own lack of knowledge and education of our hair. While the black healthy hair community (inclusive of those who want healthy hair in any state) is growing thanks to sites like this, CurlyNikki, BGLH, and Hairlista, it is still quite small (my opinion) comapred to the general black population. Despite the information that is now readily available thanks to the power of the internet and social media, so many CHOOSE to continue their unhealthy hair practices. For every healthy head of hair I see on a black woman, I see ten more who have no edges, ragged ends, and brittle hair.
So with that, have a good day. After all, only one more month before the summer ends and all of us can enjoy a perfectly defined braidout for 24 hours again.
“So with that, have a good day. After all, only one more month before the summer ends and all of us can enjoy a perfectly defined braidout for 24 hours again.”
LoLLLL!!!!
Thank you Nikki and Mai for a skillful and stimulating discussion!
I’ve been to several NaturallyCurly.com events and guess what? They catered to an almost all black women audience-far from diminishing.
NaturallyCurly.com is a ***business***, first and foremost so kudos to them for tapping into a lucrative market, they are not stopping black bloggers/businesses from pooling their resources together and starting their own.
Everything you said is true except your 4th point. NaturallyCurly.com’s initial support base was curly haired white women. As it grew, it diversified its marketing. Curlmart was launched on the Jessicurl line. What Naturallycurly is doing is no different than what Target has done. By carrying natural boutique brands, they’re raking in black dollars which ultimately benefits their shareholders and enables their CEO’s to buy a third vacation home. The black community doesn’t reap the rewards.
A-N-D
The natural boutique brands (many black owned) profit, this is how capitalism works. You have to be in it to in it, whining about evil whites who have the audacity to go where the $$$ is, does nada. Look at those “big bad Asians” w/ stores after stores in our neighborhood; guess how it’s possible? They have association after association where new immigrants and old immigrants pool money and start businesses! All the while 1st, 2n, 3rd, 4th generation black Americans do bupkus as a community….well, except complain about others realizing the American dream.
They also do it by actively preventing black people from starting up their own BSS businesses AKA racism, but then again that is the American way so we can’t complain can we?
http://www.lipstickalley.com/f38/attn-enchanted-vs-curly-nikki-341298/index15.html
No need to research. The people on the forums go in at every chance.
That sounds like a lot of gossip and speculation sprinkled with a few outright lies just for dramatic effect.
You are great at pointing things out.
=)Yes, Truth!
Interesting to think that he believes that natural hair website is a “dumb” investment. I think that just proves how narrow minded some people are and when an opportunity comes about and they miss it they wonder why. Step outside the box!!!
I guess this guy doesn’t know how dangerous the natural hair police are…
LOL….
That was funny, Mia! Loved it!
The guy is just oblivious. I suppose from a guy with straight hair’s point of view, who probably spends little to know time thinking about his hair, he wouldn’t understand how important hair is to women, and worse hair that requires extra attention.
This right HERE. It’s really not that complicated. *LBell shrug*
I agree. I’m vaguely familiar with Kevin’s writing. He’s a smart man. I just think he doesn’t have any idea of the importance that hair plays in women’s lives.
I completely agree with NikNak. I think he saw it as some fringe market because he’s completely removed from the realities of being a woman an america… much less a woman of color – who have been, en mass, avoiding our natural curls for years. Cristal’s rebuttal is spot on; honest, factual, measured. Hopefully he’ll be less likely to write knee-jerk responses in the future and actually perform a bit of research…. like a good journalist.
My thoughts are that when he wrote that he was purposefully looking for a backlash. Anyone with half a brain already knows that the beauty industry as a whole has a great following but when you focus in on hair and specifically the care for textured hair I would even argue that it possibly generates the most revenue. Just sit him down.
We have to remember that, in our efforts to create communities for ourselves, there will be others that see no value in our endeavors. Our goal is not to convince them of our cause, but to press forward without reservation. I don’t expect the entire world to see the value in what I do with my hair, or the sites I invest my time in, for that matter. What’s important is that I know the value and share it with others who may very well benefit.
Blessings!
Joey
+1 I really like how you phrased this. Butthead-Kevin’s remark reminds me of comments I’ve heard from a few non-Blacks about how “pointless” the NAACP is. Others (by others I meant ignorant turds) may not see the value in it, but it is for the benefit of our own community.
Very nicely put! I agree 100%
Couldn’t agree more!
This whole thing just reminds me of a post I read last week on Facebook about why men don’t find Beyonce’s new braided style attractive. I read some of the comments and these jokers were telling her what styles she should go back to because “no woman looks good with their hair like that”. Too annoying because I’m trying to wrap my head around how YOU gonna tell ME how to wear MY hair. I try not to give energy to those that seek to tell me how to live my life (even in the most minor aspect) while simultaneously degrading my existence as it wish to currently express it. My question is: “Who said I was living for you, boo?” I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Textured ladies (most of whom happen to be of color) are currently showing that they have the nerve to believe in self, love self, and find beauty in self despite continued and protracted efforts to decimate their self esteem. They don’t know how the hell we are doing it, and they don’t like it…
I put the link below for that article about men not liking Bey’s hair.
http://www.wwmdonline.com/2012/07/the-big-fyi-why-so-many-men-arent-feeling-our-box-braids-not-even-a-little-bit/
hmmmm very suprised by this. Didn’t click on the link-I’ve had my fill of ignorance this morning from teabaggers-
I really liked her hair. Even though we know its extensions braids always remind me of who we are, where we come from etc…very cultural for me. I was listening to Malcolm X yesterday (for motivation)a speech he did in 1962 and he was asking ‘who taught you to hate your hair, the stuff GOD gave you? why would you rathter slap some lye on your head the stuff that can burn a hole through metal’etc…. here it is 2012 and we are still having the same issues. sad
Well said as Kevin’s words don’t make us or break us. He’s a man with a narrow point of view.
Perfectly put MissJoeyK. Point.blank.period.
You are speaking the truth MissJoeyK! I’m putting this in my quote book.
+1: Blessings to you as well!
Wow how small minded he is!