Range Beauty Becomes First Black Woman-Owned Makeup Brand To Secure Funding On Shark Tank
An inclusive beauty that was born out of frustration just made history.
After realizing that every makeup she used caused her eczema to flare up, Alicia Scott founded Range Beauty in 2018, an all-natural makeup line that soothes the skin instead of just covering it. The founder recently appeared on ABC’s
Shark Tank and received an investment, the first time that’s happened for a Black woman-owned beauty brand in the show’s history.
Her product line includes foundation, primer, powder and body oil, all priced affordably for those who are fans of drug store beauty staples.
“It was like the ultimate pitch for me,” Scott said as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I’ve been pitching for years raising money at grant competitions. I love pitching. I love speaking. This is like the master level in video games.”
Scott asked for $150,000 from the investors for 6% of the company. They received $150,000 but for a 20% stake from the investors. “What you’ve done is really good,” Emma Grede said, who was a co-host on the episode.
Although this is the first time a Black woman-owned beauty has received an investment from the Sharks, it wasn’t from lack of trying from other founders.
Melissa Butler, founder of The Lip Bar, appeared on the show in 2015 and was ultimately rejected by the investors with one even calling the line “clown makeup.” She got the last laugh in the end. Seven years later, Butler closed on $6.7M in seed funding and has continued to make strides in the clean beauty space.
As previously reported by ESSENCE, the round was led by Pendulum, an inclusive and strategic growth investing and advisory platform designed for founders and leaders of color, with The Fearless Fund and Endeavor rounding out the cap table. Butler said she plans to continue growing The Lip Bar, changing societal beauty norms along the way.
