Last year, the Sephora Accelerate cohort comprised 8 women entrepreneurs from the US, Mexico, and Canada. Upon the 2016 launch of the program, Corrie Conrad, the company’s head of social impact told the press, “We are excited to take the next step in building a supportive community and learning environment for these early stage leaders, who are helping to shape the industry we are so passionate about at Sephora, an industry we are honored to share with these future brand leaders.”
The foundation
Considering the founders set to join Sephora Accelerate this year, Conrad says, “the 10 female leaders chosen for our 2017 Cohort represent an exciting mix of product brands, cutting edge technology, and sustainability-focused entrepreneurs.”
The training intensive is part of a larger initiative as Sephora: “We're excited to mentor this next generation of leaders, as we march towards our goal of supporting more than 50 women-led beauty businesses with a social impact through bootcamps, mentorship, and funding by 2020,” explains Conrad in a media announcement about the Accelerate program.
The founders
Sephora Accelerate is intended to help close a gap in the cosmetics and personal care industry. “Female founders are underrepresented” in beauty, acknowledges the company.
The company leaders participating this year are listed here (the description of each company is a verbatim excerpt from the Sephora release):
- Barb Stegemann, founder and CEO of The 7 Virtues (Halifax, Canada)
- The 7 Virtues [is] a ‘socially responsible fragrance’ company. The company sources fair market essential oils from nations rebuilding after war or strife, including Rwanda, Afghanistan, Haiti, India, and the Middle East.
- Mary Futher, founder and CEO of Kaia Naturals (Toronto, Canada)
- Kaia Naturals is an indie eco-beauty brand that produces 100% non-toxic and cruelty-free products.
- Sara Panton, co-founder and CEO of Vitruvi (Vancouver, Canada)
- At Vitruvi…we source traditional essential oils from over 30 countries and formulate them in contemporary ways for every facet of a women's day.
- Adriana Oyevides, founder and CEO of Aloe Vida (Mexico City, Mexico)
- Aloe Vida is a line of self-care products using organic, Ecocert, Kosher, and food-grade Mexican Aloe Vera as a main ingredient.
- Dana Rae Ashburn, founder and CEO of ABLE Cosmetics (Brooklyn, NY)
- ABLE Cosmetics is a solution-oriented beauty brand aiming to solve everyday beauty problems through user-friendly tools, instructions and tutorials.
- Jihan Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Swivel Beauty (New York, NY)
- Swivel Beauty is a digital platform that's revolutionizing how women of color discover and book hair appointments with talented stylists who are equipped to work with their unique hair type and texture.
- Kirsty Williams, co-founder and co-CEO of DashHound (San Francisco, CA)
- DashHound is a data-science backed social commerce platform for beauty, making it easier for users to follow their favorite influencers and purchase the products they recommend.
- Marta Cros, founder and CEO of The Ritualist (Brooklyn, NY)
- The Ritualist offers in-home, professional skincare treatments performed by licensed estheticians. Appointments replicate the spa experience in your own home and include full-service facials with APTO skincare, the in-house line of plant-based fermented skincare products
- Pollini Jorio, co-founder and CEO of Brandlovers (San Paulo, Brazil)
- Brandlovers is an app that matches users with the best beauty products for them, using big data and machine learning.
- Yve-Car Momperousse, founder and CEO of Kreyol Essence (Homestead, Florida)
- Kreyol Essence is an eco-luxury brand that creates 100% natural and ethical beauty products from Haiti with a focus on hair and skin.