Sahi Cosmetics claims thousands in funding at Michigan Business Challenge

22-Feb-2017 - Last updated on 22-Feb-2017 at 15:07 GMT

Shelly Sahi, founder of Sahi Cosmetics (center) takes top prize in the Michigan Business Challenge (image courtesy of the Zell Lurie Institute)

The independent beauty brand founded by Shelly Sahi won the competition’s top honor this year. Her color cosmetics line caters to “women of Hispanic, Indian, Arabic, Asian, and Mediterranean decent [who] find it difficult to match products with their complexions.”

More than 200 entrepreneurs from The University of Michigan pitched and presented over the course of three months for the chance to be awarded prize monies totaling some $85,000.

Shelly Sahi was awarded $27,000 this week, having won both the overall competition as well as a $2,000 honorarium for outstanding presentation.

Time is money

If it’s true that time equates to money, Shelly Shai is likely to see more cash flowing into her brand. “It's extremely fulfilling to create something and share it with the world. Working 70 hour weeks on SAHI Cosmetics is the easiest thing I've ever done,” she says. Sahi left a job with Ford to launch her company. “I wanted to do more with myself,” she explains in a media release about the Michigan Business Challenge.

Earlier this year Sahi and her company made news when she was invited to participate in the Desai Accelerator (which is also a program of the Zell Lurie Institute at The University of Michigan). “Beauty brands and services that cater to underserved consumers are becoming a big business and changing the industry landscape,” as Cosmetics Design noted in earlier coverage of Sahi, adding that “Sahi Cosmetics is poised to be a part of the movement.”

Always be learning

It’s common business advice that the Michigan Business Challenge puts into practice. The program, which the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at The University of Michigan has been facilitating for 34 years, is a much a learning experience as it is a competition.

As Sahi notes, “The Michigan Business Challenge required me to vet out my strategy for the next five years and gave me a supportive place to practice my pitch before I take it to outside venture capitalists.”

Participating entrepreneurs come from the university’s 19 schools and colleges. Starting in December, participants refined their business plans, conducted financial assessments, and performed marketing evaluations. They received coaching and workshopped strategies to succeed in pitch events and later in negotiations with investors.

Besides the cash and the learnings, everyone involved in the annual challenge “[gains] feedback from leaders in the business community, and [expands] their business network,” according to the Zell Lurie Institute site.