We started the Beauty, Lifestyle, and Nurturing Diversity (B.LN.D.) initiative in 2018. Our vision is to expand diversity, equity and inclusion in the beauty/lifestyle industry, and our events are  geared toward those working and creating in the beauty and lifestyle industries. 

 

We’ve held B.L.N.D. events in Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta, as well as virtually in 2020.


This August, we had our biggest B.L.N.D. ever in Los Angeles, our home base. The theme was Beauty Entrepreneurship as an Entrepreneur of Color– and the event sold out twice. We had a phenomenal panel of beauty entrepreneurs along with brand partners and a make-your-own-gift-bag station.



“Everyone we talk to in and out of this industry immediately connects with the vision we shared at that first event in 2018—that it’s not enough to feature a Black person on an Instagram feed in February or a Pride flag in June,” said Agency Guacamole Founder and Principal Bilal Kaiser. “We have to do more in front of and behind the scenes.” 


This year’s panel featured the following four leading beauty entrepreneurs:

The evening unfolded with light bites and refreshments, including a custom cocktail presented by Hair.com, followed by an incredibly engaging conversation. The panelists shared insights into their experience in the beauty space as entrepreneurs of color–including the value of leaning into your vulnerability. 


Margarita Arriagada shared her experiences around leaving a C-level job to start her own company. “Leaving a successful corporate role to start a brand was very scary and left me feeling vulnerable–but this is the first time in my life that I can feel myself growing.” 

Naya Roberts noted that “you can often feel disadvantaged as a beauty entrepreneur of color, but you have to find your people – the people that root for you and want you to succeed and who will support you at every stage of the journey.”



And there was beauty business advice aplenty, including from Akilah Releford. “As a business owner, it’s incredibly important to be comfortable not getting instant gratification or praise. Learn to celebrate the small victories within yourself.” 


Michelle Ranavat echoed this, telling brand founders to not delay happiness around specific milestones. “Be happy along the journey at every stage. Learning to fail is a skill, and learning to handle failure more and more gracefully over time is such an important skill to have as a successful business owner.”

We have big plans for B.L.N.D. in 2023 and can’t wait to share with you soon. As Bilal said at this year’s event (our 6th!), “Even if we can’t change the world tomorrow we can use our platform and our community—this means you all!—to help change things for the better, one day and one conversation at a time.”

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