Why Serena Williams, Andreessen Horowitz are investing in this company that sells hair — yes, hair | ||
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Hair is a $5 billion market in the United States. Market research from Mintel estimates six out of 10 black women wear a weave or a wig. But when Diishan Imira looked at the supply chain of how hair gets into a stylist's hands, he realized it was a complete mess. "Basically, women in India sell their hair to buyers from China, who treat and package it, then sell it to primarily Korean distributors. Those distributors sell to Korean-owned beauty supply shops in the U.S., who then sell it to primarily African American women," explained Ben Horowitz in a blog post, an investor from Andreessen Horowitz, who is leading a $10 million investment round in Imira's company, Mayvenn. Imira grew up around hairstylists, so he had heard their frustrations with the complicated process. Women who want hair extensions can't typically walk into a salon and pick out the the hair they want, having to go to a beauty supply store instead. Imira said 95 percent of African-American hair stylists can't afford to keep the inventory on hand because of how expensive the natural hair is and the low amount of cash they have on hand to spend on it. This is where Mayvenn steps in. Mayvenn, which is Yiddish for trusted expert, lets hair stylists set up their own ecommerce sites and sell hair directly instead of referring customers to other beauty supply stores or distributors. The stylist doesn't have to keep any of the hair on hand because Mayvenn ships it to them in two to three days, then offers a 30-day return window if the stylist or the client doesn't like it.
What has attracted Horowitz and other investors to the company is not the fact that it sells hair, but how it helps the stylists it works with. The company is already working with more than 30,000 hair stylists and has done eight-figure revenue in the year-and-a-half since it's launched, Imira said. "The most successful of these have more than doubled their income via Mayvenn while dramatically improving life for their customers," Horowitz said in a blog post announcing the investment. "Even more exciting, Mayvenn’s methods and platform can easily be extended to trusted experts in many fields, enabling gifted craftspeople to become economically empowered." The company has raised $13 million in funding, including Friday's $10 million Series A round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Also participating in the round are Trinity Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, Cross Culture Ventures, Impact America, Jimmy Iovine, Serena Williams and Steve Stoute. SEE ALSO: Invest in black entrepreneurs because it's good business, not out of 'social obligation' Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's how often you should wash your hair  | ||
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"They can wear the product, and they get better prices from us," Imira explained. Artist rebellion against Apple Music grows as independent labels say they won't participate in the launch (AAPL) | ||
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Independent record labels are concerned that by giving away their music for free during Apple Music's three month free trial, they will essentially be footing the bill for Apple's launch. So they are bailing on the music-streaming app. It isn't just small labels and independent artists that aren't happy with Apple Music's terms. Taylor Swift has also snubbed the new service, and won't be putting her new album on the platform. Beggars Group, the parent of a group of legendary independent labels such as 4AD and Matador, had been in discussion with Apple over the launch of its new music streaming service, but it isn’t happy with the deal the company is offering independent artists. In a blog post published on its site for the attention of artists and managers under the group, the company said it could not come to an agreement with Apple. Beggars Group is arguably the largest and most influential independent group of labels in Europe. Matador Records, 4AD, Rough Trade Records and XL Recordings are four main labels that help make it up. Bands on Beggars' labels include Adele, The Cult, White Stripes, Vampire Weekend, Basement Jaxx, Radiohead, Gary Numan, The Strokes, The Cocteau Twins, Lou Reed, Queens of the Stone Age, and dozens of others. The post said: “In many ways the deal structure is very progressive, but unfortunately it was created without reference to us, or as far as we know any independents, and as such unsurprisingly presents problems for us, and for our coming artist releases.” The group's main problem is with the three-month free trial Apple is offering to users when it launches on June 30. During that time, artists won’t be paid anything when their music is played on the platform. This could cause problems for artists that are releasing new albums between July and September, when Apple will start to pay artists from the £9.99 monthly fee users will pay, the group argued. Artists will miss out on essential revenue from those new releases, because they’ll be forced into giving their work away for free for three whole months. “Whilst we understand the logic of their proposal and their aim to introduce a subscription-only service, we struggle to see why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple’s customer acquisition costs,” the group continued. “And given the natural response of competing digital services to offer comparable terms, we fear that the free trial aspect, far from moving the industry away from freemium services – a model we support – is only resulting in taking the 'mium' out of freemium.” The group also raised concerns over whether independent artists and the labels that represent them are being given the same deal as major labels and their artists, adding that it hoped Apple would make changes to the terms of its new service so that it could get on board. Apple has been trying to position its new, paid streaming services as a "friend" to artists, no matter how small. It offers them a new platform on which to promote their music, and a new revenue stream from fans.
But Andy Heath, the chairman of industry lobby group UK Music, told The Telegraph earlier this week that, to his knowledge, no independent British labels have agreed to allow their music to be used in the three month free trial. He said: “If you are running a small label on tight margins you literally can’t afford to do this free trial business." The fear is that stream revenue those labels would have earned from Spotify will dry up as people check out Apple's three-month free trial. Once the trial is over, Apple says it will be paying more than the industry average of 70% of music streaming revenues to music owners. In the US this will come to 71.5%, and outside the US it will average out to around 73%. But this hasn't been enough to reassure independent labels in the UK. These labels are happy to stick with Spotify, Heath said, which continues to pay them for each track played, even if Apple is promising to give them more than the industry average at a later date. The Telegraph report added that two record label bosses had confirmed Heath's view, but did not want to be named because talks with Apple are still ongoing. In the face of spreading dissent, Apple is apparently playing hardball with artists. Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe claims that the company is threatening to pull his entire back catalogue from iTunes if he doesn't agree to forgo royalties during a three-month trial period Apple is due to offer consumers, Consequence of Sound reports. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Two models in Russia just posed with a 1,400-pound bear  | ||
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Putin to Russian business leaders: It could be worse | ||
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is giving a keynote speech and speaking with Charlie Rose on Bloomberg TV at the three-day Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. "We have managed to stabilize the situation," Putin said, according to a translator. "We are successful in going through the difficulties." Putin noted that the Kremlin's response to Western sanctions is to open the Russian market to new partners and discussed ways that Russia's business environment would improve. Most Western leaders and CEOs are staying away from the conference, once dubbed Russia's answer to Davos, as Russia trades barbs with NATO and continues to back separatists in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Putin insisted that the economy — wracked under Western sanctions — had adjusted to the lower oil price and would be able to cope. "In general, the budget has adapted to it, and the real sector," Putin told Russian businessmen. "In general and on the whole, everything suits us." Putin met with the Saudi Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman and business leaders on Thursday.
Tsipras arrived at the forum Thursday and has met with top executives of Russian gas giant Gazprom, deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev told AFP. Putin is set to talk to Tsipras on Friday. The Greek leader — who has openly criticized Western sanctions against Russia — is however unlikely to get any help in Saint Petersburg with the immediate problem of Greece's June 30 deadline to repay 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to one of its international creditors, analysts say. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Why Putin is the most powerful man in the world  | ||
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Why Serena Williams, Andreessen Horowitz are investing in this company that sells hair — yes, hair | ||
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Hair is a $5 billion market in the United States. Market research from Mintel estimates six out of 10 black women wear a weave or a wig. But when Diishan Imira looked at the supply chain of how hair gets into a stylist's hands, he realized it was a complete mess. "Basically, women in India sell their hair to buyers from China, who treat and package it, then sell it to primarily Korean distributors. Those distributors sell to Korean-owned beauty supply shops in the U.S., who then sell it to primarily African American women," explained Ben Horowitz in a blog post, an investor from Andreessen Horowitz, who is leading a $10 million investment round in Imira's company, Mayvenn. Imira grew up around hairstylists, so he had heard their frustrations with the complicated process. Women who want hair extensions can't typically walk into a salon and pick out the the hair they want, having to go to a beauty supply store instead. Imira said 95 percent of African-American hair stylists can't afford to keep the inventory on hand because of how expensive the natural hair is and the low amount of cash they have on hand to spend on it. This is where Mayvenn steps in. Mayvenn, which is Yiddish for trusted expert, lets hair stylists set up their own ecommerce sites and sell hair directly instead of referring customers to other beauty supply stores or distributors. The stylist doesn't have to keep any of the hair on hand because Mayvenn ships it to them in two to three days, then offers a 30-day return window if the stylist or the client doesn't like it.
What has attracted Horowitz and other investors to the company is not the fact that it sells hair, but how it helps the stylists it works with. The company is already working with more than 30,000 hair stylists and has done eight-figure revenue in the year-and-a-half since it's launched, Imira said. "The most successful of these have more than doubled their income via Mayvenn while dramatically improving life for their customers," Horowitz said in a blog post announcing the investment. "Even more exciting, Mayvenn’s methods and platform can easily be extended to trusted experts in many fields, enabling gifted craftspeople to become economically empowered." The company has raised $13 million in funding, including Friday's $10 million Series A round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Also participating in the round are Trinity Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, Cross Culture Ventures, Impact America, Jimmy Iovine, Serena Williams and Steve Stoute. SEE ALSO: Invest in black entrepreneurs because it's good business, not out of 'social obligation' Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's how often you should wash your hair  | ||
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10 things you need to know before the opening bell (SPY, DJI, IXIC, USD, UST, USO, FIT, MSO, SQBG, MCD, EUR, JPY, AAPL, SWHC) | ||
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Here is what you need to know. Greece will hold an emergency meeting with creditors on Monday. After a meeting of finance ministers on Thursday, Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said "no agreement yet is in sight." The ECB is deciding whether to stop or pause providing liquidity to Greek banks, which may not open on Monday because residents are rapidly withdrawing their money. On June 30, Greece is due to pay $1.70 billion to the IMF. Chinese stocks got crushed. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 6.4% to 4,481.22, marking the first time since January 2014 that the market entered a correction, according to Bloomberg, amid worries that Chinese stocks are in a bubble. It's also been the worst week for the index since the 2008 financial crisis. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged. BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the weak yen is not harming the economy; he had earlier warned markets not to weaken the currency significantly. The central bank will continue its asset purchases program, increasing base money by 80 trillion yen annually. The bank said it would meet less frequently to decide on policy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Fitbit had a blockbuster IPO. The maker of fitness trackers opened up 52% from its IPO price of $20 a share at its debut yesterday. The opening price of $30.40 valued the company at about $6 billion. According to CNBC, the average Fitbit insider owns the stock at $0.37 a share. Martha Stewart is near a deal to sell her empire. According to the Wall Street Journal, Sequential Brands is close to buying Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. A deal could be announced within the next few days. Shares of Martha Stewart surged 26% on the report. Details about the Apple Watch 2 leaked. The next model will feature a FaceTime camera, and it will rely less on the iPhone to function, according to 9to5Mac. Apple's first smartwatch has been on sale for about one month. Smith & Wesson's full-year forecast missed estimates. The gunmaker expects earnings excluding some items of between $1.02 and $1.07, below the average estimate for $1.08 according to Bloomberg. Shares fell by up to 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the earnings report. McDonalds is shrinking in US operations to expand abroad. This year, for the first time, the fast-food chain will close more domestic stores than it will open. It said the impact will be "minimal in comparison to the 14,000 restaurants" it operates. US sales have been in decline for the past five years. European stocks are rallying. Germany's DAX, France's CAC, and the Euro Stoxx 50 all rallied by as much as 1%. No major economic data is due today. The latest count of US oil and gas rigs will be released by Baker Hughes at 1:00 p.m. The US 10-year yield is down four basis points at 2.31%. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Mark Cuban explains why a 401(k) is a no-brainer  | ||
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Greek banks 'stable', government insists | ||
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Athens (AFP) - The Greek banking system is stable, the government said Friday ahead of an emergency European Central Bank session prompted by a rush of deposit withdrawals. "The governor of the Bank of Greece has confirmed the stability of the banking system, which is fully safeguarded by the joint actions of the Bank of Greece and the European Central Bank," a government source said. Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras had earlier met with the top Greek negotiator in European Union-International Monetary Fund talks, junior foreign minister Euclid Tsakalotos, to discuss the negotiations "and the state of the banking system," the source said. The ECB was to hold an emergency session on Friday to discuss additional liquidity following a request from the Bank of Greece, sources familiar with the matter told AFP. A billion euros were withdrawn from Greek banks on Thursday, financial website euro2day reported. Greece on Friday insisted a last-ditch deal on its debt was possible and dismissed "terror scenarios" of a default that is looking increasingly likely unless an accord is concluded. EU President Donald Tusk has called an emergency summit of leaders of the 19 eurozone countries in Brussels next Monday, after finance ministers on Thursday failed to break the five-month deadlock between the anti-austerity government in Athens and its EU-IMF creditors. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Artist rebellion against Apple Music grows as independent labels say they won't participate in the launch (AAPL) | ||
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Independent record labels are concerned that by giving away their music for free during Apple Music's three month free trial, they will essentially be footing the bill for Apple's launch. So they are bailing on the music-streaming app. It isn't just small labels and independent artists that aren't happy with Apple Music's terms. Taylor Swift has also snubbed the new service, and won't be putting her new album on the platform. Beggars Group, the parent of a group of legendary independent labels such as 4AD and Matador, had been in discussion with Apple over the launch of its new music streaming service, but it isn’t happy with the deal the company is offering independent artists. In a blog post published on its site for the attention of artists and managers under the group, the company said it could not come to an agreement with Apple. Beggars Group is arguably the largest and most influential independent group of labels in Europe. Matador Records, 4AD, Rough Trade Records and XL Recordings are four main labels that help make it up. Bands on Beggars' labels include Adele, The Cult, White Stripes, Vampire Weekend, Basement Jaxx, Radiohead, Gary Numan, The Strokes, The Cocteau Twins, Lou Reed, Queens of the Stone Age, and dozens of others. The post said: “In many ways the deal structure is very progressive, but unfortunately it was created without reference to us, or as far as we know any independents, and as such unsurprisingly presents problems for us, and for our coming artist releases.” The group's main problem is with the three-month free trial Apple is offering to users when it launches on June 30. During that time, artists won’t be paid anything when their music is played on the platform. This could cause problems for artists that are releasing new albums between July and September, when Apple will start to pay artists from the £9.99 monthly fee users will pay, the group argued. Artists will miss out on essential revenue from those new releases, because they’ll be forced into giving their work away for free for three whole months. “Whilst we understand the logic of their proposal and their aim to introduce a subscription-only service, we struggle to see why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple’s customer acquisition costs,” the group continued. “And given the natural response of competing digital services to offer comparable terms, we fear that the free trial aspect, far from moving the industry away from freemium services – a model we support – is only resulting in taking the 'mium' out of freemium.” The group also raised concerns over whether independent artists and the labels that represent them are being given the same deal as major labels and their artists, adding that it hoped Apple would make changes to the terms of its new service so that it could get on board. Apple has been trying to position its new, paid streaming services as a "friend" to artists, no matter how small. It offers them a new platform on which to promote their music, and a new revenue stream from fans.
But Andy Heath, the chairman of industry lobby group UK Music, told The Telegraph earlier this week that, to his knowledge, no independent British labels have agreed to allow their music to be used in the three month free trial. He said: “If you are running a small label on tight margins you literally can’t afford to do this free trial business." The fear is that stream revenue those labels would have earned from Spotify will dry up as people check out Apple's three-month free trial. Once the trial is over, Apple says it will be paying more than the industry average of 70% of music streaming revenues to music owners. In the US this will come to 71.5%, and outside the US it will average out to around 73%. But this hasn't been enough to reassure independent labels in the UK. These labels are happy to stick with Spotify, Heath said, which continues to pay them for each track played, even if Apple is promising to give them more than the industry average at a later date. The Telegraph report added that two record label bosses had confirmed Heath's view, but did not want to be named because talks with Apple are still ongoing. In the face of spreading dissent, Apple is apparently playing hardball with artists. Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe claims that the company is threatening to pull his entire back catalogue from iTunes if he doesn't agree to forgo royalties during a three-month trial period Apple is due to offer consumers, Consequence of Sound reports. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Two models in Russia just posed with a 1,400-pound bear  | ||
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