Author Kevin Roose recently wrote an article for New York Magazine called “Dumb Money: Exposing Silic0n Valley’s Stupidest Investments” in which he discussed ideas for business that he thought were truly a waste of time. He went on to make a statement in which he called out Naturally Curly, which is an online community for those with naturally curly and wavy hair, I like many naturals have probably visited this site a thousand times, but Roose thinks it’s a worthless creation. Roose stated: Some tech’s clunkers never get off the ground, but others manage to get big, high-profile investments despite having no redeeming qualities whatsoever. (For example, what kind of genius decided to throw $1.2 million at NaturallyCurly, the “leading social network and community for people with wavy, curly, and kinky hair?”) When I read this comment I couldn’t believe that someone who have such an opinion on something they probably know nothing about. It seems that natural hair has taken on a life of its own in recent years with more and more women embracing their true texture, which is why I don’t see this as a bad investment. I know many people who have spent hours upon hours and lost an entire day on YouTube trying to find advice and hair styles for natural hair so that’s why it’s a perfect idea to have a website where naturals can go not only for advice and hair tips, but to buy products, get product reviews, and talk to other naturals through blogging. Not only is this website geared toward black naturals, but anyone that has textured hair, may it be wavy, curly, coily, or kinky, which means it reaches a lot of different people, including Caucasians and Hispanics. TextureMedia CEO Crista Bailey, which is the parent company to NaturallyCurly had the perfect response to Roose’s feature, she replied:
As the straight-haired CEO of TextureMedia, parent company to NaturallyCurly, I thought I would share a few facts about the size and engagement of this market. This first is that approximately 60% of the world has textured hair (waves, curls, and coils). That’s a lot of people -close to 80 million textured females 18+ in the US alone.
Combined with other brands in the TextureMedia portfolio, NaturallyCurly serves close to 2 million unique visitors every month who appreciate having an engaged community platform to share and learn more about products, stylists, photos, trends, hair health and more. Women with textured hair spend 3x more on average than their straight-haired peers.
Our community alone spends an annual $1/2 BILLION on hair care. They create 15,000 pieces of content every week, and they constantly struggle with weather, frizz, body chemistry changes as well as with social feedback ranging from recruiters recommending straightened hair in order to be taken “seriously” in job interviews to millionaire matchmaker, Patti Stanger insisting guys don’t like girls with curly hair. Every day is a new hair day. Hair does not define someone, but tied to hair are intangibles like identity, self esteem, confidence, and personality. It’s a big deal to a lot of people. Our small, medium and global partners and advertising brands would agree naturally curly, wavy and coily hair is a serious market. I’m happy to discuss more in person with Kevin on my next trip from Austin (where the frizz factor today is high) to New York.
I wonder if Kevin Roose has a response to the facts that Bailey stated? Some people just need to know when not to speak on matters they have not experience with. What are your thoughts on the statement made in the article? (892)
Twitter
