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Photo: Courtesy of Richualist
Making a Mint
Dawn Myers 鈥�07 took a hair care tool she invented all the way to Shark Tank.
Fall 2024
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Dawn Myers 鈥�07 could have been forgiven if she鈥檇 felt a little anxious in April as she strode onto the stage of the hit TV show Shark Tank. Her goal鈥攊n front of millions of viewers鈥攚as to convince the show鈥檚 daunting panel of venture capitalists to invest in a product she鈥檇 invented. So yes, potentially nerve-racking. But not to Myers. 鈥淚 got onto that stage and it was the easiest pitch I鈥檝e ever done,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淚 got to go out there and have fun.鈥� In the end, the 鈥渟harks鈥� Emma Grede and Mark Cuban pledged to invest $150,000 in Myers鈥檚 innovative hair-care product, called The Mint by Richualist, which helps people style their natural curls. 鈥淚 just think you鈥檙e so spectacular,鈥� Grede told Myers on the show. 鈥淚 know that I would go home and use this product.鈥�
The successful appearance was fitting, given that Shark Tank is what inspired Myers to design her hair tool in the first place. That was back in 2017, when she was working in business development after聽earning her JD from Howard University. Myers designed her product to solve a common problem for Black women like herself鈥攖he difficulty of detangling their natural hair. The traditional method of styling textured hair with a comb and hair products takes hours. The Mint by Richualist can do the job in just a few minutes.
Myers spent seven years working to get the product to market. Even a diagnosis of stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2022 barely slowed her down. Several major companies had invested in her product, and she knew
if she failed, she would not be able to raise the money again. 鈥淎nd the next Black woman who comes behind me, who has this amazing concept, she鈥檚 not going to be able to get funded either,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I thought, I have to get to market.鈥� She ultimately raised more than $1 million in venture capital funding even before appearing on Shark Tank.
The Mint by Richualist can be purchased online, and with the help of Cuban and Grede, Myers is working on getting it into retail locations. 鈥淪o many of us walk into stores and know the entire section of hair products and appliances will not apply to us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his whole thing is about serving that consumer who I believe has been historically disrespected and overlooked in the marketplace.鈥澛�
The Mint by Richualist detangles, conditions, and styles textured hair in only a few minutes. Users insert pods full of curl cream into the tool, which at the touch of a button heats and distributes the cream through the brush鈥檚 bristles. Photo: Courtesy of Richualist
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