Meet Arielle Brown

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Arielle Brown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Arielle below.

Hi Arielle, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I’m the Founder of Bea’s Bayou, an eczema-focused haircare brand, leveraging the power of probiotics and bayou herbs. From the beginning, I was told that my vision may not be possible by people who just had not explored the ingredients that I had already been using on my skin. It made me more determined to figure out how to change their minds, and I did. I then encountered questions about the products usage for non-melanated skin. We got past that with more and more customers from all backgrounds sharing their reviews and stories about their amazing results. I then had to learn how to pitch, and oh my goodness, how my pitching abilities have evolved. I’m so grateful for every incubator and accelerator that pushed me to explore more levels of my capabilities. I then had the experience that so many founders have of investors or investor groups wasting their time and belittling them and their progress. I gained a tough skin and clearer vision to avoid situations that did not align with my spirit. As founders, we have people come in and out of our business, claiming to be able to do a lot for us, when in reality, they’re there to take. I have learned to properly vet people and test out relationships in this business before I commit. In addition to all of the above experiences ONLY within the last four years, life has consistently been preparing me to lead a company and a team with vision, empathy, and confidence. I come from a faith-filled family too, so I have no doubt, that my mental and emotional fortitude will continue to expand as long as I stay kind, committed to the vision, and trust myself 200%!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Bea’s Bayou leverages the power of probiotics and bayou herbs to offer natural relief for eczema-related issues for skin, especially scalp. We are proud winners of the 2022 Aveeno and Essence Skin Health Award, VillageX alumni, 2023 Black Ambitionists, and 2023 BEYGood recipients. I suffered with Seborrheic dermatitis since I was 13 years old, so I was shocked in 2020, I still had not found a consistent, trustworthy solution that was EASY to use and smelled great, and WORKED.

With 50% of the world’s population affected by dandruff (eczema) and many dealing with it on the face and body, there is a clear need for education and better options. I researched, read books, and formulated in my kitchen, while selling on Etsy during the pandemic. Within 4 months, I secured a manufacturer and started selling on our own website. The next year, we crowdfunded to be able to offer shampoo and conditioner. Truly, without grit and great customers, we may not be here to share this story.

My background is in social work and I have always enjoyed seeing people find their inner light and be brave enough to let is shine. In my role as Founder and CEO, I get to bring in other talented creatives and really learn from them as well as collaborate on so many ideas. This role takes vision, planning, resourcefulness, and commitment.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I recommend being open-minded, brave, and kind. I started with products that were made in my home, “DIY”-style. I didn’t know much about ANYTHING in the CPG world, other than as a consumer of products, so I thought like a consumer on most of my decisions. I then learned more about the business side of the industry from compliance, design, claims, testing, labels, barcodes, marketing strategy, and financial planning, but that all came with time and curiosity. No one had to tell me to ask more questions haha! I was full of them and was not scared to ask. I networked A LOT! I wasn’t doing it just to do it. I really desired to know who I could call for help and who could introduce me to more information that would help us grow. I also was never stingy with information or resources either. It helped me build my founder community too, because knew I really wanted everyone to be connected and thrive. Read, watch, listen, study, research online, and ask questions! Also, be kind to others, share, and show up professionally. You never know who is taking note!

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

I previously shared all of these amazing traits to practice so that you can feel confident in almost any room you’re in, but the one challenge that you can’t always control so much is the funding landscape for your industry. It’s no secret that BIPOC founders in CPG are having a hard time right now attracting investors. The political landscape and financial changes in America played a role. However, and this is a HUGE however, NEVER stop going! Get creative. Find ways to get your story out there and keep introducing yourself. Keep researching so you can find ALIGNED investors who are looking for you! You may have to grow slower than you expected, but it’s better to have the right investors walk this journey with you, than just anyone who was willing to cut a check. Take your time to get to know them and let them get to know you, so when resources do open up, your investors are really supportive and they care. I am currently doing more group pitching, which allows me to pitch to more investors at a time, but I also introduce myself to investors 1:1 via LinkedIn, email, their websites, etc. Tip: DO NOT ASK STRANGERS FOR MONEY. Ask them to just talk first and see if your values align and let them know that you want to learn more about THEM. If you all like each other’s values and energy, then money may come up anyway.

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Various photographers

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