Malindi Mwangi

I am an aspiring entrepreneur in the afro hair care space. My ideas center around afro hair care specifically because the hair care industry is still not as inclusive as it should be. In the UK there are few hair service providers who are skilled in Afro hair care here hair care is such a big part of the black community. To remedy this, I have the idea to create an online marketplace to highlight those who are skilled in afro hair care in order to make the process of finding hair care services easier for black individuals. I have already created and launched an MVP of the platforms called The Florienta App and I am in the process of revising it for a second iteration. On top of this, my vision is to promote the growth of an active online community on the platform to allow people to ask questions or seek advice about the unique needs of afro hair. I am passionate about inclusivity and this is the why that helped me conceptualize the platform.

While this handles the physical side of the exclusive hair care market, there is also the emotional side. Afro hair care is perceived and treated negatively in society, so much so that the term hair discrimination has been coined to define the phenomenon. These sentiments are harbored by people outside the black community but have also had the effect of inflicting self hate within the black community for their natural hair. Through a podcast called Braid and Sip, I am aiming to unpack the politics that surrounds black/afro hair and impact the dialogue in a way that creates healing, acceptance and positive change. I want black people to love their hair and for other races to simply respect it as valid. This is also my why.

What I am looking for is a mentor who can teach, guide and advocate for me as well as a coach who can empower and instill more confidence in me about my business abilities because women, like myself, tend to suffer from doubt and imposter syndrome. I would love to be paired with a mentor+coach who would love to pour into a young female entrepreneur such as myself. Preferably with somebody who is experienced in these industries but what is most important to me is someone who is passionate about molding and wants to pour their support in the form of guidance, knowledge, networks and opportunities into me as a startup founder.