Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics

The co-founders (Black HBS alumnae) of an e-commerce beauty startup explore the unmet needs within the beauty industry. This case study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities that come from identifying an underserved market, specifically within the Black community and the best startup financing approach to pursue those opportunities. Students learn approaches to product ideation/innovation, marketing strategies for the social media age and launching a startup for a targeted audience. Students learn to analyze macro and micro economic data of an industry, synthesize consumer demographics and purchase behavior data, and create projected unit economics as well as pro forma financial documents to determine the potential economic opportunity that is unmet in a market and the requisite fundraising to launch a new business. At the time of the case, Mented co-founders went on to become the 15th and 16th African-American women to raise over $1 million in startup funding.