Entrepreneur Rebuilds Beauty Brand: Nurse turns $500 into $100m; now backs Watch & Sea

Former nurse Courtney Adeleye built a haircare business from a modest $500 investment into a brand generating more than $100 million in annual sales within six years. Her company, The Mane Choice, expanded into approximately 60,000 retail locations before its acquisition by MAV Beauty Brands in 2019 for a reported $61.5 million, according to Beauty Independent and Women’s Wear Daily. Adeleye’s journey began with a personal search for better haircare products. What started as an effort to understand and care for her natural hair eventually grew into a business that challenged established conventions in the beauty industry. Scroll down to read more…From nursing to natural haircareBased in Detroit, Adeleye trained as a nurse before turning her attention to haircare. After deciding to stop using chemical relaxers, she began documenting her natural hair journey online, sharing product recommendations, experiments and insights into hair health.Her interest in the science behind hair growth also influenced her approach. She began mixing her own formulations after finding that existing products did not meet her needs. Over time, her online audience grew, and followers began asking to purch...