Reinvestment: Black Founders Paying Big Bank Forward

Richelieu Dennis, founder of Sundial Brands, which launched Shea Moisture, reportedly sold the company to Unilever in 2017 for $1.6 billion, and part of the deal was the formation of the New Voices Fund. One of the super-successful brands that benefited from that fund was Mielle Organics, a haircare company launched by husband-and-wife team Monique and Melvin Rodriguez.

Other still Black-owned favorites many of us love and use religiously have also been part of the New Voices Fund portfolio, including Topicals, The Lip Bar, and McBride Sisters Wine.

And talk about impact: Combined with the family's office, according to Inc., the fund has made over $300 million in investments in 24 companies since 2019. Dennis had also formed Essence Ventures and purchased ESSENCE magazine (along with its related brands) from Time Inc. the year before, a major boss move since Time Inc. has been a titan in the publishing world for over a century. This took the magazine back to its Black-owned roots.

A Black man who landed a multi-billion-dollar deal and decided not to use it for self-gain, but to reinvest in the legacies and wealth-building of Black folk? Do I really need to say a win is a win?

And he's not the only one. Mielle was acquired by P&G for an undisclosed amount in 2023, and the cosmetics giant has also invested resources into Mielle Cares, a nonprofit that works to help advocate for mental wellness among teens, to help the organization expand even further into economic development for Black and Brown communities.

Courtney Adeleye’s The Mane Choice was acquired by MAV Beauty Brands for a reported $61.9 million, and she partnered with the Canadian company for a $30 million fund to support Black women in areas including financial literacy, capital, mentorship, and scholarships, among others.

More Black Millionaires And Billionaires, More Opportunities For Black Investment

Let's face it, without a large influx of Black people having the major dollars and interest in reinvesting in other Black-owned companies, the ecosystem is simply a desert. According to Crunchbase, Black women received less than 0.35% of all VC funding, which is not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the billions of dollars that circulate within the startup ecosystem.

Black businesses need more than grants and bootstrapping to survive and meet the needs of an ever-growing consumer base.

They also need money to actually hire people, get their businesses to the point of going public (and walk with the big dogs making major decisions that affect our communities), and further feed into serving communities that need other resources, including healthcare and criminal justice reform.

Wealth-Building That Creates Elevated Tables For Black People

Also, Black women entrepreneurs face systemic challenges such as bias and lack of access to the investment resources that could help them expand and find sustainable success, and many people who have money to invest don't look like us, thus there can be a major learning curve when it comes to outreach and understanding.

Also, since the tragedies of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked not only protests and movements but a major surge of interest in Black-owned companies during the pandemic, the interest and investment in Black-owned companies has declined, according to the World Economic Forum.

There is a saying that not all skin folk are kinfolk, but when it comes to reinvestment by our own in our own, there are some heavy-hitting players whose foundational values are all about continuing the fight to not only level the playing field for other Black and Brown entrepreneurs but help to create a future where it's more of a norm for a Black-owned brand to have ample resources to make their wildest community advocacy and wealth-building dreams a reality.

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