Founders

Francisca Francois

I'm Francisca Francois, a dedicated Haitian entrepreneur, passionate Professional Cosmetologist, and Beauty Enthusiast. In 2018, I embarked on a journey that led to the birth of Aeva Beauty. Recognizing the lack of representation for deep complexions like myself in the beauty industry, I felt compelled to make a change. We are an inclusive Black-owned makeup brand, dedicated to under-represented deep and melanin hues. Our mission is to promote diversity one beauty product at a time. Aeva Beauty is about empowerment, embracing unique identities, and reshaping an industry to reflect the beauty all around us.

AISHA MCCAIN

Aisha McCain is a natural entrepreneur with the heart of a healer and the personality of a fighter. She is an accomplished inventor and innovator who holds multiple patents and has run multiple direct-to-consumer businesses. Additionally, she has become a community resource for cancer patients and an advocate for minority patients’ rights. The path Ms. McCain has traveled required drive, tenacity, and creativity.

Alexandra Baker

Alexandra is an award-winning TV personality with a presence on HSN and the founder of the lifestyle brands Home with Alexandra® and In the Kitchen with Alexandra™. Every holiday season, she would share a taste of her Haitian heritage with friends and family with a hand-made jar of pikliz, a Haitian cuisine condiment. Flavorful-heat, clean ingredients, a superfood! The response was astounding! Now, she's thrilled to share her perfected recipe for just-spicy-enough, use-on-everything pikliz with you, so that you can bring a bit of Island flavor to family dinners and so much more.

Alicia McKay

Born and raised in Detroit, Alicia knows the true spirit of Detroit can be nourished through education. This generation is ready for more than germ-infested inflatables and ball pits! Our kids are scientists, engineers, architects, coders, and professional gamers. We are ready to lean into the untapped talent through fun and engaging educational experiences and No Fear Cafe and Alicia McKay is prepared to lead the way.

April Lancit LMFT

ALATherapy is a private practice that provides mental health services and supports. We provide mental health treatment, consultation services and workshops. Although we service people of all walks of life and all walks of faith. We specialize in Black and Brown couples. We specialize with this population because of limited access to this form of treatment. We help Black and Brown couples heal. Couples are often the foundation of most families. A couple can come in many different forms rather it be a heterosexual couple, same sex couple, interracial couple, blended family couple, co-parenting couple, cohabitating couple etc…We all face challenges and struggles within the context of our relationship. We help Couples strengthen, and heal.

Archie Clay III

WEAR BRIMS, a luxury hat company co-founded by longtime friends Archie Clay III and Tajh Crutch in 2016, stands on three basic principles: family, faith, and confidence. These principles are the foundation of all their business decisions and designs, celebrating their culture, family roots, and owning your confidence. Archie, a graduate of Tuskegee University with a BA in Sales and Marketing, started in the retail industry in HR and Operation roles, giving him a strong background to successfully start and run the business. Tajh, a graduate of Troy University with a BS in Information Systems, utilizes his education and corporate experience to help WEAR BRIMS gain and maintain a competitive advantage. A successful four years brought features

Ashton Clark

Ashton is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ticket Falcon. Ticket Falcon is a Black-owned, minority certified event management and ticketing platform with instant payouts for in-person, virtual and hybrid events. Our intuitive system offers all the key features to maximize the success of events without the overbearing costs. Make more memorable experiences happen with Ticket Falcon. Ashton founded Ticket Falcon in 2019 with his identical twin brother Ryan Clark, CTO.

Kenia Best

Peace and Love everyone! My name is Kenia Best and I am a senior at Bowie State University. I am the Founder of Your Very Own! - Where we create personalized skin care products that are ALWAYS naturally yours. View my BGV NextGen Pitch here: https://youtu.be/cj3k9QubpuM . Stay connected with Your Very Own!: linktr.ee/yourveryown