While many celebrities and public figures such as Kim Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jessica Alba raised venture capital to launch their brands, Bozoma Saint John didn’t – instead, she flexed. She self-funded her Eve by Boz, a luxury wig, extensions, and hair care brand, with several million of her own hard-earned money.
Indeed not everyone indeed has that kind of personal capital to launch a brand; however, even when they do have that kind of money, they don’t invest in themselves. Saint John’s investment in her own brand is the ultimate flex, especially considering the systemic racism that diverse founders deal with, particularly Black female founders.
Systemic Bias In Venture Capital Allocations
Ahead of going on stage at SXSW, Shark Tank billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took some time to give advice to Black women founders in a talk with Essence magazine, telling them to stop looking for funding. “I would tell you not to look for funding,” the shark said. “You have to figure out a way to use sweat equity to build it on your own, even if it means starting smaller and slower, because there is a learning process, and it’s twofold. One is learning about your business and making it loanworthy. Then, two is learning the language of those making the loans.” Cuban, like many early-stage VCs, espouses a very presumptuous and belittling opinion of Black female founders, presuming that they don’t know the language of business, venture, or finance and that they need to start at the remedial basics. Due to the systemic bias of VCs, “less than 1% of venture funding is going to diverse audiences, and even less than that to Black women.”
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Cuban, like many early-stage VCs, espouses a very presumptuous and belittling opinion of Black female founders, presuming that they don’t know the language of business, venture, or finance and that they need to start at the remedial basics.
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Despite the viability of their businesses and the large TAM, Black founders say there is waning interest in their brands from the financial community. VCs don’t always recognize the broad appeal or viability of their businesses or appreciate the problems that they are solving. While many female founders have raised millions at the idea stage for their beauty brands, Black female founders have difficulty raising capital even when they have purchase orders from major retailers. Black female founders carry a markedly higher burden when it comes to educating investors on the value and viability of their business ideas.
The share of U.S. startup funding going to companies with Black founders hit a multi-year low in 2024, even as overall funding ticked slightly higher. Only around $730 million — or 0.4% of all funding — went to startups with a Black founder or co-founder last year, per Crunchbase. That’s the lowest share in years, down over two-thirds from just three years ago. At the same time, the dichotomy is that black consumers’ beauty spending is exceeding not only other demographic groups but also the industry overall in the U.S. According to NeilsenIQ, Black consumer spend in beauty hit $10.2 billion in 2023.
“I didn’t take a dollar from anyone to build this brand. I put my money into this business and every bit of stock I got from the companies I’ve worked at because I believe in Eve by Boz. So, yes, I want this business to be successful, but more than that, I want people to recognize our buying power matters. I’m going to show the world that it’s possible to build an empire with Black women and women of color at the center,” said Saint John in an interview with Byrdie.
Not The Average Founder
Bozoma Saint John is not the average founder. She has had an illustrious career as the former CMO of Netflix; Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor; Chief Brand Officer at Uber; Head of Global Marketing at Beats by Dre, iTunes, and Apple Music; and Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at Pepsi. Before Pepsi, Saint John was a Senior Account Executive at SpikeDDB, Spike Lee’s ad agency, where she started as a temp. She was named Billboard’s Female Executive of the Year, the #1 spot on Forbes’ World’s Most Influential CMOs list in 2021, and was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame in 2022.
Although she didn’t go to business school, Harvard Business School published a case study about Saint John’s achievements titled “Bozoma Saint John: Leading with Authenticity and Urgency.” After the popularity of the case study, Saint John developed and taught a 3 SIP (Short Intensive Program) classes at the University aptly named “The Anatomy of a Badass” based on the case study. Additionally, Stanford GSB’s Dean’s premier speaker series, “View From The Top,” profiled her.
When Saint John left Apple to join Uber during the #DeleteUber movement, people asked her why. She replied that she wanted to be “recognized for my influence in tech, because I knew that if I could turn around the brand perception, no one could assign my success to anyone else.” She replied that she wanted to be “recognized for my influence in tech, because I knew that if I could turn around the brand perception, no one could assign my success to anyone else.” She told Travis Kalanick that she wanted to be the face of Uber, and she was featured on 20 magazine covers and did 400 interviews. “Companies get a lot of airtime for hiring someone like me. So if I’m out in front, I don’t know why in the hell you’re complaining. And by the way, you are very welcome that I’m able to get in front of an audience and they say, ‘You know what? We trust her, and so, therefore, we’ll trust you.’ That was one of the biggest things that I brought to Uber,” she said.
Saint John branded herself Badass Boss and launched The Badass Workshop to share her wisdom and help others become the best version of themselves. Although the workshop started as an online workshop, she took it on a multi-city tour with a sold-out attendance in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Accra, Toronto, London, and Lagos. The workshop was recently featured on an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
More recently, Saint John joined the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH) Season 14. When asked why she joined, she said, “No linear answer to why I joined RHOBH. That’s not how my decisions are made. Mine are made by intuition. I’ve been in many rooms and disrupted the space because, among many other identities, I am Black, a woman, and I have really brilliant ideas. I’ve never been intimidated by spaces that maybe other people didn’t think I should be in.” She added, “I’m here to disrupt it.” She is a fan favorite on the show.
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She added, “I saw a bigger opportunity. So I thought, why not? Maybe they need some more corporate baddies, some self-made women on this platform. I think they do.”
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Moreover, Saint John is aware of how entertainment offers an opportunity for representation. She said, “I think that entertainment has a very, very, very big role in changing societal norms. If we are able to use entertainment to normalize experiences across the board, then we have a much better shot at being just better human beings.” She added, “I saw a bigger opportunity. So I thought, why not? Maybe they need some more corporate baddies, some self-made women on this platform. I think they do.”
Saint John also mentioned how content can spark curiosity and connection. Her tagline on the show’s introduction is “Introducing the greatest product I’ve ever marketed… myself.” She built a very engaged following on social media that has grown exponentially since she joined RHBH, which is great for her brand Eve by Boz. In addition to wearing Eve by Boz wigs and extensions, Saint John exclusively wears Black designers from head to toe for every episode.
A Founder Leading With Urgency And Authenticity
Eve by Boz isn’t a vanity project for Saint John. She is a passionate domain expert. Previously, Saint John partnered with Dove, the CROWN Coalition, and LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, to launch #BlackHairIsProfessional, a campaign to make a systemic impact, create more inclusive and equitable spaces for Black women to don natural hairstyles prevalent in the Black community in the workplace. Ahead of launching Eve by Boz, she went to Guangzhou, China, to research the hair manufacturing process and attended the largest hair show in the world while there. “I asked one vendor, ‘Why is the lace always white?’ They said, ‘Because nobody asked us for anything else.’ While there, I saw it was possible to achieve different lace colors and textures. That’s what really opened this door for me and made me want to create something intentional for us.”
Saint John wanted to create a luxury product experience for Eve by Boz, so the website features photos of beautiful models, including videos that highlight how the hair moves. The wigs and extensions are packaged in bonnets made by Ghana Textiles, the country’s oldest textile company. She also realized she needed haircare products, so she worked with a Black chemist, Gerri Watson, to create the haircare line to increase the longevity of the wigs and extensions.
Creating A Legacy Bigger Than Hair
Saint John’s impact extends beyond conventional business achievements and her startup; she’s creating a path for others to see what’s possible when you break through barriers (like systemic bias in venture capital), particularly as a Black woman in underrepresented spaces. Her unique blend of vision, strategy, and cultural insight speaks volumes. She’s not just building a business without a safety net; she’s establishing a legacy — demonstrating that resilience, innovation, and unapologetic authenticity can lead to something truly iconic. Her journey is a powerful reminder that success is measured not just by numbers but by the impact, influence, and inspiration it sparks in others to pursue their paths confidently.
