Business and Management

Melanie Ampon, San Francisco’s first transgender electrology salon owner, does not regret the sleepless nights she endured to open her storefront in Nob Hill. She went into business to provide electrolysis, the FDA-approved permanent hair removal method, because she wants trans people to safely receive the gender-affirming care.

In San Francisco, small businesses can take months or even years to open, requiring registrations, inspections, ADA compliance, permitting, licenses and other city requirements. But because of an entrepreneurship accelerator program created in 2020 by San Francisco’s Transgender District President Aria Sa’id, Ampon said she was able to open Hearten Electrolysis in a rapid eight months.

“I had a logo design, but the (program’s) graphic designer was able to create brochures for me that I had at the Trans March this year. I had a business coach telling me all these resources, what tools to use to make sure I have a

• Emma Butler, 24, is the founder and CEO of Liberare, an adaptive-intimate-apparel business.
• She started the company as a student to help women with disabilities dress easily and feel sexy.
• Here’s the deck she used to close a $1 million round led by British Fashion Council and Venrex.

Paris, France-based entrepreneur Emma Butler thought of the idea for her company Libertyan adaptive-intimate-apparel business, marketplace, and community forum, while blogging in her Brown University dorm room in 2018. Inspired by her mother, who deals with chronic fibromyalgia pain and limited dexterity, the Rhode Island native envisioned disabled women dressing easily , being confident, and feeling sexy.

That blog led her to launch the company as Intimately while she was a student in 2020; she rebranded to Liberare in June 2022. After graduation and in the middle of a pandemic, she crafted a preliminary pitch deck, launched a Kickstarter campaign, and won

The 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture saw skincare giant Aveeno partner with ESSENCE to present the Aveeno SkinHealth Startup Accelerator Showcase Winner’s Circle on the Beauty Carnival stages. The grand-prize winner received $100,000 in funding for her business, while the runner-up received $50,000 in funding for her business.

To kick off the segment, ESSENCE Chief Revenue Officer Pauline Malcolm Thornton was joined by Aveeno Principal Scientist Sabrina Henryjust as the two ladies introduced a congratulatory message from Tia Mowry.

“I truly feel that these dynamic entrepreneurs are amazing businesswomen and role models,” Tia said in a video message. “I look forward to seeing their businesses continue to grow.”

Sabrina then gave a brief overview of the purpose behind partnering with ESSENCE for the Aveeno SkinHealth Startup Accelerator program, which will provide educational resources, materials, access, and mentorship to help fuel Black women-owned businesses in the skincare industry.

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Rec centers in Philadelphia may soon play host to local startups and creative small businesses, thanks to a new city program launching today.

Called “Making Space: Reimagining Recreation,” the initiative offers local entrepreneurs the chance to apply for a free, “business-ready” space in rooms that currently sit empty, per the program website. Selected applicants will get a year lease and a grant to properly outfit the space.

In exchange, participants are expected to give back to the community by offering educational programming and youth mentorship.

“Making Space will transform some rec centers into the nexus of community space, small business development, and hands-on life skills for youth,” Parks Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell said.

The city has 150+ rec centers, and not all of them fill every single room with programming,