Source: Courtesy of Josh Lehnerd
Tracey Pickett struggled with something countless women and particularly Black women understood: spending countless minutes perfecting their hair only to have the rain ruin it. When an umbrella is nowhere to be found or too cumbersome to carry, all of that hard work on pressing and perming would go to waste. She wanted to solve this problem once and for all, and so she created the Hairbrella, a waterproof hat with an attached visor that protects your style, keeping it perfectly in place and dry at all times.
Pickett is a proud alum of a historically Black college and says she received much of the support and advice she needed to launch her business from her HBCU network. Being around young Black women who were as ambitious as she was, made Pickett feel like she could do anything. After undergrad, Pickett was able to lean on the assistance and referrals of some of her HBCU alumnae sisters to get into law school.
She practiced law for five years before taking the leap and starting her own business — the Hairbrella business.
“Leaving my job was very scary,” says Pickett. “But I was more afraid of regret.”
The HBCU network was there for her again when Pickett needed funding, and two of her top investors are Black female HBCU alumni. They immediately understood the need for Pickett’s product and could not wait to help get it off the ground.
“There’s always a sense of unity when building something with other HBCU grads,” says Pickett.
Because the HBCU network helped fuel Pickett’s dreams, she feels a responsibility and passion to help young entrepreneurs go after theirs. That’s why she’s joined Walmart and iOne Digital in donating her gift of $5K to help other aspiring HBCU entrepreneurs reach their potential.
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