When the pandemic shuttered his in-person tech education business, Maurice Womack got the inspiration for his next startup from his brother, a barber.
BeUtypop – on-demand delivery of hair-care supplies, cosmetics and other beauty products – is set to graduate from Google Founders Academy at the end of the month. The 12-week program for minority- and women-owned tech startups carries with it a shot at a $100,000 investment from the tech giant.
"It was very competitive, and we were accepted," Womack said.
"It’s important to get more African Americans into technology companies, period," he said. "Tech companies are the biggest wealth generators, and will be for the next 10 to 20 years at least."
A mechanical engineer, Womack taught group STEM laboratories for charter schools and underserved communities – workshops such as robotics, coding, 3-D printing and drones. He had to shut that effort down in the summer of 2020.
His brother, the barber, complained about needing to restock supplies in the middle of a shift.
"Time is money," Womack said.
Columbus-based BeUtypop's model is somewhat similar to Gopuff, a national service that specializes in quick, on-demand deliveries. The Central Ohio business owns a small warehouse in Reynoldsburg and buys supplies in bulk, making money both on the products and fees for one-hour delivery. Longer same-day delivery is free.
Building a brand specific to beauty supplies means it can carry items that wouldn't appear in a generalized service like Amazon Prime.
Launched publicly in January, BeUtypop has attracted 200 delivery customers in Columbus, and 1,500 users have downloaded the app. The business ships to customers outside the delivery area.
Womack's co-founder is James Ross III, the COO.
The biggest customer group is Black-owned in-home braiding businesses – many immigrant-owned – that buy hair extensions. Other customers include college students, barbers and stylists.
Womack has raised $25,000 in angel funding, and gone through a six-month go-to-market strategy program at Rev1 Ventures, when the startup was still named Hair Drop. He was the first client in Venture Suites, a Black-owned coworking space in the King-Lincoln neighborhood.
The name is a play on "Be you" with beauty, and his daughter added the "pop."
Google's training focuses on executive leadership, finding investors and marketing. Womack's goal is to refine the logistics tech in future versions of the software, so the business can open with small warehouses in other cities.
"Columbus is a great test market," he said. "As we grow and our purchasing power grows, we’re able to get the products at a greater discount.
"We want to nail it here and then scale it."
