Ceci Kurzman said she felt “challenged and stuck,” spending an “enormous amount of time and money” trying to maintain her hair.
As she was already an entrepreneur, investor and a 10-year board member at Revlon, she was well-positioned to see the nuances of the personal care industry.
“I was shocked at the disparity between what was afforded to the general market versus what was deemed multicultural,” she told L.A. Inno. “It’s disheartening to see these multicultural consumers serve as the workhorses for industry-leading brands, yet the dollars they bring in don’t translate into innovation that benefits them.”
So she created OurX, a data-tech platform with a mission to bring personal hair care to the underserved market of those with textured hair.
OurX provides a system of personal regimens for the hair and scalp, one-on-one hair coaching, as well as education and community support “to take the guesswork out of hair care,” she said.
The startup recently launched, fueled by seed funding of more than $2.5 million. Reign Ventures led the round.
Kurzman lives in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The startup's production and manufacturing are also in L.A. OurX’s headquarters is in New York City.
Kurzman sits on the boards of several companies, including United Talent Agency and Warner Music Group. She spent a decade on the board of Revlon before leaving this year.
She has spent more than two decades in business and entertainment. She founded the talent management agency Nexus Management Group in 2004, based on the concept of building “living brands” with major artists.
Nexus evolved into a platform for private investments in the consumer, media and technology realms.
Kurzman has also invested in, launched and funded several growth-stage businesses across global media, fashion, beauty and consumer packaged goods.
OurX offers a monthly subscription. Its products are also available for individual purchase, and those consumers still receive curated tips and personal instructions for their hair care regimen.
Subscribers answer questions on topics including their hair, scalp and lifestyle. They also receive a series of guided video-based tests, which are designed to provide “an even more accurate read on their hair and scalp attributes,” Kurzman said.
Throughout the entire experience, users receive feedback and educational information based on their answers.
It’s all underpinned by proprietary algorithms. OurX analyzes all the data it gets to build a daily care regimen of OurX products, including personal use instructions.
Subscribers also get a dedicated hair coach to help them throughout their hair journey, including reviewing progress and one-on-one expert guidance via video calls.
“Early on, one of the greatest challenges was the lack of data on the textured hair consumer,” she said. “Because of this, we decided to collect our own data and surveyed over 30,000 people in our target demographic. Those survey insights were key in developing the OurX platform and addressing unmet needs in the market.”
