By day, Devonte’ Reese is a devoted public servant in her fifth year working as a procurement analyst for the City of Durham. But by night she’s an entrepreneur, mixing formulas and shipping bottles of luxury hair care products to thousands of people.
GoldiLocsNC, the hair care company she started in the early days of the pandemic, is scaling up – and getting ready for a future that Reese said will include a salon storefront.
“My hair was suffering from years of products that weren’t necessarily made for the best interest of me and my hair,” she said. “Being able to develop something, see the changes in that and offer it back to my community. … That’s just been very rewarding.”
In a conversation with Triangle Inno, Reese talks about how she got to this point, what’s next and how other would-be entrepreneurs can follow in her footsteps.
The origin story
GoldiLocsNC launched in March of 2020 – but it was years in the making.
Reese had been making her own hair products, having spent hours in store aisles staring at labels and trying to find serums with natural ingredients.
“From spending those hours and hours of trying to find the product in the store, I might as well spend hours finding what to use at home,” she said.
She became extremely concerned about chemicals in products aimed at the Black community – particularly amid a series of class action lawsuits that alleged Black women in the United States had been targeted with advertisements encouraging the use of hair care products without being told the risks of life-changing conditions such as endometrial cancer and uterine cancer.
There are several such suits on the docket across the country – including one filed in March by a plaintiff in Michigan who claims she developed cancer as a result of prolonged exposure to chemicals found in hair relaxer products.
Reese wanted products with natural alternatives so women wouldn’t have to worry about health consequences.
She started mixing in her kitchen, using the products on her own hair – and family and friends noticed.
“It kind of went from me making little bottles for friends and family, to offering it for everyone,” she said.
The pandemic expedited the timetable. First, there was a malware attack interrupting tech processes at the city. Then, as Covid-19 cases began to spread, “they sent us home for a week – and that week turned into a year and a half.”
In the early days, the city – like many employers – hadn’t developed processes for remote working. So employees like Reese had more time than they were used to. And Reese admits she isn’t “good at sitting still.”
So she spent her spare minutes working on the business, and launched in mid-March of 2020 to the public.
The business started with a $500 infusion from her savings account. And it scaled slowly. Revenues from the bottles went back into the business – and she kept her day job.
Today, the firm processes about 300 orders a month, serving a consistent clientele of about 3,000 customers – mostly through Shopify. Social media is key to the marketing strategy, she said.
“We’ve been able to really for the most part self-maintain and fund yourself,” she said of the business. Recently, the firm received a small business fund grant from the City of Durham that will allow it to escalate its plan.
Today, the products are mixed at GoldiLocsNC’s American Underground office, where she’s installed equipment in order to replicate the formulas she created on a larger scale. And she’s working with a consultant to perfect the formula – and make sure it retains its quality at scale.
“I hand mix, I hand bottle, I hand label,” Reese said.
But by keeping the early operation lean, “I haven’t felt like I had to choose between my livelihood and business.”
GoldiLocsNC is about to go through a major growth phase – if all goes as Reese expects. This summer, the plan is to release new products and prepare for a brand refresh and relaunch.
Right now, the plan is to scale up while staying at American Underground. But she’s hoping to move into a brick-and-mortar space next year, preferably in downtown Durham. There, she hopes to have two chairs so that, in addition to selling product, she can offer hair services.
How she does it all
Reese has a triple life, really, when you add in the fact that she’s also in the gym daily, training for a physique competition.
“Time management,” she said when asked for her secret. “It’s time management and really just putting the grind on. Especially being an entrepreneur within the first five years, it ain’t about the money ever. The overtime work, the grind work, is definitely always there. It’s trying to stay focused on the end goal and use my time wisely.”
Reese has advice for others looking to start a side gig: “Do your research and be willing to bet on yourself,” she said.
She admits it’s “vulnerable,” jumping off the startup cliff, betting your own savings.
“Just try it out,” she said. “There’s really no such thing as failure because there’s always an opportunity to be a little bit better,” she said.
She said you also need to understand your market – and not take it personally if friends and family don’t buy in, because they might not be your customers.
“Don’t take things personally,” she said. “Take your business personally.”
She also recommends leveraging social media – and using your own products.
Reese is a native of Henderson, North Carolina, and a graduate of N.C. A&T State University. And she – and her business – are in Durham to stay, she said.
GoldiLocsNC branded products target natural hair, and include a “Tingling Growth Shampoo.”