As start up business are going down the drains in a flash tide Melissa Butler who happens to be the Founder and CEO of The Lip Bar a makeup company has a clear reason to celebrate.
Her company has just become the biggest black-owned makeup company in the world with a market valuation of $7 million dollars.
In addition to starting from humble beginnings, Butler’s vegan beauty company faced rejection. As previously reported by AfroTech, she and her business partner appeared on “Shark Tank” in 2015 and didn’t walk away with an investment and she was asked to quit. However, Butler took the “no” as fuel to keep going.
In February 2022, the company had billboards in Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. that read:
“‘Shark Tank’ told me to quit. 10 years and 2 million units sold. Thanks, Mr. Wonderful.”
Melissa Butler’s journey is one with not a smooth ride she faces a lot of rejection along the way before she finally hit her target. Today her story is serving as a testament to hard work and young girls coming up.