The Launch of Sally Beauty Cultivate Accelerator Program

Jul 19, 2018

All My Boss Babes Stand up and Get In Line

Are you a female hair care entrepreneur? If you answered yes, listen up! Denton, TX-based Sally Beauty has launched Sally Beauty Cultivate - For Women by Women! On June 18, Sally Beauty Cultivate - For Women by Women was announced. Known as a “business accelerator program” Sally Beauty is in search of the next hair care brand created by a woman to help back their business with a major retailer. Sally’s Beauty is a supporter of female-led companies in the beauty industry, more so in the hair category. With nearly 1 in 3 sales supporting hair color and hair care brands and 1 in 5 textured hair sales supporting brands and products founded by African American woman, the company has a history of supporting female-owned hair care businesses. Sally Beauty will accept entries from female-owned hair care brands that are looking to grow and expand to the next level. The top-ranked brand will receive $25,000 in financial support and mentor from Sally Beauty. They will also receive their products distributed through the retailer's e-commerce website, and the opportunity to demo their product at an influencer event. At this time applications are being accepted and will end July 18, 2018!

So, What Do You Do Next?

Get your notebook and write this information down! Here are Key dates for you to remember.

June 18 - July 18: Application Openings (it’s not too late ladies!)
August (No date specified): Three semi-finalists will be selected, and customers will be able to vote on the top brands!
August 15-16: The three semi-finalists will travel to pitch at Sally Beauty headquarters.
September 30, 2018, The top brand will be notified.

Let’s Be Sure You’re Eligible!

The Sally Beauty Cultivate Program is open to all women entrepreneurs, or an entrepreneur where a woman is on the founding team that meets all the requirements listed below.

You must have a product focused on hair either, in coloring, hair care, or hair tools.
You must be able to support online fulfillment of your hair care products.
Your product entered cannot, or will not in the near future be distributed by a major retailer.
You must agree to a 12 month exclusivity period.
You cannot be an employee or a family member of a Sally Beauty Supply employee.
Must be 18 or older at the time of entry.
You must legally reside in the 50 United States.

What’s The Time Limit?

Submissions for the program began at 5:00 AM on June 18, 2018, and will end at 11:59 PM on July 18, 2018. Anything submitted after the entry period will not be eligible, so be sure to be on time!

What Exactly Do You Need To Enter?

You must complete their online application entirely; it should include a link to a video submission and the ability to upload other documents required by the company.

Ineligible Submissions Include...

Videos promoting a product that violates or infringes another person’s rights, including:

Copyright and photographs of a person without the consent, Sally Beauty may require entrants to submit evidence of the subjects legal consent, via recorded, or a signed waiver.
Videos that contain sexually explicit, nude, obscene, violent or other inappropriate content.
Videos that involve any individual or animal being in danger.

How To Enter?

Your applications and link to your video must be submitted during the entry period through Sally Beauty website including all the required fields, including:

Name
Email
Details about your company (be informative and creative, try to remember why you started your business, and write from the heart).
Other information about your video submission

Sidenote: Videos or any links to the videos sent by mail or email will not be accepted.

Criteria for Your Submission

The Sally Beauty Panel (executives at Sally Beauty, and other entrepreneurs external to the company) will choose the top three brands based on the following criteria.

Founders Vision
Hair product with a clear point of differentiation
Business traction and ability to scale
Marketing abilities

Judging and Judging Period for The Semi-Finalist

The panel judging for the Semi-Finalist Brands will occur August 15, 2018, through August 16, 2018, at the Company’s headquarters in Denton, Texas. The Panel will choose the top brand during this time based on the following criteria.

Semi-Finalist Brands Pitch at the Company’s Headquarters
Public Voting
Criteria Stated above

The top Brand will be notified of the status no later than September 30, 2018!

Top Brand Requirements

Each Semi-Finalist Brand and Top Brand should:

Complete and return an affidavit of eligibility
Proof of age
Liability/publicity release form within two days of receiving it

Ready, Set, Boss up Boss Babe!

VP of Digital Innovation at Sally Beauty added, “ We believe there is so much hair care innovation happening every day in Women’s homes, salons, and communities, we want to encourage the innovation to thrive and grow.” With Sally Beauty successful history of supporting female-owned brands, this opportunity will push the next innovator of hair care into a phase of greatness and brand development, whoever Sally Beauty chose, will be in the right hands. Think you have what it takes to apply for the Sally Beauty Cultivate - For Women by Women program? Apply now and let us know if you took the leap of faith! Goodluck! May your best hair days be ahead!