sisters Isoken and Ifueko Igbinedion founded Parfait with one objective: to assist women of color in styling and caring for their textured hair. Their journey started with Isoken, who founded the AI and machine-learning wig customization company after going through the difficulties of trying to live up to social expectations of beauty as a Black woman.
After relocating to a primarily white area in the U.S., Isoken, a Nigerian immigrant, felt compelled to undergo cultural and physical assimilation.
She told Essence, “I looked so different from everybody else and no matter what, I got bullied for the texture of my hair.”
But her brilliant plan to use a hair relaxer backfired, causing her to lose a lot of hair and wear wigs for most of her childhood and adolescence to block out the mockery. Her hair gradually returned to health, but she was now having difficulty finding well-made wigs at a reasonable price.
Using their combined years of IT knowledge, she and her sister Ifueko launched Parfait, an AI and machine learning-powered startup that customizes wigs for every customer based on their unique attributes.
She explained, “Ifueko’s past experiences at companies like Target, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and IBM and mine at Microsoft and Target informs the way we use technology to increase the efficacy of our products.”
She, however, narrated that getting funding was quite difficult at first. She told Tech Crunch, “It was extremely hard. Nobody would give us the time of day in the beginning. Nobody believed in the space. They didn’t feel it was a big enough problem. And they didn’t fully understand that it was a solution that required technology to solve it.”
Soon after, Serena Williams, a former tennis player and successful businesswoman, learned about their invention and decided to show her admiration by investing in the business. The company, which aims to disrupt the $13 billion wig market, received $5 Million in a Seed round that was led by Upfront Ventures and Serena Ventures.
Williams shared her reason for investing in a statement, saying, “Parfait’s mission to leverage Al to solve core issues for both the tech industry and communities of color is something we, at Serena Ventures, have believed in since the beginning.”
According to Essentially Sports, Williams recently shared Parfait’s Instagram post, which featured Simone Biles wearing the company’s custom-made wig. Williams shared the photo on social media and remarked, “@simonebiles stunning in her @my.parfait wig!”
The business has since expanded and even secured a retail collaboration with Ulta Beauty, allowing clients to visit any of its locations for a consultation with a stylist and assistance in purchasing a personalized ponytail, wig, or partial.
According to Isoken, the groundbreaking collaboration is more than just providing customers with quick cosmetic services.
She said, “I’m so excited about being able to create an institutional space that I think our community has really never had before. Where you can go into a place and feel comfortable because your unique needs will be addressed. The stylists have been trained by the Parfait experience to ensure you get full support across the entire product journey.”
Source: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-an-ai-driven-wig-company-founded-by-two-nigerian-sisters-captured-serena-williams-heart