Success Stories
ESTAS which stands for Every Scar Tells A Story was founded by Cristina Beltran and Alejandra Thompson, who both have a number of scars from various surgeries. At age 24, Cristina went into sudden cardiac arrest and later underwent an open-heart triple bypass surgery, leaving her with a six-inch scar down her chest. Alejandra has two c-section scars. Frustrated with the lack of skincare products dedicated to treating scars, they came together to develop a luxury scarcare routine rooted in the belief and desire that scars should be properly cared for and celebrated.
ESTAS is on a mission to not only help others embrace their scars, but also change the societal stigma against scars.
Alejandra Thompson & Cristina BeltranFounders
Here’s What They’ve Been Up To
ESTAS Beauty saw their business grow significantly after they launched on Amazon with a group business in the marketplace where they saw a 134% increase in revenue from 2023 to 2024.
Building on the success of the Project Elevate activation at ADCOLOR in 2023, ESTAS took their Typewriter Experience on the road to Camp Breasties in June, 2024. ESTAS was invited to attend by the Breasties where they held a similar live activation with a writer who would create and type up stories about attendees’ scars. It was a huge success,
“We know that so many Breasties said the Typewriter Experience was one of the best parts of their weekend.” – Breastie Co-Founder
Janet & Jo. is a multi-award winning nail lacquer company named after founder, Kendra Woolridge’s two grandmothers—Janet and Jo. Through Janet & Jo. you can experience beauty without compromise, as all Janet & Jo. nail lacquers are free of the harmful ingredients and carcinogens commonly found in nail polishes. Behind every Janet & Jo. polish is a story. Tell your story with Janet & Jo.
Motivated by her family history of cancer and the limited awareness concerning nail polish ingredients, Kendra founded Janet & Jo. with the mission to educate and inspire, through the unique stories behind their polish names.
Kendra WoolridgeFounder
Here’s What They’ve Been Up To
Janet & Jo. has continued to expand their partnerships and footprint.
In February of 2024, Janet & Jo. was a part of the Atlanta beauty trade show called “The Makeup Show ®” and Havas U.S. Black History Month Bazaar. Kendra Woolridge, founder of Janet & Jo. also served as a judge for Black Girl Ventures “Pull up and Pitch” competition in partnership with the WNBA and Washington Mystics.
Last summer, Janet & Jo. soft launched their custom-made shade in partnership with Lauren B. Jewelry called ‘Something Blue.” Last but not least, they will soon be available at a new non-toxic nail salon called Happy Violet Salon, scheduled to open in D.C. early 2025.
Here Are Our Success Stories
In 2021, Disney Advertising announced its pledge to support 10 minority-led businesses by offering comprehensive and custom strategies, creative consultation, and advertising opportunities to help them tell their stories and engage their consumers. CAVO and Glow Recipe were the inaugural brands to participate in the program.
Niramaya is an Indian-Inspired food company deeply focused on highlighting the incredible nutrition that heritage driven cooking packs into homestyle Indian recipes and is introducing the same with their first line of dips. These jars of dips are bursting with homestyle, streetstyle flavors and will soon be available in natural and organic retail store locations throughout the US. Each blend is thoughtfully curated with nutrient dense vegetables, digestive herbs + spices and exciting flavors. With no cooking requirements, anyone can enjoy these dips at any time of the day – just: dip, scoop or spread. Niramaya aims to elevate the convenience of everyday snacks and meals while increasing access to the rich heritage of Indian homestyle cuisine.
Niramaya Foods is an Indian- Inspired company on a mission to make delicious and naturally nutritious homestyle Indian food and flavors more accessible & readily available to the average American consumer.
Mehek KheraFounder
Sneakky Klean envisions a world where people can easily and conveniently extend the life of their sneakers and keep them looking their best, while also reducing waste and protecting the environment. We are committed to providing excellent customer service and using innovative and eco-friendly cleaning methods to achieve our vision. We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy their sneakers for years to come, without having to worry about the environmental impact of their care. We also offer a variety of sustainable options, such as our eco-friendly cleaning products and our sneaker recycling program.
We are passionate about sneaker care and sustainability, and we believe that everyone can make a difference. We hope that you will join us in our mission to create a cleaner and more sustainable future for sneakers.
Devonn VidalFounder
Here’s What They’ve Been Up To
Sneakky Klean continues to innovate and expand its footprint in the footwear care industry.
This year, Sneakky Klean opened a brand-new location at Lincoln Road Mall at 816 Lincoln Lane North Miami Beach, Florida.
In June, 2024, Sneakky Klean announced they acquired The Sneaker Butlers where they will “combine their expertise and resources to offer an even more comprehensive range of services,” including top-notch cleaning, restoration, and customization services for all types of footwear. They are also relaunching their franchise model with the goal of selling 5 franchise units this year. Most recently, they launched a partnership with UBER as their delivery partner in the SNKY App.
CAVO is a home and lifestyle brand based in San Francisco, founded in June 2020 by two sisters, Femi and Naomi Adeyemo. We make soy, non-toxic, eco-friendly, good smells with a curated playlist paired for each scent.
“We’ve found the educational portions of the program most beneficial. The communication portion really opened our eyes to the importance of emphasizing our brand story and values. The research portion was also very beneficial in helping us hone in on our audience and how to best reach them. We were given actionable steps and information that we could employ immediately.”
Femi & Naomi AdeyemoFounders
Glow Recipe is a clean, fruit-forward, clinically effective skincare brand for glowing skin, sold at Sephora and glowrecipe.com. Co-founded by Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, the brand advocates for real skin acceptance, sustainability, and empowerment.
“Project Elevate allowed us to add a new channel, streaming, to our media mix & helped us connect with both new and existing customers within their home environment and further amplify our existing paid content strategy. Meeting with leaders from teams like the Ad Sales Communications for Disney, was incredibly insightful in expanding our views outside of beauty, pressure-testing our ideas with them, and learning best practices for advertising platforms that we hadn't tested prior to working with Disney.“
Sarah Lee & Christine ChangFounders