Myavana's mission to map the DNA of beauty and identity

Flashback: The spark behind Myavana came in 2011, when Mitchell was a student at Georgia Tech.

• She studied computer science but dreamed of being a hairstylist.
• Mitchell transitioned her hair to its natural texture and struggled to find the right products — so she turned to science. One lab, one microscope, one moment.
• She knocked on professors' doors, landed a lab and began analyzing her hair strands.

At that moment, Mitchell says, she was reminded that hair is as unique as a fingerprint — and deserved better tech.

• "I looked at my hair strands underneath the microscope and realized the condition of the cuticle layer, the spiral of the curls, how flat it was, how dry it was," she recalled. "That was my light bulb moment."

What she's saying: Mitchell wants Myavana, which is tailored to textured hair, to be the "Amazon of hair care," using AI to personalize beauty at scale.

• "We need to be the builders of companies — and the technology that is revolutionizing our world," she said.

The big picture: ​Mitchell is part of a growing class of Black founders reshaping the beauty industry — even as venture capital support remains scarce.

• In 2023, beauty and wellness brands led by Black entrepreneurs within the BrainTrust Founders Studio reported $142.6 million in collective sales — a 42.5% increase from the previous year, according to the group's 2024 Economic Advancement Report.
• Despite that growth, Black founders received less than 0.5% of all venture capital funding. Yet BrainTrust's founder community — 91% of whom are Black women — continues to drive growth through retail expansion, product innovation, and cultural influence.

Between the lines: Black women are among the top spenders in the beauty industry, valued at over $60 billion in the U.S. However, for decades, the products, data, and care frequently fell short of serving them. Mitchell's AI platform aims to change that.

• In 2021, Black consumers spent $6.6 billion on beauty, accounting for 11.1% of total beauty spending, yet Black-owned brands capture only 2.5% of revenue in the beauty industry. In 2023, Black consumers spent $9.4 billion.
• "Black women spend nine times more than the average consumer on hair care products," Mitchell said, referencing her market research​.

Reality check: The beauty industry pledged support for Black-owned brands after 2020 — but much of that momentum has since stalled or been rolled back, particularly in the retail sector.

• "There was an effort to get more representation on shelves, but without the funding, you're not really helping these brands," said Kelly Kovack, founder of BeautyMatter.
• Retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon have scaled back diversity initiatives amid political and economic pressure. And founders report that funding, shelf space and visibility remain persistent barriers.
• Even when brands enter the door, they often lack the marketing dollars and long-term retail backing to succeed.

Context: Kovack says that products were historically developed by and for white consumers, and that Myavana stands out by building from the ground up:

• "[Mitchell's] a data scientist who recognized a personal problem and built technology to solve it," Kovack said. "That's a huge difference."

State of play: Myavana's headquarters sits in Atlanta, blocks from where Madam C.J. Walker — widely known as America's first self-made female millionaire — built her beauty empire in the early 1900s.

• Now, Mitchell is using AI to carry that legacy into the future.
• "If I could be known as the Madam C.J. Walker of technology, I think that's like, who I am."