Gabby Goodwin of Columbia received a $200,000 investment from television personalities Marcus Lemonis and Gayle King on a podcast episode of “One Hundred Percent with Marcus Lemonis” that aired Wednesday.
Goodwin is the 14-year-old CEO of GaBBY Bows, a hair product line that she started with her mom at just 7 years old when they had a problem getting hair clips to stay in Goodwin’s hair.
“I’m so excited about your business and what you’re doing,” King told Goodwin in the podcast, adding how she would’ve used GaBBY Bows as a young, Black girl.
GaBBY Bows started an innovative, two-sided hair clip designed to stay put in braids and now includes shampoo, conditioner, styling cream, scalp pomade and more.
After getting a lesson in pitching her product, Shark Tank-style, from King and Lemonis, Goodwin became emotional on the show when she was awarded more than the $150,000 investment she asked for. Lemonis promised incremental investments of $50,000 of up to $150,000 to GaBBY Bows as long as the company continues to grow, and King committed to a one-time $50,000 investment.
“It’s just great to have this type of support. As a Black-owned business, it’s kind of hard to get capital and for me to get this $50,000— just to meet both of you — this is a great experience,” Goodwin said.
With the investment, Lemonis told Goodwin that he wanted her to expand her inventory to make GaBBY Bows an even bigger hair care product line.
“We’re on track to do 240,000 (dollars) this year,” Goodwin said on the podcast about her company’s revenue, up 100% from last year.
All of the orders are filled from Goodwin’s home headquarters in Columbia. Her bows are in 74 Target stores across the country, and she’s sold her products in all 50 states.
“It is difficult as a Black business owner to get any type of funding, especially a loan, not to mention venture capital or anything like that,” said Rozalynn Goodwin, Gabby’s mom. “There’s a lot that we have sacrificed, but looking at Gabby and seeing how she’s developed, every sacrifice has been absolutely worth it.”
