Sephora reveals 8 BIPOC beauty founders for 2024 Accelerate Program

Beauty retail giant Sephora revealed on Tuesday eight BIPOC brand founders for its 2024 Accelerate program.

The initiative, now in its ninth year, serves as an incubator for emerging beauty businesses, offering a comprehensive curriculum, mentorship, merchandising support, grants, and investor connections.

In particular, weekly content and curriculum sessions aim to prepare brands for long-term success, covering topics such as Financial Readiness, Brand and Assortment Strategy, Social Media and Community, and Marketing.

Investment experts, including Alicia Sontag, co-founder and managing partner at Prelude Growth Partners, and brand founders like Danessa Myricks and Wende Zomnir, are part of the dedicated advisory team.

This year’s cohort showcases diversity across the beauty spectrum, spanning haircare, makeup, skincare, and fragrance categories. The 2024 Accelerate class brand founders include Roz Samimi, of banuskin; Hannah Diop, behind Sienna Naturals; Yasmin Zeinab with her skincare brand ABI AMÉ; as well as Diipa Buller-Khosla, behind the brand indē wild.

Completing the 2024 cohort is Katini Yamaoka with her brand Katini Skin; Teri Johnson, who founded Harlem Perfume Co.; Denise Vasi, from Maed Beauty; and lastly, Quani Burnett, behind Soft Rows. 

“We are thrilled to reveal the 2024 finalists of the Accelerate program and officially welcome them to the Sephora family,” said Kristin Odegaard, senior director, merchandising strategy and business development at Sephora. 

“This year, we received more than 800 applications – a record-setting number of applications in Accelerate program history – which we believe is a testament to the unique and differentiated curriculum we’re able to offer, plus the strength of our community. Accelerate continues to serve as a vehicle for discovering, cultivating, and even launching these amazing brands that represent so many of our clients and the world today, while providing meaningful support for growing brands to continue to succeed well beyond the program’s completion.”