RoseGold, a unique hair extensions company created by Chanel Melton has done what most founders dream of, hitting product-market fit in less than a year of being in business. The business offers a SaaS subscription platform that helps women launch their own hair-extensions oriented businesses, while RoseGold handles their inventory, fulfills their orders, and teaches them how to be successful business owners.
Melton’s company places orders with vendors and they fulfill the needs of the client. The process is known as dropshipping—a retail fulfillment method where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer.
However, Melton has taken it a step further by providing mentorship to women looking to enter the industry through their subscription-based business model.
More impressive is that they launched August 2017 and currently have $304K in sales. Not to mention, their Monthly Recurring Revenue
has grown 28.9% month over month with each customer spending, on average, $330 per transaction. Total they have 149 paid users, and over 3,700 users on their waitlist looking to join and have done it all with no paid advertising, so, how exactly did they do it?Black Enterprise caught up with Melton to find out exactly how she built such an explosive business in such a short period of time.
(Image: RoseGold)
How challenging was it to get the company off the ground?
To be completely honest, starting this company was completely different than any other company I started because I really didn’t know exactly how to pull it off. I knew what I wanted to accompl
ish, but our platform isn’t simply an e-commerce business. And, I’m not a technical co-founder which means I had to really get creative and do tons of research to at least create a prototype. The backend of our platform is a madhouse, we use so many plugins and apps to pull off the basic functions of our company. But, I made it my business to at least create an MVP and show traction so when I get ready to raise funding, I can clearly show that people are interested in what we offer. And, 9 months in business, and $307K in sales, I hope it shows just that.As a female founder and a minority, I came into tech with challenges. That’s the hard truth of it all. Not to mention, although my product is a subscription SaaS company, our go-to-market is hair extensions. When you think tech, you never think hair extensions, so I started this business knowing, I had to go harder! I needed to prove this business model, and prove it quickly!
How have you grown so quickly?
I started my first online hair extension company almost 10 years ago with only $250. I bootstrapped that business
and we made a lot of money, but I really had no clue how to run or grow a business. I learned a lot along the way and I was blessed to be able to cultivate relationships with my customers and learn this industry inside and out. So, when I decide to launch RoseGold I was able to grow quickly because I knew who my customer was and what they wanted because I asked them! It’s really that simple. I have a YouTube channel and I speak with potential customers on Instagram, so I knew this was a business they would want. And, I understand who the hair extension owner is and what they need. I understand who the hair stylist is and what she needs, as well as what the customer needs from a hair company. So, I try to deliver it through RoseGold. Ultimately, the mistakes I made with that business I started 10 years ago, equipped me with the skills I needed to make RoseGold a success today.What is one piece of advice that you would give someone who is interested in joining your company or starting their own business?
The biggest advice I can give to anyone who wants to join RoseGold or start a hair extension company is to develop a plan and try to learn as much as you possibly can about the hair industry before you join. We will help you along the way, as we offer weekly training sessions, as well as online and live classes. But, try to learn as much as you can in advance so you can hit the ground running! I spent the last 10 years learning this industry. I traveled to multiple countries abroad to collect hair, I learned the proper steps of running an online business, I did the work! And, if you want to be a success, you just have to commit to doing the work!