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Monique Rodriguez is paying it forward with her latest venture, literally.
The founder of recently Procter & Gamble acquired hair-care brand Mielle Organics Monique Rodriguez recently shared she is planning launch her own investment fund. She shared the news at an event thrown by Female Founder Collective, a network for female-led businesses.
“I want to be that person I didn’t have in this space,” said Rodriguez, referring to her the investment funding gaps for Black women. “I didn’t realize how hard it is to actually raise money. It’s extremely hard, especially being a Black woman and not having the experience, and not having the resources, access, and mentorship.”
Despite the challenges, Rodriguez managed to scale Mielle Organics to be one of the most successful Black woman-founded beauty brands and continues to lead across various sectors and shatter sales goals.
“For me, I honor those who have come before me and broken glass ceilings so I can come and shatter glass ceilings,” Rodriguez previously told ESSENCE in 2023. “I am creating and paving a way for those who are coming behind me to do not what I have done, but probably even better.”
Mielle was almost entirely self-funded its first seven years, then garnered investment support from New Voices founder Richelieu Dennis in 2020. The following year, Mielle raised a non-dilutive nine-figure round of a reported $100 million, from Berkshire Partners, a private equity firm.
“We wouldn’t have any of that if it wasn’t for Richelieu coming in to help us and give us just a little push,” Rodriguez said at the event. “That’s all we needed, just that little push over the edge.”
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