A Victory for young girls of color: Healthy Roots wins Startup Stampede competition
DURHAM – A Cincinnati-based startup, Healthy Roots, which creates dolls and storybooks to reinforce the positive self-perception of young girls of color, won the Startup Stampede worth $100,000 in marketing services from McKinney Monday night at the American Underground campus in Durham.
Yelitsa Jean-Charles, founder and CEO, inspired by her own experiences growing up and movements such as Black Lives Matter, created Healthy Rootsin 2015 to foster positive self-image in young girls of color at early stages of their identity development.
She prevailed in a showcase that matched nine startups emerging with consumer-focused products and services that had participated in the first cohort of the American Underground Startup Stampede incubator program which opened in March.