Tones of Melanin Founder Ashley Jones has brought her HBCU athleisure brand to Shark Tank and walked away with Mark Cuban’s co-sign and $300,000.
In exchange for 5% equity, Jones now has the means to start making an income from her brand, which has already raked in $3.3 million in revenue since its launch in 2017, according to AfroTech. The Norfolk State University alum told the Sharks that the money generated from the brand goes to the cost of production, marketing, and other business expenses. For Jones, the aim has been to push for diverse representation in the fashion industry and establish a viable HBCU presence in a collegiate fashion market involving bigger and well-known educational institutions such as Duke, Harvard, Yale, and others, according to Sportskeeda.
Though HBCU students have often found ways to promote their institutions through apparel, national attention, like the kind an appearance on Shark Tank provides, helps to inspire other students and alum looking to bring HBCUs more visibility.
Read the source article at blackenterprise.com
