Ready to Beauty, the industry’s first global think tank dedicated to multicultural entrepreneurs and brands, is set to launch a Capital Growth Fund which will operate under the banner Ready to Invest. The Think Tank has already secured $27 million in pledged support with the goal of addressing the major challenges facing multicultural entrepreneurs and brands, including purchase order financing, acquiring distribution and direct equity investment.

Citing a 2018 Small Business Survey by Guidant Financial, the company noted that “Lack of Capital/Cash Flow” was the number 1 top challenge for African-American small businesses. “Lack of Funding” was cited as a higher than average problem at 80 percent, while Hispanic Small Businesses found it problematic at 63 percent. Ready to Beauty also points to a 2018 study conducted by digitalundivided.com that found that the average black female founder raised $42,000 vs. $1.14 million, and to date, only 34 black women and 58 Latina women in the United States have been able to raise $1M or more.

Corey Huggins, Founder and Global CEO & Managing Partner of Ready to Beauty, said, “Because of our experience in the beauty space, we know first-hand the pain points of founders, and through Ready to Invest, we can become the catalyst to drive beauty multicultural businesses forward toward success and legacy creation.”

The company has tapped the financial and sales expertise of three firms: MBE Capital Partners, AMAGLAM, LLC and LB Equity. Each partner is responsible for a distinct area of expertise and has separate deal terms with Ready to Beauty, LLC. Corey will serve as the Managing Director for the Capital Growth Fund, and additional management roles will be handled by his Co-Founders and Vice Presidents, Ylorie Taylor and Corynne Corbett. Additionally, a Board of Directors is in the process of being formed for the fund, which is expected to make its first investment Q1 2020.