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Restoration lies at the root of success
Kameese Davis has had an incredible journey with Nylah. She started by creating hair restoration products at home, then made it to Dragons’ Den! The next exciting chapter has just begun. Kameese won £150,000 for TV advertising through the Channel 4 and Lloyds Black In Business initiative.
Read time: 5 mins Added: 03/06/25
Love is in the hair: Restoration lies at the root of success
Kameese Davis is a mum in a million. When her daughter, Nylah, was suffering from eczema, including seborrheic dermatitis on her scalp, she was desperate to make her feel more comfortable. But, it soon became apparent that natural plant-based products for the needs and characteristics of Afro-textured hair didn’t exist. The hair products Kameese was using on herself were irritating Nylah.
This realisation led her to develop what she describes as “ingredient consciousness” and looking at what raw materials were in the products being marketed to Black women. “It was alarming and became a bit of a rabbit hole. The more I uncovered, the more concerned I became. Many of the ingredients had strong toxicity profiles and have been linked to illnesses such as fibroids and cancer, due to being carcinogenic and endocrine disruptors. This discovery gave me another compelling reason to create a kinder solution,” she says.
Kameese started formulating her products at home, but after a few trial and errors she realised that the products, whilst natural and beautiful, did not have the scientific efficacy she wanted, so she sought the help of a cosmetic scientist.
Making support accessible for all entrepreneurs
While Kameese is grateful to be one of this year’s winners of the Channel 4 and Lloyds Black In Business initiative, there’s still more that needs to be done overall in her opinion.
The support is definitely out there, but I believe some sub-sections of the entrepreneurial space are being missed for whatever reason. I don’t see information being shared in a way that reaches marginalised groups. And so, in a bid to even the playing field, I think it’s incumbent on some of these programmes to think more diversely about how they reach all communities, especially minority communities including women and Black women.
Kameese Davis Founder of NylahStarting a new business has its challenges at every stage
As Nylah has scaled, recruitment is the latest challenge. “As a small brand, you’re competing with large, well-established companies for talent. The range of benefits they can offer is significantly different to us. In order to compete we have to sell the vision so candidates can buy into our potential for growth and scale, this also has a benefit as it means that the talent we hire are committed to our vision and mission,” Kameese states.
The Dragons’ Den rollercoaster
Unfortunately, the funding issue comes up time and time again for Black entrepreneurs, and it’s not been simple for Kameese either. "If we look at the statistics around Black women receiving venture capital investment, between 2009 and 2019, they got just 0.02% of the total. However, Black females are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, so there's a disparity,” she notes. Kameese acknowledges that initiatives such as Black In Business are making strides to support more Black-owned businesses.
Kameese is looking forward to her TV advert being aired in the summer of 2025, but she’s no stranger to the small screen, having appeared on Dragons’ Den four years ago. While she didn’t accept the investment, there was a significant upside. Nylah saw a sustained uplift resulting in a 50% increase in sales across the range of shampoos, serums, oils, sprays etc. And achieving a six-figure turnover for the first time within that year.
Funding future growth
Two years later, Nylah attracted early-stage investors who provided £530,000 in start-up capital, and the business has been scaling ever since. At the time of writing, they’re raising again and have been approved by the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).
Kameese hopes things will be easier this time around because the business has proven the concept and performed strongly with three times revenue growth year-on-year.
So, what will the next round of investment help to fund in the future? There are plans to continue to scale B2C and expand B2B markets, including the US, Europe and Brazil, and work with selected retailers and hairdressers in the UK.
A TV advertising campaign on Channel 4 worth £150,000 will help significantly raise awareness and education. Kameese will also receive mentoring from a senior sponsor at both Channel 4 and Lloyds. Her relationship with us already goes well beyond mentoring. “We’ve asked for some introductions to funders, and there’s the opportunity to look at financing. There may be scope to speak to retail buyers within the wider Lloyds network and access support around international distribution,” she hopes.
What would Kameese have done differently?
As an entrepreneur, Kameese felt like she was going it alone in the early days. She reflects on a lack of awareness about the services, systems, and infrastructure in place to help entrepreneurs. “I think if I had been aware and taken advantage of the support much sooner, my journey would have been different, particularly regarding my marketing strategy, customer acquisition strategy and access to finance.”
Her advice to others starting out is to do as much research as possible. Familiarise yourself with the local business support provisions that can help support you along your entrepreneurial journey.
What final words of wisdom does Kameese have for budding business owners?
Business growth isn’t a linear upwards trajectory, there are ups and downs, it's part of the process. It’s important to develop the mindset that every hurdle is an opportunity to learn, improve and grow in acumen. I seriously don’t believe in failures, I believe in lessons.
Kameese Davis Founder of NylahHaving the confidence to pitch the business on TV and keep believing in herself and her products has worked out brilliantly. And there’s so much more to come. Thanks to Kameese and her team, more people with hair loss, breakage, sensitive scalps, and dry or frizzy hair can feel represented and catered for, all in Nylah’s name.
Tune into Channel 4 from July to see Nylah’s advert for the first time.
Delivering game-changing advertising opportunities
Read more about the other Black In Business winners and what they hope to gain from the initiative.