The wig industry, which caters to women of all ages and skin tones, is estimated to be worth over $13 billion. When it comes to putting on these wigs, black women have a particularly difficult time, and the process has typically entailed sitting down with a stylist for 8 hours or more.
Parfait was started by a group of four Black women, two with MBAs from Wharton and the other two with PhDs from MIT, who felt they could construct a better method utilising technology to make wigs quicker, cheaper, better, and more efficiently.
Co-founder and CEO Isoken Igbinedion, her sister CTO Ifueko Igbinedion, COO Marlyse Reeves, and CMO Simone Kendle devised a revolutionary approach that combines artificial intelligence with human stylists to create wigs that are faster, cheaper, and better.
The four women created a system that allows women to simply select a wig and complete a series of questions to determine the final look. They’ve combined this with machine learning to assist with fitting and tinting, while bringing in human stylists to make final selections as necessary. They took the concept to market and received a $5 million seed investment lead by Upfront Ventures.
Four girls created a way that allows anyone to choose a wig and answer a series of questions to achieve the desired look. They’ve combined this with machine learning to help with size and colour, while human stylists are used to make the final decisions as necessary. Upfront Ventures has contributed $5 million to the effort.
They found a Parfait company. This is a technological business that is attempting to address margin issues by focusing on wigs, which are particularly relevant to people of colour. The firm has created a digital workflow that cuts processing time from hours with a stylist in a salon to 20 minutes on the company website.
Filling out a questionnaire to determine your skin tone, hair texture and colour, length, cut, part style, kind of wig, and whether or not you want an adhesive is part of the Parfait process. Based on this information, they price the wig, and it is delivered in 7-9 business days. If you are unsure about making these decisions on your own, you may sign up for a 15-minute online consultation.
Parfait employs artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the wig-making and styling process. Customers can preview how they would appear in a particular wig before purchasing it, and the firm employs human stylists to supplement its AI when required. Parfait’s stylists are experts in tinting and sizing wigs, and they can tell whether a forecast is incorrect by looking at a photo.
Recognizing the problem
They understand the difficulties of managing and caring for textured hair since they have spent hours with hairdressers constructing their own wigs. The team discovered that this industry receives little attention, and that buyers are prepared to pay considerable sums on these items. They also discovered that previous models lacked the variety required for this machine learning and AI application. The team has firsthand knowledge of the industry they are seeking to service.
“It truly started with a concern that many women of colour, all of us included, have, and that is managing and caring for textured hair,” Isoken explained.
Isoken began researching how technology may be used to the Black women’s hair care product sector as part of her MBA study at the Wharton School of Business. Despite the fact that consumers are prepared to spend significant sums of money on these sorts of items, she discovered that little attention was being devoted to this industry.
Furthermore, when she investigated how technology, notably machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), may assist simplify wig design and manufacture, she discovered that existing models lacked the diversity required for this application.
“And out of that research Parfait was born with this mission to create products and experiences with technology that really truly recognize and prioritize all people,” she said. “And we’re doing that by solving for the margins, by solving for people of color — and that’s starting with wigs.”
As she considered launching the firm, Isoken went to her sister Ifueko, a data scientist with a PhD from MIT, for assistance in developing the machine learning models on which the solution is based. It’s important remembering that they grew up with seven other siblings.
The firm has created a digital workflow that decreases processing time from hours with a stylist in a salon to maybe 20 minutes on the company website.
As she considered launching the firm, Isoken went to her sister Ifueko, a data scientist with a PhD from MIT, for assistance in developing the machine learning models on which the solution is based. It’s important remembering that they grew up with seven other siblings.
The firm has created a digital workflow that decreases processing time from hours with a stylist in a salon to maybe 20 minutes on the company website.
The firm also does a thorough facial swap as part of the process so consumers can see what they would look like with a certain wig.
“In addition to digitising this process, they are utilising machine learning to accomplish the size and tip matching of the actual product, which will make it an experience that customers feel secure with their purchase, and that’s basically what it comes down to,” she explained.
Instead of utilising AI to supplement human stylists, Parfait is turning the script and having stylists supplement the AI as needed.
“But we really have a staff of stylists who assist our back end, and they not only have professional understanding in this process of tinting and fitting a wig, so they can actually look at a photo and say, ‘Oh, that prediction is a little bit wrong,'” she explained.
She claims that they are not removing people from the process since AI cannot be expected to be 100 percent precise when it comes to picking the correct size and colour. Furthermore, when the human stylists make these changes, the dataset is updated, which should make the process better and more accurate in the future.
Overcoming investor obstacles
When the concept of a digital marketplace for freelance labour was originally offered, it was incredibly difficult to pique the attention of investors. Investors did not trust in the space or see that technology was necessary to address the challenge. Black investor Kobie Fuller of Upfront Ventures was one of the few who believed in the concept. It is tough for venture capital firms to recognise that there are several areas that they are overlooking.
With a brilliant solution, a large addressable market, and a highly talented set of co-founders, you’d think acquiring finance for this project would be easy, but they encountered the same challenges that many people of colour confront when seeking investment dollars.
According to Isoken, it was difficult to persuade investors to appreciate the extent of the problem and the size of the addressable market, especially since most investors didn’t understand the target market.
Perhaps this is why it needed a Black investor like Upfront Ventures’ Kobie Fuller to back the project. Fuller clearly sees enormous opportunity that many other investors have failed to capitalise on. “They created a product that is very innovative in terms of disrupting a $13 billion plus neglected business, and it’s strange that not many people think about it,” Fuller said.
“I believe there should be more Black check writers out there willing and eager to meet these founders and quickly understand these use cases that deserve capital, not only because the community deserves the support and deserves to have products that have innovation being funnelled to them, but also because these founders should be out there being able to bring these ideas to life,” he said.
Finally, the four creators hope to alter the way women of colour buy for wigs (and males, if interested). They think they can do this by developing a standardised method laced with technology. And they’ve found an investor who shares their goal to help them get started.
