New Venture Case Studies

She's Steamy

She's Steamy was founded by Althea Russel in 2020. The venture produces homemade organic skin care products. Their motto is: "If it can't go in your body, it shouldn't go on your body." She's Steamy is in Newport News where Althea and her family members produce the skin care products with love using organic raw materials. The venture is currently working on ecommerce as another route to market for its products. The products are customized and are made only after bespoke orders have been placed. Some of the most successful products produced by She's Steamy to date are Sugar Scrub, Body Butter, Essential Oils, and Lip Sugar Scrubs.

Natural or organic skin care products are those made from natural plant based or animal based raw materials. The global organic skin care market size was valued at USD 9.83 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9% from 2022 to 2030. Growing consumer inclination toward chemical-free beauty products along with the broadening concepts of creams, serums, and moisturizers infused with organic ingredients is expected to drive the demand for organic skin care products over the forecast period. These products are more effective and have fewer side effects, which, in turn, is expected to increase their application among consumers. .

Stay tuned for more updates on She's Steamy's entrepreneurial journey...

Proof Please

Proof Please, LLC, is a boutique private investigating firm, which provides detailed evidence-based intel from a variety of reputable public and proprietary resources, and then helps clients objectively take stock of a comprehensive range of insights. It was incorporated in May 2021 by private investigator, Cindy R. Earl. The company provides free 30 minutes consultation, either in person or online. The organization mainly focuses on Elderly Abuses Investigations, Background Investigations, Covert Surveillance, Wellness Checks, People Location Services, Address Reports, among others.

A private investigator (PI) is a person or a private company that can be hired by individuals or groups to take investigation law services. They often work for civil and criminal cases. Using a database of 30 million profiles, Zippia estimates demographics and statistics for private investigators in the United States. After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

• There are over 5,993 private investigators currently employed in the United States.
• 26.9% of all private investigators are women, while 73.1% are men.
• The average age of an employed private investigator is 42 years old.
• The most common ethnicity of private investigators is White (61.7%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (18.7%), Black or African American (12.4%) and Asian (5.3).
• In 2021, women earned 91% of what men earned.
• 9% of all private investigators are LGBT.
• Private investigators are 72% more likely to work at private companies in comparison to public companies.

Stay tuned for more updates on Proof Please's entrepreneurial journey...

Restore Hope

Restore Hope is a biblical counseling firm incorporated in February 2022, started by a certified biblical counselor Shalika Young. According to the International Association of Biblical Counselors, Biblical counseling "seeks to carefully discover those areas in which a Christian may be disobedient to the principles and commands of Scripture and to help people learn how to lovingly submit to God's will." Restore Hope is a part of a larger organization, ACBC (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors), which provides resources, training, and certification to promote excellence and doctrinal integrity in biblical counseling.

It is one of the three biblical counseling firm operated by a female and the only with an African American Counselor in the Hampton Roads Area. The venture provides counseling, either virtually or in-person. Restore Hope's services provided by the firm ranges from Group Counseling, Parental Coaching, Servant Leaders Boot Camp, and Support to New Counselors by providing resources for them to start.

Stay tuned for more updates on Restore Hope's entrepreneurial journey...

MyCFO

MyCFO, founded by LaMonte Williams in 2020, is a wholistic bookkeeping company that offers financial services to small businesses, nonprofits, individuals, and families. The mission is to guide their clients toward financial stability and building generational wealth.

Accounting firms such as MyCFO are key organizations in the wider entrepreneurship ecosystem that provide bookkeeping services to other firms and make sure that all the financial transactions are accurate, compliant, and help businesses to use the financial statements to better understand how their financial health impacts growth. The revenue of the accounting industry in the United States is forecasted to have generated over 141 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. There are 307,717 Payroll & Bookkeeping Services businesses in the US as of 2022, an increase of 1.5% from 2021 and 1.5% per year on average over the five years between 2017 - 2022. The Payroll & Bookkeeping Services industry in the US is labor intensive which means businesses are more reliant on labor than capital. The highest costs for business in The Payroll & Bookkeeping Services industry in the US as a percentage of revenue are Wages (59.4%), Purchases (1.9%), and Rent & Utilities (2.5%). . Ventures like MyCFO are vital as they focus on SMEs and entrepreneurs in the Hampton Roads business community, especially those from or helping underserved communities.

Stay tuned for more updates on MyCFO's entrepreneurial journey...

Cultivus Agri-Enterprises

Cultivus Agri-Enterprises, founded by Lamin Hanna, is based out of Newport News. This innovative nascent venture primarily operates in the Crop Cultivating Services domain using the hydroponics method within the Agricultural Services sector. They have been operating for 3 years now. Cultivus Agri-Enterprises is estimated to generate substantial revenues in the coming years through their mentorship with our lab.

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants, mostly crops, by using nutrient-rich water without the need of soil. The roots, however, needs to be supported by an inert medium vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, coconut fiber, and rockwool, but not with materials that might compact like sand or that do not retain any moisture.

The global hydroponics market size was valued at USD 2.1 billion in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.7% from 2021 to 2028. This high growth rate is attributed to the increasing use of hydroponic systems for the indoor farming of vegetables. Also, the adoption of alternative farming methods for cannabis cultivation is rapidly rising, owing to the legalization of marijuana in countries like Canada, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and others. . This market is also a promising area of growth in the Hampton Roads community in the coming years.

Stay tuned for more updates on Cultivus's entrepreneurial journey...