Our Entrepreneurs
Leila Velez
Beleza Natural
.jpg){kind=logo}
Impact metric
471% growth in revenues since selection“I saw an opportunity to make all Brazilian women feel beautiful, despite their financial means. ”
- Country
- Brazil
- Industry
- Consumer Goods & Services
- Employees
- 1,300
- Year selected
- 2005
- partners
- Rogério Assis, Heloísa Helena Assis, Jair Conde
- Website
Company Snapshot
Brazilian women who battle with their kinky, tightly curled hair often brave four-hour lines at Beleza Natural salons. There, their locks are tamed and smoothed by a patented relaxing product developed by former hairdresser and company founder Heloisa de Assis.
Growing up in one of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, Assis recognized the need for a product and process that made an underserved population of women feel “naturally beautiful.” After perfecting her formula, Assis opened her first salon in 1993 with her husband Jair, brother Rogerio and sister-in-law Leila, who now serves as the CEO. An immediate success, the franchise currently includes 26 salons in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Each serves up to 1,000 customers per day, processing up to forty clients at a time through their seven-step process. Beleza Natural has also developed a complete line of hair care products, operates a lab to conduct cosmetic research and maintains partnerships with several universities in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and São Paulo. Since selection by Endeavor, Beleza Natural has increased employment by 214%.
Endeavor and Beleza Natural
With Endeavor’s support, the Entrepreneurs were able to locate and hire a CEO, develop a shareholder’s agreement, and evaluate expansion targets (especially through the G-Lab program). They participated in the PEG program, which helped professionalize management, and attended multiple Entrepreneur Summits. They also participated in the global ECLA program.
The Entrepreneurs remain highly active and involved members of the Endeavor network.
Links
Leila on Twitter
Media
entrepreneur spotlights
-
Gigliola Aycardi Batista
Bodytech
-
Daniel Wjuniski
Minha Vida
-
Wilson Martins Poit
Poit Energia
Support the cause
Endeavor transforms the economies of emerging markets by identifying and supporting high-impact entrepreneurs
I want to get involvedendeavor impact
28,652candidates have received professional feedback since 1997
Show me more