The 26-year-old woman who earns 300 thousand selling sweatshirts after investing €429 The 26-year-old woman who earns 300 thousand selling sweatshirts after investing €429

Philomina Kane can be sure of one thing, and that is that all the effort has been worth it to get to where she is today. Just over eight years ago Kane was studying Biology at Princeton University. Being a very self-demanding young woman, she suffered from stress and her hair began to fall out. That's why she decided to cut all her hair to zero overnight. As she was growing little by little naturally, she said she needed to protect her head from the cold as she was completely out in the open.

"I realized that she always put a scarf on me before a sweatshirt and then put my hood up," the entrepreneur commented on Shark Tank, a program on American television ABC and picked up by CNBC. This format is based on hunting down talented entrepreneurs. "One day I said to myself, you know? I'm going to start making hoods with a lining around the neck and a hood." With only 500 dollars in her pocket, about 430 euros, this 26-year-old from the Bronx founded her own brand called Kin Apparel. During this year she has achieved a turnover of 355,000 dollars in sales volume, about 304,000 euros.

In this sense, Kin Apparel specializes in sweatshirts with hoods and satin lining to keep out the cold and retain moisture. Also, her hood suits numerous types of hairstyles. The newly created firm also makes pillowcases, hats, bucket hats and beanies from the same materials. "I kept in mind curly-haired girls who can't find a hood big enough to fit their hair," she detailed during the show. "Or the guys with dreadlocks who always clean them to prevent lint balls from forming in their hair."

Along with the greats of fashion

Emma Grede, one of the fashion 'influencers' of the moment in the United States, showed special interest in Kin Apparel on the same set. Also the founder and executive director of the Good American brand and a partner in Kim Kardasian's SKIMS clothing line, she confessed that what caught her attention the most was her personal story. That is why she decided to participate with 30% of the share capital of her company. "Now a lot of retailers are looking for black women entrepreneurs for their businesses," she stressed. Likewise, one of the strengths of the new brand is the target audience it is aimed at, "an enormous opportunity".

Kin Apparel's impact, thanks largely to social media, has seen Kane now boast nearly 200,000 subscribers on his personal YouTube channel. There, through several videos, the protagonist of this story narrates the journey that she has made hand in hand with her hair. In addition, she gives beauty tips to black women to help them gradually adapt to her natural hair. Similarly, it has a large number of followers on other social networks such as Instagram or Tik Tok. Despite the great popularity that Philomina Kane enjoys, she never parked the growth of her business.

Kane was raised by her grandmother in Ghana and her parents didn't always approve of her abrupt career change. Before going all out with Kin Apparel, Kane planned to study at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and pursue a career in medicine. "I got a lot of flak from my family for it," she confessed. "I have to admit that one of the greatest skills an entrepreneur can have is knowing what he can and cannot do."