This month, the Mississippi Seed Fund board of directors approved a $100,000 award to The Skin Consult, a Mississippi-based startup company focused on the skincare industry. The $100,000 New Tech Business award is a convertible note that requires a 100 percent match from the company that receives it.
CEO Sajani Barot said that working with Innovate Mississippi in 2022 as a member of the CoBuilders Accelerator and through the Mississippi Seed Fund pitch process has helped her hone her company’s mission and has been instrumental in their pivot to business-to-business customers.
“We started in 2020, around March when the pandemic happened, as a business-to-consumer platform that allowed a customer to have a virtual consultation,” Barot said. “Based on customer data, scalability considerations and investor feedback, we’re now building a platform that lets medical spas, dermatologists and others create online shops to sell services and products.”
The initial plan was for customers to pay for virtual consultations with professionals and then buy products; now, with the pivot, Barot’s customer is the professional provider who can quickly create a presence in The Skin Consult marketplace. The company will make money on a monthly service charge paid by providers and e-commerce fees when consumers buy products.
Barot said that going through the CoBuilders accelerator and presenting to the Mississippi Seed Fund gave the company confidence in their pitch and helped build new professional connections. “I was already connected to the Innovate team a little bit, but the ability to connect with founders around the state was the icing on the cake. And this process has also connected us to the right mentors,” she said.
Barot believes the Mississippi Seed Fund board saw the potential for her company to grow in the Magnolia State. She said the award gives the company credibility with other investors inside and outside Mississippi. She’s optimistic that the Seed Fund award will be part of a larger seed round over the next six months, taking them to the full launch of their new offerings by mid-2023.
“I was just having a meeting with an investor with a base in Austin and they were intrigued about how Innovate Mississippi and the Mississippi Seed Fund is is involved,” Barot said. “I’m hoping that it actually converts to us getting funds from these other investors in the next month or so.”
