Indigenous-owned cosmetics company receives unsuspected surprise
By Sam Laskaris
ST. CATHARINES – Jenn Harper can still vividly recall a dream she had four years ago.
“In my dream, I saw these little Native girls covered in lip-gloss,” said Harper, a member of Northwest Angle #33. “I thought this is it. I’m going to start this company.”
That company is Cheekbone Beauty, a cosmetics company which donates a portion of its profits to a society which assists Indigenous students.
Harper runs her business out of St. Catharines where she is now living with her husband and two children.
Cheekbone Beauty is a natural cosmetics company that ships glosses, lipsticks, contour kits and brow products not only across Canada and the United States, but also to Australia.
Besides offering products never tested on animals, Harper was also keen to have a business that would give back to Indigenous communities.
That’s why she hooked up with the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society, which receives 10 per cent of Cheekbone Beauty’s profits. The Caring Society address the educational funding gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
So far, Harper has donated more than $5,500 to the Caring Society.
As for Harper’s company, it has received plenty of recent financial backing. Thanks to this support, the 43-year-old now has a rather lofty goal.
“The vision is to be the first Indigenous women to have a business worth $1 billion,” Harper said. “If you understand the beauty world, it’s not an impossible thing.”
On Sept. 26, Harper was featured on Dragon’s Den, a TV show which airs nationally on CBC and features people with business propositions who try to get investors to back their ideas.
Harper filmed her episode this past May. She was seeking $100,000 in funding and was offering 20 per cent of her company in return.
During the Dragon’s Den broadcast, she was offered $125,000 in backing but only if she gave up 50 per cent of her business. She turned down that deal, in part because she was also talking to other investors who were interested in her business.
Though she did not get a Dragon’s Den deal, Harper did receive some positive news after she walked off the presentation stage. There she was informed that she was in line for some funding from the new Desjardins GoodSpark program.
This initiative, being featured on Dragon’s Den episodes this fall, supports entrepreneurs who have ideas that positively impact youth.
After various discussions with Desjardins representatives, Harper was awarded $50,000 in funding.
“It was a complete and wonderful surprise,” Harper said of her Desjardins funding.
And then it was announced that Cheekbone Beauty would receive a whopping $350,000 in backing from Vancouver-based Raven Indigenous Capital Partners.
Harper was obviously thrilled with this announcement.
“As a new entrepreneur you can’t do anything without capital,” Harper said. “You can keep going but it’s really, really hard. I’ve had the three most difficult years of my life.”
In return for its funding, after 18 months Raven Capital will acquire between 15-20 per cent of Harper’s business.
Besides running Cheekbone Beauty, Harper is also a public speaker who frequently talks to high school and post-secondary school students not only about social entrepreneurship, but also about the effects on her family and friends that the residential school system had.
Harper herself abused alcohol for a number of years. Though she entered a rehab facility in 2010, she had a number of relapses after that until 2014. She has now been sober for five years.
During Cheekbone Beauty’s early stages, Harper’s younger brother B.J. died by suicide at age 33.
“He’s a driving force behind what I do on a daily basis,” Harper said.
She added she is constantly inspired by her brother’s thoughts on her business including the fact she was planning to donate portions of her profits to assist Indigenous youth.
Harper said her brother’s words were the following: “Our kids need help, they just need help. And what you’re doing is going to be great.”