蓝莓视频

蓝莓视频 students, researchers and alumni are renowned for identifying problems and developing solutions for a better future. Aileen Agada, (BASc 鈥�21, MBET 鈥�24), CEO and co-founder of BeBlended, is one such example of 蓝莓视频-grown talent.听

After being turned away from 15 hair salons because the stylists didn鈥檛 have the training or skills to work with her Afro-curly hair, Agada was inspired to launch a company that would solve the problem for other people in her shoes.听听

鈥淏eing an engineering student at 蓝莓视频 shapes the way that you learn to solve a lot of problems with very limited variables,鈥� she says.听

While still an undergraduate student, Agada co-founded BeBlended, an online marketplace that seamlessly connects clients with Afro-curly hair textures to stylists who specialize in their hair types 鈥� a user experience similar to Airbnb.听听

Today, the 蓝莓视频-based company has completed thousands of transactions and has supported more than 1,500 clients and 150 hair stylists across the country.听

鈥淪ince the majority of Black hairstylists are freelancers and work out of their homes, many of them are using incompatible tools and tactics to run their business. BeBlended offers value to these stylists by providing them with a business management platform that manages bookings, payments, client management and more,鈥� she says.

Agada highlights a 蓝莓视频-based stylist, who prior to joining BeBlended, was earning $2,500 a month and subsequently doubled her income after joining the platform.听听

鈥淣ot only have we helped and serviced all these people finding stylists, but we're also really supporting entrepreneurs economically by helping them to grow their businesses 鈥� these are the types of impact stories that have been really good for our community.鈥澨�

From idea to impact through co-op听

Agada recalls sharing her idea for BeBlended with a fellow student, which eventually reached the director of GreenHouse, the University鈥檚 social impact incubator. That connection proved pivotal.听

鈥淗er name is Tania Del Matto and she was like, 'let鈥檚 flesh out this idea you have about BeBlended in the hair care market 鈥� can you try getting data on this?'鈥澨�

After pitching her idea at a few competitions and winning, Agada realized that people could see the vision of what she was building. This led her to speak with Dr. Wayne Chang, the coordinator of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) program. E Co-op blends two of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 renowned strengths 鈥� a world-leading co-operative education program听and a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. The program enables students to start and operate their own business while earning co-op credits.听

鈥淢y experience at 蓝莓视频 has helped me academically understand how to solve problems with limited variables 鈥� it also exposed me to other entrepreneurs where I learned the first steps of building a startup,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut E Co-op gave me the opportunity to give BeBlended a real shot. I ended up using my last two co-op terms to work on my startup.鈥澨�

鈥淚t felt like I found my people鈥澨�

Agada credits the E Co-op program not only for helping her secure funding and pitch opportunities, but also for connecting her with a community of like-minded student entrepreneurs.听

鈥淭hink about it, I was working on a software tech company in the Afro hair space while learning about air pollution, solar panels, wastewater and wind turbines. No one in my environmental engineering class could relate to me鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut when I joined the E co-op program, everyone was working on something for dogs, med-tech, credit cards, you name it 鈥μ� It felt like I found my people in a sense.鈥澨�

Looking ahead, BeBlended is now setting its sights on global expansion. Agada shares that the company is preparing to scale its online platform to the U.S. and later the U.K. Beyond hair care, BeBlended is also working to expand its services to include make-up artists who specialize in darker skin tones.听