Diarrha NDiaye-Mbaye, among the very first among the small number of Black females to raise more than $1 million in venture capital, announced on Thursday the closure of her award-winning beauty startup Ami Col.Ami Col creates makeup for those with darker skin colors, as those consumers frequently struggle to discover makeup that matches their skin tone.
It launched in 2021, sold through Sephora, and became a celebrity favorite among the likes of singer Kelly Rowland and actress Mindy Kaling.
But the 4-year-old business will now officially shutter in September.NDiaye-Mbaye blogged about her decision to close the company in The Cut, saying that after taking a look at every alternative, it became clear that continuing in this present market wasnt sustainable.
Her business had actually raised more than $3 million in venture capital, according to PitchBook, with support from the similarity G9 Ventures, Greycroft, and angel financiers Hannah Bronfman and The Cut editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples Wagner.Ami Col did not right away respond to our ask for comment.Like lots of Black start-ups released after the murder of George Floyd, Ami Col rode the waves of enjoyment from financiers and corporations looking to pour cash into backing more products and initiatives that discussed variety, equity, and inclusion.NDiaye-Mbaye hinted that a person of the problems was tension between her and financiers expectations of a customer retail organization.
While she had devoted clients, her fast across the country growth meant pressure from financiers.
Her brand name had a hard time to contend with larger business with much deeper pockets, despite pouring a large chunk of its budget into marketing.
Ami Col dealt with the ups and downs of production versus sales in retail: one week selling directly through, and another stagnating a unit.Instead of concentrating on the healthy, sustainable future of the business and fulfilling the requirements of our loyal fan base, I rode an unstable wave of evaluating financiers some of whom seemed to have a mindset towards equity and betting huge on inclusivity that altered its tune a lot, to my ears, from what it sounded like in 2020, she wrote.Techcrunch eventSan Francisco|October 27-29, 2025The pressure comes as venture financing to Black founders has struck a multi-year low in a political environment that has actually disavowed anything perceived as DEI.
NDiaye-Mbaye ended her announcement by stating that though this chapter in her life was ending, her work was not done.I still believe in charm at every level and Im anticipating finding what follows, she stated.