Award-winning public relations and digital marketing company First and Last PR hosted “Cake & Cocktails: Untold Stories from Today’s Biggest Leaders in Beauty & Business” virtually on March 30th through Hopin. The influential conversation was led by Julee Wilson, Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan magazine with music from DJ C DeVone. The successful event had over 300 attendees who had the opportunity to hear stories and real-life tips from leading businesswomen and executives. This hybrid event including the backdrop was produced by fellow woman-owned business, Johnson PR and Events.
Get a taste of each conversation below, and watch the full live-streamed event here.
“Cake and Cocktails” began with Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw who is the CEO & Communicator-in-Chief of First and Last PR, an award-winning PR and digital marketing agency, celebrating the firm’s 10th year in business. Stephanie started the conversation off by talking about where she got her work ethic from which impacted her to start her business. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit; my grandfather had his own company growing up, he had an exterminating business. My brother and I would go on exterminating jobs – we saw that work ethic at an early age,” she shared.
The first segment of the event, “Finding Your Why”, featured Nadiyah Spencer, Founder & CEO of TinkyPoo, a highly absorbent and inclusive baby care brand, Jamyla Bennu, Founder and Mixtress of Oyin Handmade, an all-natural haircare and personal care brand for women, men and babies, and Jasmin Foster, the Founder & CEO of Be Rooted which is an inclusive and empowering stationary brand. All of these resolute businesswomen gathered and shared what empowered them to start their own company. “I realized that there isn’t enough diversity in the diaper industry – I wanted babies to know that they're beautiful, they're unique, and how special they are,” explained Spencer.
The second segment, “Ready, Set, Launch” discussed the importance of self-care and how it was possible to launch a brand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Briana Williams, Founder & CEO of LipLoveLine, an empowering lip color and care products and Kat Canizares, Chief Marketing Officer of Pot d’Huile, a CBD-only line of luxury products for face and food, shared their brand stories with the audience. “Dealing with several different health issues and low-self-esteem, one of the things that made me feel most beautiful was my lip gloss. Lipstick and lip products became a simple and reliable way for me to feel beautiful without wearing a full face of makeup all the time,” shared Williams.
The final section of “Cake & Cocktails” included Nicole Murphy, Founder & CEO of yFOY, a clean, vegan, skincare and wellness brand, along with Rachel James who is the founder & CEO of luxury vegan, cruelty-free and nontoxic (10 free) nail lacquer and nail care brand, Pear Nova. The two founders talked about being a strong mother but also prioritizing yourself in order to run a successful business and get things done.
“I have four daughters, they’re young black women. I want them to be strong and have that mentality that they can do it. It is very important that I succeed at my business because I want to inspire them every step of the way, so it is important that they see that,” explained Murphy.
