Seen & Heard: New York Magazine and Racialicious on Naturally Curly

Thanks to fellow designer and media watcher Anne Berry for a heads up on Racialicious’s recent post on New York Magazine writer Kevin Roose’s inexplicable dismissal of the Naturally Curly website as a sound financial investment. Commenting on Roose’s article “Dumb Money: Exposing Silicon Valley’s Stupidest Investments,” Latoya Peterson writes:

Roose provides no actual evidence as to why NaturallyCurly is a bad investment. He doesn’t cite a thing – not their traffic numbers, no advertising sales, and no discussion of the exponential growth in the market they offer. But why should he? NaturallyCurly doesn’t fit the pattern . . .

The pattern to which she refers is that of white-identified receiving disproportionate access to funding for their entrepreneurial goals in comparison to women of all backgrounds, even though women-led high-tech startups have lower failure rates. As it turns out, the numbers show that Naturally Curly — and the natural hair market as a whole — is not only an excellent investment, it is a booming business. Ethical tip for the day: It’s a smart move to do your research.