Skincare Business Success: Engineer to Founder — Walmart, $300K Grants & Laser Institute | Ep 44

Skincare business success from a civil engineering career — Lyndsey Brantley did it without outside investors, starting with a PCOS diagnosis and ending up on Walmart shelves. She secured over $300,000 through pitch competitions, grants, and non-equity funding — and became the first African American woman to place a natural, alcohol-free unisex shaving solution with Walmart. In this episode, Lyndsey shares how she built Camellia Alise, LLC — a Leaping Bunny certified natural skincare line, full-service spa, and medical aesthetics training academy in Houston, TX. She covers how a personal health struggle turned into a product, how she kept the business alive during COVID-19 by pivoting to hand sanitizer, and how she went on to open one of the first Black-owned laser institutes in Texas. She was named the SBA Houston District Woman Business Owner of the Year in 2023. Topics covered: product launch, grant funding for small businesses, pitch competitions, medical aesthetics certification, Black-owned business, Houston entrepreneurship, and building multiple revenue streams under one brand. Chapters 0:00 Intro & guest introduction 2:07 Lyndsey welcomed to the show 2:38 PCOS diagnosis and the launch of her skincare line 6:14 Pivoting to hand sanitizer production during COVID-19 7:00 Securing $300K+ in grants and pitch competitions 15:02 Opening one of the first Black-owned laser institutes in Texas 25:47 Her #1 piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs 28:54 Closing thoughts and wrap-up 🔗 Learn more about Camellia Alise: https://www.camelliaalise.com/ 📅 Book free mentoring with SCORE Houston: www.score.org/houston 📺 Subscribe for new episodes every week YouTube:    / @scorehouston   Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3DTCZlN... Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b4a... Shorts:    / @scorehouston   SCORE Houston Podcast — Small Business Success Stories, Episode 44. Free, confidential mentoring for entrepreneurs at every stage. Call 713-487-6565 or visit us at 8701 South Gessner, Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77074. #skincarebusiness #womeninbusiness #blackownedbusiness #smallbusinessgrants #pitchcompetition #beautyentrepreneur #womenentrepreneurs #SCOREHouston #houstonbusiness #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #businessmentorship