Richelieu Dennis is a Liberian-born African-American businessman. Civil violence was the norm of the day, so they departed Liberia with his mother at the time. Dennis was the first of the mother-son combo to relocate to the United States, and his mother followed him to chase his American dream. With nothing but dedication, the mother-son team built a multi-million dollar corporation until Unilever phoned. While his mother balanced the finances, Richelieu Dennis took over promoting the product.

Professional Life:

When he earned his scholarship at Babson College, his mother, Mary, gave him shea butter from home. She eventually started selling shea butter to her classmates. It piqued her interest in being an entrepreneur. Due to the growing violence in Liberia, her mother had yet to give her child support and began selling more stuff to fulfill her necessities in 1989. In 1991, his mother attended his graduation but never came home. His house was assaulted on the way to New York, leaving him nowhere to stay.

Richelieu Dennis and a friend began creating various cosmetic items in their flat with the help of his mother. They set up shop on 125th Street and Fifth Avenue in Harlem, selling their items from card tables. After a short time, his articles drew clients, and he got countless orders. They delivered their items to dealers in a Toyota Previa. They began catering at county fairs and flea markets and then moved into retail. The product’s popularity rose primarily due to its attraction to women of color who had previously felt excluded from natural beauty products.

Sundial Brands was extremely popular among women of color, and its consumer base increased rapidly over time. Markets get hosted by both local shops and wholesale beauty salons. They relocated to a new warehouse in 1992 due to rising demand, and by the early 2000s, their products had garnered widespread acclaim, allowing them to expand even further. Unilever purchased Sundial for $1.6 billion in 2017. Dennis and his mother deliberated for nearly five years before choosing to sell the business. At the time of the purchase, Dennis and his mother controlled 51 percent of the firm, and Dennis kept his position as CEO.