We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chinyere Chi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chinyere, thanks for joining us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My father was my hero. He sacrificed so much to make sure his family was taken care of. Although he grew up in a poor African village with all odds against him as the eldest son of 12 children, he worked very hard to elevate himself, obtain an education up to a masters level and relocate to the United States.

My father always told me to “fight like a lion”. He always shared stories of hardships and triumphs with me. Although I didn’t quite understand then what he meant or the essence of his stories, I get it now. His stories taught me that the sky is the limit. That if I want something I must work hard for it, and even if I fail at some point, it’s not the end of the world; like a lioness I must get up and fight again. That mentality has been a really important factor in my journey.

Chinyere, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Yes, in 2018 I wanted a reversible silk bonnet that was big enough to fit my hairstyles. I loved voluminous hairstyles such as afro curls, braids etc and unfortunately at that time, I couldn’t find a quality bonnet to fit my hairstyles. After researching to process of making a bonnet, I purchased some quality silk fabrics with african inspired prints and made some for myself.

My sister loved it and requested a few for herself and her bridesmaids, her bridesmaids loved and purchased some for their friends and so it continued.

After a few sales I realized that this could actually become a business. I realized that there were women like me who appreciate the cool African prints and needed quality satin bonnets so I decided to fill that need. We’ve added other satin hair protection garments such as shower caps and pillow cases.

We’ve also recently expanded our team to West Africa. As a woman owned company, it is important to me that I empower women economically. So we have been working with professional seamstresses in Africa to make some of our products and some are still designed and made in Texas.
While I am no longer physically making all of Regal Ivy bonnets, I am still behind the design process from start to finish. We recently added mommy and me bonnets as well as his and hers matching bonnet & Durag sets. It’s exciting to see the gradual growth.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Initially I marketed my products for women with natural type 4 hair and protective styles. Recently I’ve had to unlearn this.

A friend of mine who doesn’t have type 3-4 hair started experiencing hair loss. She said she had never used bonnets before, but wanted to give it a try. After using one of our bonnets combined with hair oils, her hair grew back.

I had to unlearn that Bonnets are for women of color only. Our bonnets provide the ultimate hair protection for all hair types. Quality satin bonnets can improve style longevity to Relaxed hair, hair extensions, curls, natural hair and protective styles, locs etc

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started with just $300. I had a job and would work my 9-5 during the day and make bonnets after work and kept reinvesting my profits

I love this part of my story because it reminds me of how I can start with very little and grow exponentially if I put my mind to it.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.Regalivy.com
• Instagram: @regalivy
• Facebook: Shopregalivy
• Youtube: Regal Ivy