Building a Diverse Beauty Revolution: Nana Addison and the Curl Agency
Shaping the Future of Beauty with Curl Agency
Meet Nana Addison, the fearless entrepreneur and “Culture Architect” revolutionising the beauty sector in Germany through the Curl Agency. Recognising the need for diversity and inclusion in beauty, Nana established the agency to advise brands and retailers on implementing more diverse practices and products. The Curl Agency extends its reach through the “Curl Con,” a trade fair that connects brands focused on the needs of BIPoC with retailers and end consumers.
Nana’s multi-faceted professional portfolio includes organising TED talks, producing tours for Afrobeat musicians in Germany, and developing a beauty and grooming app. Born to a Ghanaian family from Kumasi and raised in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Nana combines her life experiences and entrepreneurial spirit to bring about a much-needed change.
Nana Addison: A Journey of Self-discovery and Entrepreneurship
The force behind the Curl Agency, Nana Amma Addison-Agyei, is a Ghanaian-German woman who began her journey of personal development at 18. She quickly realised that conventional education was not her path to success, particularly as she grappled with dyslexia. Often labelled as lazy and rebellious, Nana transformed these challenges into stepping stones, identifying them as a drive to solve problems innovatively.
She embarked on a journey of self-discovery and skill-building, trying her hand at various jobs and studying Business Management and Theology for four semesters before dropping out to focus on learning by doing. After co-founding Addison Green and travelling the world, she faced financial struggles, leading to filing for private bankruptcy in 2015. This setback became a powerful catalyst driving her towards impact entrepreneurship.
Today, Nana helms two start-ups: her boutique brand consulting agency, CURL, and her tech start-up, Styleindi, providing an Afropean perspective that blends her Ghanaian roots with her German upbringing.
A Modern Day Renaissance Woman
Nana is a well-respected strategist behind some of the most popular brand activations and director of numerous exciting live event formats. Her accomplishments extend to becoming one of Europe’s Top 10 rising Black tech and beauty entrepreneurs. Her love for tech, culture, music, and start-up entrepreneurship propelled Nana on an unconventional career journey.
She has worked with a broad client base, including Coca Cola, Nike, YouTube, TED, and music acts like King Promise and Jonathan McReynolds. In addition to running CURL Agency, Nana is the founder and CEO of Styleindi, a mobile app matching ethnically diverse customers with suitable hair & beauty professionals through a unique AI automation. She is also a chair of her Co-Founder NGO CURL Vision, director of TEDx Mauerpark, and a guest professor at the SAE Institute in the BA for Music Business Management.
Advocating Against Racism and Discrimination in Beauty and Tech
Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Germany, Nana was conscious of racial and discrimination biases from an early age. She noticed that afro hair texture often became a point of racial bias, with negative associations attached to it.
After attending a natural hair workshop by US celebrity hairstylist Felicia Leatherwood in 2015, Nana was inspired to build businesses that provided inclusive hair and beauty products and services. Hence, the creation of the “CURL Con” convention, the CURL Agency, and the soon-to-launch app Styleindi, which utilises AI to match customers with beauty professionals and products catering to specific hair and skin needs.
Nana’s journey through formal education and in business has been challenging, grappling with racial and class-based biases. Yet, her tenacity, drive, and ambition have led her to break barriers and pioneer new paths in the beauty and tech sectors. Nana’s story serves as a reminder that if something’s on your mind, it’s worth making it a reality.
Company website:
https://www.curlagency.com
Founder on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nana-addison-b796734b/
Image Source: Nana Addison