Position Paper 1: Internet Innovators

        When I think of a company that is continually pushing the envelope and keeping everyone on their toes I instantly think of Google. Google is the largest search engine in the world and there were more than 5.4 billion Google searches done daily. The co-founders of Google are Larry Page and Sergey sold Google to Alphabet Inc. in October of 2015. Not only is Google just a popular search engine but they now have other services that they offer. Some of the ones that I personally utilize are Google Docs, Slides, Excel, PowerPoint, Classroom and various others. With Google offering services in so many different areas they keep their competitors as well as other companies hoping to stay current and up to date. Aside from Google there are many new and upcoming companies that continue to make advances as the Internet does the same. The first company that came to my mind was the Crayon Case, a black owned makeup brand that is beginner friendly. The company was started by Raynell Stewart in 2016 after she decided to start doing her own makeup and after many attempts to follow YouTube tutorials she realized that there were so many products necessary that came without clear instructions of their own. She then decided that the makeup industry could use a brand that truly catered to people who had little to no knowledge of  makeup. Not only that she was looking to have her makeup products to be highly pigmented in order to show up on the richest of melanated skin. Now prior to starting her cosmetics line, Stewart already had a substantial social media following due to her hilarious stories from her life growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Raynell had begun  her journey into doing her makeup and found the process to be intimidating by all of the products, procedures and terminology, so she sought out a way to make sure that other women didn’t have to feel the same way that she did when first starting to learn. Not only was her initial entry into makeup daunting but she also wanted to create products with women of color in mind. It is common knowledge that it can be a challenge for women of color when it comes to make up because some products do not give us the vibrancy that we want due to the amount of melanin in our skin or when trying to find accurate color matches. I myself have experience being in a cosmetic store and seeing tons of  shades for more fair skinned women, however when looking for products for those with more melanin the options are few and far between. So who better than to create a cosmetic line that someone who understands the struggle and complexity that is makeup and beauty. 

Stewart’s brand has only skyrocketed since its launch in 2016, but not without many lessons learned along the way. The theme of her brand is school supplies, challenging people to tap into their inner child and be creative and take your time learning about makeup. She has eyeliners that look like permanent markers, setting powders that are packaged like chalk dust, lipsticks that are boxed like hall passes, etc. Not only is the presentation of the products colorful, detailed and intriguing but the quality is even more impressive. I myself have purchased from her website and was pleased with all of the products. With being a woman with richly melanated skin, it can sometimes be hard to find eyeshadows that are as vibrant on my skin as they are in the pallet, but that was not a problem with the Crayon case. The level of pigmentation in her products was one that got her lots of publicity because people were so impressed with the new cosmetic brand on the scene that was  giving all great quality products and packaging at a reasonable cost. 

 Raynell’s advertising for her company is genius, Find women real social media who are make up artists and bring them on a brand ambassador where she supplies them with her products and they create makeup looks for themselves and the clients. These make up artists are from literally all over the world and they get the opportunity to harness the craft with essentially free materials oh wow advertising and amazing Black owned business. Her and her team look for people who do great makeup and showcase it on their social media to give them an opportunity to work with her company. Now that she was become better at makeup, she lives streams with her followers and walks them through how she does her makeup and what all of her products are meant for. Not only are her products reasonably priced but she is known for generous sales on her products that sell out within minutes and generate millions of dollars within hours. Not only does she do nice things for her customers and supporters, but she also gives back to her community in New Orleans, Louisiana.

 In December of 2018 Raynell Stewart and her best friend Jesseca Dupart, CEO and owner of Kaleidoscope Hair Care, broke the Guiness World Record for the largest toy away in the world. The two managed to give away 5,019 toys to children, the event was so large that they had to utilize the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in order to accommodate everyone. She  has also hosted back to school giveaways and book drives for children as they prepared to go back to school. As I talked about earlier because she had a social media following prior to the launch of her company, that authentic connection that she had with her followers has certainly helped with her advertising efforts for her business. Her followers are quick to repost and make others aware of what she has to offer and seems to have a humble spirit which many can appreciate, considering the ways in which people have seen other influencers act on the internet. Raynell Stewart saw a problem, sought out a way to help fix it and brought hundreds of others along with her in her journey.