Two AI Experts Built a Hair-Preview App Where Brands Pay and Shoppers Don't

FairScan AI co-founders Christelle Mombo-Zigah and Isi Idemudia have launched StyleMyCrown, an AI tool that lets people with textured hair preview styles on their own face, according to Black Enterprise, citing an AFROTECH interview. Mombo-Zigah, a strategy lead in Cisco's cloud AI unit, started studying bias in training data in 2020; Idemudia brought a background in AI governance. Their company first aimed at healthcare, then moved into beauty tech. The app offers about 500 styles and colors for 3A to 4C textures, suggests products and points users to stylists nearby. Shoppers use it free. Revenue comes from brands and stylists paying for placement, plus affiliate commissions on product sales, Black Enterprise reports. At launch it drew visitors from 50 countries and signed 15 to 20 brands. The founders are talking with venture investors but had not started a formal raise. The money lesson: a free app can still earn when the businesses that want its users are the ones paying.