Erica's Beauty Shop: The WOC Beauty Marketplace That Advances STEM Education

Erica Patterson's entrepreneurial journey began with her natural hair transition during high school. While attending Pennsylvania State University, she developed the concept for Erica's Beauty Shop — an expanding online marketplace featuring the largest collection of Black and Latina-owned beauty and grooming brands.

The platform currently hosts merchandise from over 100 brands across haircare, skincare, men's products, kids items, makeup, tools, and wellness.

The Problem She Solved

The marketplace addresses a significant gap: limited access to quality health and beauty products created by and for Black and brown communities. Beyond e-commerce, Erica's Beauty Shop offers monthly subscription boxes delivering curated selections directly to customers' homes.

Patterson extends her community commitment by directing a portion of proceeds to a STEM education nonprofit helping African American students at K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels create successful careers in STEM.

Interview with Erica Patterson

During college at Penn State, Patterson struggled finding hair products suited to her needs. Her region lacked beauty supply stores serving women of color. "I was team Black-owned brands before it was trendy, as I felt only someone like me could really understand my hair needs."

On supporting Black businesses: "Keep shopping Black first! Before I buy anything, I always look to see if there is a company that is Black-owned that sells it."

On challenges: Black and Latina-led startups combined received just 2.4% of all venture capital investments from the past 7 years. Patterson launched and continues to fund her company entirely through personal resources.

On her ambassador program: "We can help our brand's fans and loyal customers earn money, while also building brand awareness at the same time. I'm all about helping everyone win."