Monique Rodriguez, Founder & CEO of Mielle Organics, shares how a hobby in her kitchen became a global haircare brand and the highest exit of any Black woman in history.
After the devastating loss of her son, Monique turned to social media and haircare as an outlet for grief. What began as sharing homemade recipes online evolved into a business built on real connection that took over the natural hair space. Within months of launching, she left her nursing career. Within five years, she faced a $2M financial hole that nearly cost her everything.
In this conversation, Monique opens up about betting on herself before she felt ready, building without mentors, mismanaging early capital, walking away from a 40% investment deal, and ultimately securing the right partner. Her story is a grounded look at what it really takes to scale through pain, risk, faith, and battle-tested business lessons.
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Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com
Follow Monique
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exquisitemo
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https://www.instagram.com/mielleorganics
https://mielleorganics.com/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc
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