#34 Adji Cisse - The Natural

Adji Cisse.
2018.
Classroom 208 at Career High School.
I am an entrepreneur. 
I am a proud black girl. 
I am unapologetically me.
BE A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WOMAN AND ACTIVIST.


Badass Quotes:
🔺”I would be nowhere without that class or without my teacher.”
🔺“I don’t like to copy.”
🔺”I feel like she just saw something me.”
🔺“I tried to take advantage of as many of opportunities as I was given; I would apply to anything if it seemed like it would help me.” 
🔺“A lot of the stuff that I do now, I wouldn’t have done if I didn’t reach out to those people and send that email that I didn’t want to send or call those people I didn’t want to talk to.”
🔺“I want to give young Black teens the opportunities that I was given.”
🔺“I never wore my natural hair for a day before starting my business, and even after, it took a few months for me to build up the courage to go to school with my natural hair.” 
🔺“I don’t want to give up because I know I have the potential to grow my business and I can make a change.”
🔺“I see bravery as standing up for yourself and standing up for others.”
🔺“Standing up for yourself is how a lot of people have made change in society.”
🔺“Not everyone is brave in the same way – what I see as bravery may not be the same as someone else.” 
🔺“I have learned to be unapologetically me as I grew my business.” 
🔺”I’m just doing me. And I just hope to change as I do me.”
🔺“I want to be known for making a change in the Black community”
🔺“I want to see kids like myself win.”

Podcast Intro: 
Adji Cisse is a businesswoman. At 17 years old, she is the founder of Flawless Fro, a product line for Black girls and women embracing their natural hair. Adji is a great student, but that doesn’t mean she likes school.  She is an activist, using her voice to advocate for Black girls, for more kids to have opportunities that she has gotten. She is brewing confidence - the reliable kind that comes from knowing what she loves, how she adds value to the world, and what she stands for. She is a self-proclaimed procrastinator. She is scared of failure. She struggles with motivation. She is obsessed with TikTok. She is still perfecting her recipe. She is, so vibrantly, so brilliantly, and so unapologetically herself.  [more...]

Big Takeaways: 
▪️ How important her teacher Ms. Williams, inspired and motivated her confidence
▪️ How prioritizing networking helps her - and her business - grow
▪️ Why she advocates for her target market, Black girls, so vehemently
▪️ How starting her business ignited her own natural hair journey 
▪️ Why she chose to help change the stigma around African American women’s natural hair 
▪️ How much she enjoys the independence of living near a city
▪️ Why failure scares her the most
▪️ Why she doesn’t feel pressure to be a certain way

Major Conversation Highlights: 
🔺Why shy is scared to ask for help
🔺How much she procrastinates
🔺How passionate she feels about teens, especially in inner city schools, getting quality mentorship and learning opportunities
🔺Why it is so important to see natural hair on women in all places
🔺Adji’s production process - product, packaging, marketing
🔺Why bravery matters
🔺Where and how Adji adds value to this world

Social Media​​
Instagram - @adjiontheinternet
LinkedIn - Adji Cisse
Business Instagram - @flawlessfrobyadji

Key Links​​
Flawless Fro
ARTICLE: Flawless Fro Takes Flight