Evana E.

About Evana E.

I\'ve spent my career building brands. First for companies like Georgia Pacific, CNN, Delta, and Honey Baked Ham. Now for the next generation of entrepreneurs who deserve the same caliber of strategic support. For over 15 years, I led marketing, eCommerce, and digital strategy for major consumer brands, managing multimillion-dollar budgets and building omnichannel campaigns that drove real business results. That includes a $600K single-day sales launch on Amazon that won two Gold Shopper Marketing Effie Awards. Then my daughter Zoe changed everything. When Zoe was 6, she came home asking why her hair wasn\'t \"pretty\" like her classmates\'. That broke my heart. When we couldn\'t find a doll that reflected her natural beauty, she said,\"Let\'s make our own.\" So we did. What started with and a prototype became Beautiful Curly Me (BCM), a confidence-building brand for young Black and brown girls. Today, BCM includes dolls, books authored by Zoe, journals, puzzles, a digital confidence course, and a social impact program that has donated dolls to over girls in foster care and shelters. Our products have been carried by Target, Macy\'s, and Amazon, featured in the Oprah\'s Favorite Things promo, and covered by Good Morning America, CNBC, Forbes, People, Time, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, and more. Building BCM with Zoe revealed a bigger gap. Most young entrepreneurs don\'t have access to the strategy, mentorship, and capital they need to grow. That\'s why we co-founded Youth Mean Business, a nonprofit startup accelerator for entrepreneurs ages 11 to 17. Through coaching, community, and grant funding, we\'ve awarded to young founders who have generated close to $1 million in revenue. Zoe gave a TEDx talk at 10 and now speaks nationally, living proof of what\'s possible when young people get real support. Through Zeva Ventures, I also serve as a Fractional CMO and strategic marketing advisor for organizations. Clients have included Verizon, Royal Bank of Canada, African Leadership University, Ferst Readers, Hess. I help founders and businesses with brand strategy, product marketing, eCommerce, and growth. Forbes Next honoree. Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) recipient. Tory Burch Fellow. Bank of America Seneca Women Fellow. Emory University Goizueta MBA. I\'m always open to conversations about youth entrepreneurship, brand strategy, speaking engagements, sponsorship, and partnerships. Let\'s connect.

Experience

1. Chief Growth Officer

   Beautiful Curly Me

   Jan 2019 — Present · Atlanta, GA, US

   Social Impact Toy and Media company conceived by a brilliant 7 year old girl (now 14 years old) on a mission to instill and inspire confidence in young girls through empowering toys, media and experiences. For every doll purchased, one is given to a girl in need.I lead marketing and operations for this award-winning social impact toy and media company that empowers young girls through representation and STEM. We have scaled the brand from concept to national retail distribution in Target, Macy’s, Amazon and specialty stores across the U.S. We also ship directly to customers worldwide via beautifulcurlyme.com I design and lead marketing campaigns across various media channels- email, social media, sms, direct, that deliver 10x revenue growth and reach millions through purpose-driven storytelling. I\'ve pitched and secured press coverage on national and global media platforms including CNN, Forbes, Good Morning America, CNBC, CBS, People, Black Enterprise, The Jennifer Hudson Show, Time, AfroTech, NBC, Wall Street Journal.Manage partnerships and vendor relationships. Oversee social impact initiatives and programming support for girl outreach, supporting girls.

Education

• Emory University - Goizueta Business School

  MBA, Marketing & Strategy

  2010

• University of Florida - Warrington College of Business

  B.S.B.A, Decision and Information Sciences