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Ciara Imani May s scalp felt like it was on fire. It wasn t the 2019 summer heat in North Carolina: She had just started wearing hair extensions regularly.
Many Black women and men wear their hair in protective styles such as braids and twists that use hair extensions, which are often made from plastic. Besides putting pressure on the hair follicle, which can lead to conditions like alopecia, braiding hair containing plastic is widely known to cause skin irritation. The chemical coatings and the plastic itself are thought to be the cause, with suggested remedies ranging from boiling the extensions to soaking them in apple cider vinegar, which supposedly makes them less irritating.
In February, communication consultant Karen Laos signed a new client from her bathtub.
Laos had eaten espresso-laced tiramisu too close to bedtime and so was relaxing in a bath at two in the morning during a mini retreat in Napa, California. She decided to pop into the audio and invite-only chat app Clubhouse. After about 15 minutes in a room, someone in the audience messaged her on Instagram. Ten minutes of back-and-forth later, Laos had landed a new client. That was the fastest turnover I ever had, she says.
Increasingly, Clubhouse is where entrepreneurs go to talk to one another and grow their businesses. Besides connecting with clients from the bathtub (or wherever you happen to be), you can network with other business owners, get up to speed on marketing strategies and other skills, connect with investors, bond with your team, and
Image: Getty. Illustration: Chloe Krammel
Clubhouse is where founders go to chat.
Upon its launch last March, the social app quickly became popular among investors, who hold regular, live audio-only discussions, called rooms, in some cases within various topics of interest to groups called clubs.
Business owners soon followed, building a roster of virtual educational events and places to hone their storytelling skills, commiserate about entrepreneurial life, and share experiences with the likes of high-profile users like Daymond John and Jason Fried.
If you can get an invitation Kristin Marquet Chester, owner of New York City-based Marquet Media, recommends starting by asking your closest friends and then making requests on social media if needed here are three types of rooms and clubs worth checking out for entrepreneurs. To find these events in the app, search for the relevant speakers or the name of the club.