The 9-year-old Sandy Springs Entrepreneur Receives Meta Grant

The 9-year-old Sandy Springs Entrepreneur Receives Meta Grant

“Get started. Done is better than perfect.”

This business advice was provided by 9-year-old Zoe Oli in an interview with Sherrill Sandberg, Meta's chief operating officer on Monday. “Many people think now is the perfect time to start. But if you wait, it will wait forever,” said Zoe  Sandberg. 
 

Sandy Springs' young entrepreneur certainly didn't stop her dreaming. Zoe is the CEO of a growing business called Beautiful Curly Me that makes black dolls with curly and pigtails. 
 

Meta (formerly Facebook) recently awarded Beautiful Curly Me a $4,000 grant as part of a $100 million investment in a small Blackown business. Georgia is the most subsidized state, with more than $5.6 million. 
 

Monday Sandberg interviewed Zoe and her mother Evan Oli on Instagram Live, asking about the company's origins  and  future plans. Zoya bandaged her curly hair  back and said, "She started when she was 6 and she didn't like her hair." She said, "I wanted to have straight hair  like my classmates." Zoe says her mother tried to comfort her and bought her black doll at her store. 
 

"I liked her, but she didn't have the same haircut as me," she said. Instead, the doll had straight, soft hair. "I haven't been feeling well yet." Then Zoe she said she wanted to do something about it. She wanted to start her own business. "Surprised." Iwanna said. "She was six years old."

Beautiful Curly Me store today sells 18" Leyla and Anika dolls with different skin tones, either curly or pigtails. The company also offers hair care products and books  by Zoe that aim to empower young girls. Since then, Beautiful Curly Me has  been featured in national media, from Good Morning America to People Magazine. 
 

Sandberg praised the doll. 

 “Not only is she beautiful with  curly hair, she is anatomically correct. This is a real woman." "You help girls feel good about their hair,  skin and body. This is incredibly important." 
 

Lee Wan I have big plans for the future, saying that her daughter is the 'driving force' of the company. 
 

"About 66% of the world's population has curly hair," said Ewana. “We  want to enter the global market with this brand. Zoe has big dreams and aspirations." 
 

This includes starting a podcast and writing a new book, Zoe said. She also wants to expand the company's philanthropic efforts. A doll for each doll she bought from Beautiful Curly. One is donated to a girl in need. According to their website, they have donated 667 dolls so far, Zoya said.