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66 September 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com 18.21 Man Made, a line of men's groom- ing products infused with the aroma of sweet tobacco and packaged in whiskey flasks. "We were looking for a unique product to distribute, and it turned into us 'bootlegging' our own goods." Managing director Angel del Solar says he believes the company was cho- sen as a Beauty Pitch finalist because 18.21 is debt-free, the men's grooming industry is growing, and the company has great distribution. "Men's grooming is trending, and we double our sales every month," said del Solar. "We went to Premiere Orlando and were the talk of the show," said del Solar. "Distributors all want to distribute our products, but we need someone like Mark who can help to take this global." LaFon agrees and adds that the com- pany has been able to put its products into more than 1,500 salons since it opened in May of 2014 and is also starting educa- tion. "We've proven the concept," said LaFon. "We need to focus on the SKUs we release, and we need someone who can advise us on when to go big." HAIR CONSTRUCTION Headquarters: Miami Hairconstruction.us "We feel like we've already won," said Cory Hoffart, co-founder and CEO of Hair Construction. "We are so honored and humbled to be able to introduce our product to the Beauty Pitch audience." Hoffart, who was raised in a salon alongside his hairdresser mom and later went on to marry an artistic director, always saw education as a primary issue in the salon environment. So the first goal with Hair Construction was to create 400 hairstyle "recipe" videos, which are each four- to six-minutes-long and available in seven languages (with the help of 40 people from 10 countries). "Anyone who has been to beauty school can follow these recipes," said Hoffart. Last year the Hair Construction Stylez app was created, which allows clients to choose a hairstyle from their smartphones and send the style's instructions—or "recipe"—to their stylists. "The Stylez app was born after we realized that almost everyone brings hairstyle photos to their stylist," said Hoffart. "Stylists can have a profile in the system, and the platform also works for beauty schools so that students can graduate with a Hair Construction account already in place." How would Hair Construction use a year of mentorship from Mark Cuban? "Since our entire team is from the indus- try, we know what drives consumers to salons," said Hoffart. "But to scale our business internationally, we need help to be able to nail that strategy digitally and technically." LIGHTSTIM Headquarters: Irvine, California Lightstim.com "Our entire LightStim team is coming to the Beauty Pitch [finals event] to support us," said Joniann Marchese, president of LightStim, an industry leader in LED technology. "It's such a great honor to make it into the Top 5." Steve Marchese, CEO of LightStim, said there are six to eight people involved in getting the company prepared for the Beauty Pitch. "We need a partner who will ultimately help with our strong growth and help us take advantage of new opportuni- ties presented to us," he said. Thanks to strong patents, Joniann says that in 2010 the company was able to deliver the same power and output of professional LED tools to consumers. "Our patented MultiWave Technology used to treat wrin- kles, acne and pain is part of what sets us apart," said Joniann. "We own patents on unique products and manufacture every- thing in our own facility here in the United States, which I'm very proud of." Steve Marchese admits that it will be intimidating to present to a panel com- prised of the top people in the industry, especially Mark Cuban who he says he's followed forever. Overall, he's feeling confident. "We're an industry leader and extremely profitable," he says. "We have a new LED bed debuting in January and several sports teams are already interested. We'd like help with this new product and our professional rep network." Joniann questions, "How do you get across the passion and potential you have for your business in three minutes?" And answers, "We'll do our very best." ZENAGEN HAIR CARE Headquarters: Brentwood, Tennessee Zenagen.com Jared Reynolds, president of Zenagen, was a medical student long before he began Zenagen Hair Care. It was when he noticed his own thinning hair that he decided to put his studies in Nutraceutical Science to work in hair care. After several years of research and a great success overseas, Zenagen's Revolve System targeting hair loss was introduced to the United States. "My business partner Stefan Baskin was at the Eastern Buying Conference and a PBA official told him about Beauty Pitch," said Reynolds. "Stefan made the first pitch video and submitted it without me knowing. We thought it could be a great way to expand the presence of the brand, network with others and help with entrepreneurship." Reynolds said that if Zenagen were to win Beauty Pitch it would mean exposure of the brand on a level not otherwise possible. "We'd love to work with Mark Cuban, not so much for financial reasons, but so we could have access to his advice and be able to bounce ideas off of him." The exposure of Beauty Pitch is clearly working its magic already. Reynolds reveals that local media and investment groups interested in the company have approached Zenagen. "We brought on a PR team, and we're really expanding," said Reynolds. "It's all about having tenacity and being ready for anything." ■ Liz Barrett is an Oxford, MS-based writer and author of Pizza: A Slice of American History. Top image courtesy of Hair Construction/right image courtesy of Zenagen Hair Care/bottom image courtesy of LightStim Continued from page 10