How Hair Coach, Titi Bello, Won £60,000 Support

Hair coach and Founder of Ori Lifestyle, Titi Bello, has won the Emma Grede’s support on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den. Titi, who looked for investment for Ori Lifestyle in the sixth episode of the 21st season, broadcast on February 8, 2024, had the remarkable businesswoman Emma Grede put her support behind Ori Life- style, with a £60,000 in- vestment for 25 per cent of the business. In December 2019, Titi Bello started Ori Lifestyle, a hair c a r e brand primarily for Afro-textured hair.

Five years before starting her brand, Titi suffered significant hair loss from poor hair care practices and a lack of knowledge on proper hair care. Around the same time, her daughter asked when she could start wearing the same styles that had contributed to Titi’s hair loss, leading to her commitment to a change. She immersed herself in learning about hair and scalp health, transformed her and her daughter’s hair, and when the request for sup- port from other mums became overwhelming, she started her hair coaching business.

Her back- ground as a hair coach put her in a prime position to understand the pain- points and needs of Afro-textured hair and how to develop products and services to meet these needs. In less than two years, her products were in Selfridges and Harrods. However, she knew she would need access to investment and business support to withstand the economic downturn.

The chance to appear on Dragons Den was too good an opportunity for the possibility of funding but perhaps more importantly, the network and connections which also elude many black-owned founders. On why she participated in the Dragon’s Den, Titi stated that, “there is a worrying disparity among those with access to business funding. Only 0.02 per cent of Venture Capitalist investment in the UK goes to black-owned female businesses. While 37.9 per cent of black business owners saying they are discouraged from applying for a loan”.

Titi considers her appearance on Dragons Den challenging but she hopes it inspires many from similar backgrounds to hers to keep dreaming and showing up.