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Before Melissa Butler was into makeup, her first passion was soap. Melissa always knew that she wanted to creat products for black women, due to the lack of inclusion in the beauty and self care product industry.

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Melissa Butler took matters into her own hands, initially launching her venture during her spare moments away from her job in New York City. She began by meticulously crafting her own lipsticks, working tirelessly with over 1200 molds entirely on her own. However, recognizing the enormity of her task, Melissa enlisted the help of friends and trusted coworkers, transforming her kitchen into a bustling lipstick laboratory.

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Melissa initially teamed up with her friends to lay the foundation for her company. Following her inaugural launch, Teen Vogue recognized her business and became an investor, amplifying her brand's visibility. Subsequently, Melissa's outreach efforts to sell products to Target garnered significant attention, further propelling her business into the spotlight, along with shark tank. Although she didn’t get a deal, this still boosted business by giving recognition.

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The lip bar had an older logo for using on alcoholic drinks, not only with the look but Melissa’s original idea was to make shade names and sent based on certain types of alcoholic drink. Soon after Shark Tank they scrapped the idea. The new concept was bird cage packaging. The new packaging look much better with the more modern feel.

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The Lip Bar's CEO, Melissa Butler, appeared on "Shark Tank" in February 2015 with her partner Rosco Spears and asked the Sharks for $125,000 in exchange for a 20% equity stake in their burgeoning cosmetics company, Melissa said “ they were so cruel to us”, although that was a negative outcome, a more positive one is that after the show aired, so many people were buying that the lip bar website crashed

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The Lip Bar strategically leverages retail partnerships, such as with Target, to amplify their product's visibility. With unwavering drive, on February 18th, The Lip Bar marked its highly-anticipated debut across Target's nationwide stores

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Melissa Butler utilized entrepreneurship to identify an opportunity in the cosmetics industry, focusing on inclusivity and quality. She demonstrated innovation in product development, bootstrapped her business with limited resources, and formed strategic partnerships with media outlets like Teen Vogue to increase visibility. Melissa's persistence and resilience in pursuing opportunities, such as contacting Target to sell her products, were key factors in the success and growth of her business, The Lip Bar. Overall, her entrepreneurial mindset and actions were instrumental in building a thriving cosmetics brand.