BLACQness Spotlight: Jo Wong
Founder | Community Builder | Champion for Black Female Founders
Jo Wong is the founder of Let’s GROW BFF (Black Female Founders) — a platform created to ensure Black women founders, entrepreneurs and visionaries have access to the support, tools and opportunities needed to scale their businesses with confidence.
Built around community, collaboration and commercial growth, Let’s GROW BFF exists to bridge gaps that too often leave founders navigating entrepreneurship alone. Through resources, development support and meaningful connections, Jo is helping create pathways for sustainable success.
Her work is rooted in empowerment — making sure Black women in business are not only seen, but equipped to thrive.
Why She Matters
Jo is building ecosystems, not just networks. She’s creating spaces where Black female founders can access knowledge, opportunity and genuine support while growing businesses that create lasting impact.
Jo reminds us that when Black women are supported properly, entire communities grow with them.
#BLACQSpace #BLACQnessSpotlight #BlackFemaleFounders #WomenInBusiness #blackexcellence
100 children walked in with their heads down. They left with ear-to-ear smiles.
That’s the part of the weekend I keep coming back to. 💛
Two days at @sta__studios . 27 stylists and barbers. 20 volunteers. Free hair appointments, education, and product boxes for Black and mixed heritage children in foster care. Many of them sat in a salon chair properly for the first time. ✨
The reality is, this isn’t about hair. Hair is the entry point. What we’re really doing is closing a gap the system has never been required to close.
Headline thanks to @designessentialsuk for the sponsorship and product. To every stylist, barber, and volunteer who gave up a bank holiday weekend. To STa Studios for the space. To every brand that donated.
Want to be part of the next one? Link to register your interest is on the @curlscoilsandcic page. 💛
@letsgrowbff@manehookup
#CurlsCoilsAndCare #CurlsCoilsAndCIC #TexturedHair #FosterCare #childrenincare
100 children. 27 stylists and barbers. 20 volunteers. 2 days that changed everything.
@curlscoilsandcare isn’t just about hair. It’s about children in foster care feeling seen, valued, and celebrated - many for the first time.
Black and mixed-race children in care are more likely to experience neglect around their hair. Not because carers don’t care, but because the system hasn’t made it mandatory to equip them with the knowledge or tools they need.
So we created an event where every child gets:
✨ A full salon experience — wash, style, cut
✨ Workshops for them and their carers
✨ A box of products to take home
Because something as simple as having your hair done properly can be life-changing when you’ve never experienced it before.
This is what happens when a community shows up. Thank you to every stylist, volunteer, brand partner, and donor who made this possible.
More events are coming. More children will be reached. This is just the beginning.
💜 Want to support the next one? Link in bio.
Huge thank you to @crisp.visions for capturing all of the content!
#CurlsCoilsAndCare #TexturedHair #FosterCare #HairIsIdentity #CommunityInAction ChildrenInCare NaturalHair Representation CurlsCoilsAndCIC
They’re going to have an opinion either way.
When you don’t post, they have one. When you don’t pitch, they have one. When you play small to stay comfortable, they still have one.
So you may as well send the deck.
Film the video. Register the business. Take up the space you’ve been circling for the last six months because the thing planted in you isn’t going anywhere, and neither is their opinion. 🖤
The embarrassment you’re protecting yourself from? It’s not real. The vision is.
#TakeUpSpace #FounderMindset #BlackFounders #WomenInBusiness #FounderLife FractionalLeader
Shooting my shot. Publicly.
@danessamyricksbeauty is doing something genuinely different in beauty right now and I have been watching for a while. The innovation, the formulas, the range. The founder’s artistry is on another level. (@danessa_myricks )
I want in.
Not in a fan way. In a “I have 17 years of beauty industry experience, I know exactly where the commercial opportunity is, and I would love to be part of building this” way.
This is what I do. Fractional commercial strategy for brands that have incredible product and want to grow without giving away the house to do it.
The reality is, the gap between great product and great commercial infrastructure is where so many Black female-founded brands stall. It does not have to be that way.
Consider this my open letter. You know what I mean?
#BlackFemaleFounders #DanessaMyricksBeauty #FractionalWork #BeautyBusiness #letsgrowbff
We were on ITV News yesterday 📺💜
Day 1 of @curlscoilsandcare is done. Children styled. Boxes packed. Workshops delivered.
ITV News came while children were getting their hair done. They spoke to two of the children, our team, and captured what they could in the salon.
@hairbysarahsango , @hairforce1 (barber), Egbe from @designessentialsuk (our headline sponsor), @whoisjowong and @jadebuffong spoke to the reporter.
But two minutes of footage can’t capture what yesterday was.
The little girl who saw herself in the mirror and smiled for the first time in months. The foster parent in Sarah’s workshop taking notes because they finally have a guide. The teenage boy who walked in quiet and walked out standing taller.
Day 1: Done. children seen, valued, celebrated.
Today: Day 2. more children. Same energy. Same love. Same mission.
Thank you to ITV News for platforming this work 💜
#CurlsCoilsAndCare #ITVNews #FosterCare #TexturedHair #Community
2 days until children in foster care experience Curls, Coils & Care 💜
They’ll walk into Sta Studios and receive:
- Professional styling from specialist stylists & barbers
- 3 to 4 months worth of hair care products to take home
- Expert workshops on textured hair care
- A day where they feel seen, valued, and celebrated
A special thank you to @designessentialsuk who is our leading sponsor.
Thank you to all the other brands making this possible:
@tangleteezer | @floracurl | @asiameurope | @amika | @palmersuk | @cantubeautyuk | @revlon_uk | @lush | @loveeasydry | @reviveactive_uk | @ominiranaturals | @sta__studios | @crisp.visions | @twerknjerk_uk | @replenish_culture
This is what happens when brands show up for community 💜
April 5-6. Let’s go.
#CurlsCoilsAndCare #FosterCare #TexturedHair #Community
More than just hair appointments 💜
On April 5-6, we’re not only giving 100 children in foster care professional styling and products - we’re also running expert-led workshops to make sure the support continues long after the event.
Our workshops:
🌟 How to Properly Wash Textured Hair
Led by @hairbysarahsango - celebrity hairstylist, founder of Peach Hair & Beauty, and the mastermind behind LUSH’s Afro hair line
For foster parents, social workers & young people
12pm & 4pm both days | 45 minutes
🌟 Caring for Textured Hair
Led by Lorna Jones - founder of @caringforhairuk
For foster parents, carers & social workers
Monday 1pm | 45 minutes
🌟 Cornrowing Masterclass for Beginners
Led by @queen_abigaill
For young people, foster parents, carers & social workers
Sunday | 45 mins
🌟 Bath Bomb Making
Led by the LUSH team
For children (ages 6+)
Drop-in sessions 1pm-4pm, Monday
Because proper hair care isn’t just about one appointment - it’s about giving foster parents the knowledge and confidence to care for their children’s hair every single day.
That’s what changes lives.
12 days to go. £2,700 left to raise. Help us make it happen.
Link in bio 💜
We are £4,900 away from our goal, with 2 weeks to go. 🙏🏾
On 5 and 6 April, 100 children in foster care will receive professional styling, months of worth of products, and their foster parents will get hands-on hair care training. The venue is booked, stylists are confirmed, products are arriving.
We just need to close this final gap.
The remaining funds cover:
✨ DBS checks for our 27+ volunteer stylists
✨ Session fees
✨ Products, food, and logistics
Some of you gave £5. Some gave £500. Some shared our posts or tagged someone in your network. All of it matters.
If you have been meaning to donate, this is the moment. £10, £50, £100, every amount gets us closer. Link in bio or drop “donate” in the comments. 💛
#CurlsCoilsCare #FosterCare #TexturedHair #CommunityMatters #crowdfunding
Five myths holding new founders back 👇
“I need a perfect business plan.” No. You need a working model and the willingness to iterate.
“I can’t charge premium prices yet.” Your pricing reflects your value, not your business age.
“I need to be on every platform.” Master ONE where your ideal clients actually are. Then expand.
“Successful founders have it all figured out.” They don’t. They just keep moving forward anyway.
“I can’t afford support right now.” Our Growth Partner Program starts at £95/month because we built it for founders at every stage 💡
Pre-revenue, first offer, or scaling past six figures, we meet you where you are.
Take the business development audit quiz (link in bio) and let’s map out your next move 🤝
Save this for when doubt creeps in 📌
#BlackFemaleFounders #LetsgrowBFF #WomenInBusiness #FounderLife #BusinessDevelopment StartupMyths BlackWomenInBusiness
Three mistakes I made building @letsgrowbff 🖤
1️⃣ I assumed I knew what my clients needed.
Built programs without testing the market. Too many offerings, overwhelmed audience. Should have started lean, stayed agile, and actually listened 👂
2️⃣ I waited too long to go to market.
Chasing perfection on something I was going to redo anyway. Get it out fast, test it fast, fail fast, learn, move 🚀
3️⃣ I tried to be good at everything.
Hours of tutorials when I should have just paid someone. Time is money. Get support, make money, reinvest. That’s the cycle 💸
If you’re building something right now, let my mistakes save you some time ✨
#FounderLessons #BusinessDevelopment #LetsGrowBFF
We’re one week into the 28-Day Business Challenge and the momentum is real. 🚀
Every morning at 9am GMT, you get one focused task....15 to 20 minutes max.... designed to sharpen your commercial thinking and move your business forward!
Week 1 covered strategy and attraction. Week 2 starts Sunday with systems and sanctity.
Late joiners are welcome. Catch up at your own pace, and all 28 days of content stay accessible in the Circle community.
£25 gets you the full challenge plus ongoing Circle access.
Bring a friend who’s ready to build smarter. 💪
#28DayChallenge #BusinessGrowth #FounderLife #SmallBusinessUK
