Before I was writing checks, I was braiding hair.
When I moved to the US as a student, braiding was how I paid my way through school. Hours in a chair, hands cramping, a full day gone for one client. I know this industry from the inside.
So when I saw that Yinka Ogunbiyi just raised $7M to commercialize HaloBraid, the world's first patented braid assist robot, I had to stop scrolling.
A few things stood out to me.
This is not a "replace the stylist" story. HaloBraid is built as a cobot. The human still parts the scalp, sections the hair and sets the foundation. The robot takes over the repetitive mid shaft weaving that eats up roughly 80% of a knotless braid appointment. Then the stylist finishes and styles the ends.
The demand is already proven. Over 7,000 salons are on the waitlist before this has even scaled.
And @sevensevensix, @alexisohanian firm, led the round, with @alley_corp and @blingcapital backing it too. Seeing investors I deeply respect put capital behind this tells me something: smart money is catching up to what millions of Black women and their braiders have known for decades. This industry is massive, physically brutal on the people who run it, and it has been overlooked for far too long.
Braiders develop carpal tunnel, arthritis and spinal strain from doing this for years. Almost nobody talks about that. A tool that cuts appointment time in half is not just a convenience play, it could add years to someone's career.
We keep hunting for disruption in the flashiest categories. Meanwhile, some of the most meaningful tech is quietly showing up in the "boring" service businesses that touch millions of people every single day.
What other "unsexy" industries do you think are next?
This video is important to watch. I’m glad Dr. Aproko shared it as it explains what I saw last year while camping in Niger State. A girl in my room got henna on her hands, and within hours they swelled badly, inflamed, just like in the video. It was alarming. She rushed to a camp clinic for medication to manage the reaction. Other girls used the same henna with no issues. Now I understand why
The research behind this is wild. Your kitchen sponge has the same density of bacteria as human stool. German scientists found 54 billion bacterial cells per cubic centimeter inside used sponges in 2017. Yours is sitting right next to your sink.
Sponges are the perfect home for bacteria. They are wet, warm, full of food bits, and never fully dry between washes. Across all 14 sponges, the team found 362 different types of bacteria. The most common species include strains that can make people sick.
In 2011, the public health group NSF International swabbed 30 things in 22 American homes. The dirtiest object in the entire house was the kitchen sponge. It was dirtier than the toilet seat. 75% of the sponges tested positive for the kind of bacteria that includes Salmonella and E. coli.
Microwaving does not clean the sponge. The 2017 study found microwaved sponges had higher amounts of the smelliest, most harmful bacteria. Heat kills the weak strains. The strong ones survive and refill the sponge with no competition for space.
A 2021 Norwegian study compared kitchen sponges to dish brushes. In brushes, Salmonella was wiped out within three days because the bristles dry out between uses. In sponges, bacteria climbed to about a billion cells per sponge. The lead researcher told CNN that one kitchen sponge can hold more bacteria than there are people on Earth.
Three things actually work. Switch to a dish brush, because brushes dry fully between uses while sponges stay wet for hours. Replace your sponge every one to two weeks. Never leave it sitting wet in the sink. Norway and Denmark already do this by default, but most other countries don't.
The detergent is fine. Your sponge is the problem.
As I have always said, If you have a problem with menstrual blood, then just date a man. Women menstruate it is not news. And sometimes, mistakes will happen.
If you think this little blood messes up your car, then wait till she has to push a baby out in the car while you are stuck in jam rushing to the hospital, you will see real blood.
And if she had a heavy meal before labor begins, Number 2 will actually come out before the baby. So this is nothing lads.
As long as you are straight and love women, then terms and conditions apply.😉 abakyala bazira.
No hollywood studio wanted to produce the passion of the Christ. Too risky. Too controversial.
So Mel Gibson funded it himself, forming his own production company. He knew this would cost him everything.
When casting Jesus, Mel warned Jim Caviezel: "If you do this, you will be rejected by hollywood."
Jim took a day to pray. Then he called back: "We have to make it. I am 33. My initials are J.C."
Mel paused. "You are scaring me." And hung up.
What followed was the most brutal role in hollywood history.
Caviezel lost 45 pounds, was struck by lightning twice, and whipped by accident leaving a 14-inch scar. He dislocated his shoulder and developed pneumonia and hypothermia from hanging on the cross for hours. Filming the crucifixion alone took 5 weeks. He later underwent two open-heart surgeries due to stress.
Jim's goal was clear:
“I didn't want people to see me. I wanted them to see Jesus. Conversions will happen through that."
And they did. All over the world.
The film grossed $611 million worldwide and became the most successful R-Rated film in history.
But more than that, it brought christ's suffering to life and pierced hearts across the globe.
Pedro Sarubbi, who played Barabbas, said of Caviezel: "His eyes had no hatred. Only mercy and love." He converted to Christianity.
Luca Lionello, who played Judas, was a former Atheist. After filming, he became a christian and baptized his children.
A muslim technician on set watched the filming... and gave his life to Christ.
The passion of the Christ didn't just make headlines, it changed lives.
It sparked conversations in hollywood, conversions in living rooms, and tears in theaters around the world.
A film about his death led many to find true life.