Launched in November 2020, Tafari Roberts’s business, RoveSoapsheets, was one of the more than four million new businesses started during the pandemic. Tafari’s product, paper that dissolves and disappears completely into hand soap with water, addressed a critical need by helping to curb the transmission of illnesses, including the COVID-19 virus. The business has been a success—you’ll find Tafari’s soapsheets on Meijer store shelves, Walmart.com and at other local retailers. However, recently Tafari has found herself at a crossroads. After fielding inquiries from leading players in the hotel and airline industries among others, she knew she needed to scale-up her business, and fast.
“My business is at a tipping point,” said Tafari. “Up until now I’ve been able to use grants to fulfill demand, but to grow my business, I need to explore outside funding options.”
What sounds like a simple problem to solve ended up being anything but. Tafari couldn’t get a straight answer from traditional sources and local organizations about how to raise money without unintentionally diluting her equity. Frustrated, she turned to Google to find organizations that could help small businesses. That’s how she stumbled upon Operation HOPE.
“I knew I had found the right place when I read John Hope Bryant’s thoughts on being mission-driven, and using your gifts to build wealth for the next generation,” said Tafari. “That resonated with me because I’ve intentionally built my business around benefiting underserved communities in my home city of Detroit. It’s also a way to give my teenage son a lasting legacy and to honor my Jamaican parents, who sacrificed a lot when they left Jamaica to come to the U.S.”
Tafari discussed her funding impasse with local Operation HOPE financial wellbeing coach Brooke Ratliff. Armed with Brooke’s knowledge and the organization’s resources, Tafari is now having conversations with angel investors, CDFIs, and even the casting producers at Shark Tank to find optimal ways to grow her business. At Brooke’s urging, she’s also in the process of enhancing loan applications and investor presentations with advanced analytics like financial modeling and projections to better tell her growth story.
Scaling-up will give Tafari the opportunity to meet the social entrepreneurship goals she has for her business, including hiring more local employees. Tafari’s ultimate goal is to “get it in the hands of people who have hands,” distributing soapsheets around the globe, including to underdeveloped countries to aid sanitation practices and help communities there reduce illness transmission.
Tafari gives Brooke all the credit in helping her learn about different funding options to grow her business. “She was the pivotal point at this stage of my entrepreneurial journey; the linchpin. I’d go so far as to say that she’s the G.O.A.T,” Tafari added with a laugh.
***
Connect with Rove Soapsheets via Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, website or by email. You can also connect with Tafari via LinkedIn here.
For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.