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Richualist
Techstars '23Washington, US · Founded 2018 · 34 employees on LinkedIn · 4 known investors
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THE MOST is a marketplace and hardware platform for natural hair care products and solutions tailored to Afro-textured hair, serving Black women seeking simplified grooming solutions and culturally-informed products.
Also known as Richualist · THE MOST · The Most Curls
Founders & leadership
Richualist was founded in 2018 by Dawn Myers.
Investors · 4
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
How we know: funding news · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Richualist (also operating as THE MOST at themostcurls.com) develops hair-care hardware and products for Afro-textured, curly and coily hair. Its flagship product, The Mint, is described as a patented thermal infuser and all-in-one styling system that detangles, warms and dispenses curl creams and gels, and styles in a single stroke. Features include controlled product dispensing with each brush stroke, warming and loading controls intended to prime and load product, TSA-compliant refillable product pods for travel, and interchangeable bristle attachments for different hair types. The company positions the tool for highly textured type 3 and type 4 hair, and claims on its site that it reduces detangling time to about 20 minutes versus 80 minutes for manual styling, 60 minutes with a wide-tooth comb and 50 minutes with a detangling brush, and decreases shedding by up to 70%. Additional stated benefits include reduced shrinkage through curl stretching and improved product penetration for low-porosity hair.
Under THE MOST brand, the company also sells a detangling starter set and serums, including a sonic detangling brush and a hyaluronic moisture booster, positioning itself as a marketplace and hub for natural hair tools and products. The company publishes a blog, The Shea Butter Chronicles, covering natural hair care topics.
Richualist appeared on Shark Tank USA Season 15, and was included in TechCrunch's 2026 Startup Battlefield 200 in the Consumer category, giving it an exhibition slot at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco (October 13-15, 2026)."]
Founding story
Founder Dawn Myers traces the company to her own experience cutting off chemically relaxed hair as a law student and embracing her natural texture. Observing that styling highly textured hair is time-consuming, with many consumers spending upwards of three hours styling each wash, she set out to engineer hardware that makes styling faster and more convenient for women of color. She has described engineering and manufacturing tech-enabled hardware as capital-intensive with a steep learning curve, which led her to develop fundraising approaches she later shared with other founders.
Business model
Direct-to-consumer sale of hair styling hardware, replacement pods and accessories through the company's own online storefronts. Listed items include The Mint Essentials Set (handset and pod) at $250, The Mint Refillable Pods two-pack at $40, and The Ulti-Mint Set (handset plus 15 premium accessories) listed at $398 and discounted to $350, alongside a Detangling Starter Set at $55 under THE MOST brand.
Product sales of hardware handsets, accessory sets and consumable refill pods, with recurring revenue potential from pod replacements.
Traction
Selected for TechCrunch's 2026 Startup Battlefield 200 (Consumer category) for Disrupt 2026. Secured an on-air investment on Shark Tank USA Season 15 from Mark Cuban and Emma Grede. Product pages show customer reviews and testimonials from testers; THE MOST's Detangling Starter Set shows four reviews.
Latest developments
Named to the 2026 Startup Battlefield 200 announced in August 2026, with an exhibition slot at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco on October 13-15, 2026. THE MOST announced a partnership with materials science company Dow to develop products, formulas and technology for textured hair consumers.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions The Mint against manual styling, wide-tooth combs and conventional detangling brushes on styling time, product conditioning, portability and suitability for type 4 textures. The company describes itself as Black woman-owned and led and tech-focused within the textured hair care category.
Combines detangling, product warming, controlled product application and styling in one handheld device, with interchangeable bristles for different hair types and travel-compliant refillable pods, rather than requiring separate tools and manual product application.
Technology
The Mint is described as a newly patented thermal infuser and styler combining integrated heating, controlled product dispensing through the brush head, refillable TSA-compliant product pods, and interchangeable bristle attachments (six attachments in the Ulti-Mint configuration). THE MOST brand also offers a sonic detangling brush and serum formulations.
Go-to-market
Sells online via its own e-commerce sites with consumer payment options including Apple Pay, PayPal, Shop Pay and major cards. Visibility is driven by televised exposure on Shark Tank, founder participation in industry panels and events, a company blog and newsletter, and customer testimonials from community members and product testers.
Consumers with highly textured hair, particularly type 3 and type 4 curl patterns including 4C and low-porosity hair; marketed primarily to Black women managing wash-day routines.
Geography
United States-focused online retail; the founder has participated in events in Washington, DC.
History
The company markets under two brands, THE MOST (themostcurls.com), positioned as a marketplace and hub for natural hair tools and serums, and Richualist (richualist.com), which sells The Mint styling system. It pitched on Shark Tank USA Season 15 and announced a product development partnership with Dow. In 2026 it was selected for TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200.
Risks & controversies
Performance claims such as halving wash-day time and reducing shedding by up to 70% are company-stated and not independently verified in available material. The founder has noted that hardware engineering and manufacturing in this category require substantial capital and present heightened barriers to entry.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsRichualist was included in the Consumer category of TechCrunch's 2026 Startup Battlefield 200, earning an exhibition slot at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco, October 13-15, 2026.
Richualist markets The Mint, a patented all-in-one thermal infuser that detangles, warms and dispenses curl creams and gels, and styles, sold as The Mint Essentials Set and The Ulti-Mint Set with refillable pods.
Richualist pitched on Shark Tank USA Season 15 asking $150,000 for 10% equity and closed a deal for $150,000 for 15% equity plus 5% in advisory sales with Mark Cuban and Emma Grede.
$150K source ↗
THE MOST announced a partnership with materials science company Dow to develop new products, formulas and technology for textured hair consumers.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- Richualistthemostcurls.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Richualist do?
- Richualist makes The Mint, a patented thermal infuser and all-in-one styling tool for type 3 and 4 textured hair.
- Who founded Richualist?
- Richualist was founded by Dawn Myers in 2018.
- Who are Richualist's investors?
- Richualist's investors include Techstars, Mark Cuban, NextFab Ventures.
- Where is Richualist headquartered?
- Richualist is headquartered in Washington, US.