Rica Elysee is a builder. Based on her personal experiences with family and friends, she saw the need for a community for women that care about a natural hair lifestyle, which is why she created BostonNaturals. Now she’s built a business in BeautyLynk, an on-demand marketplace for people to find beauty professionals for at-home appointments. Through both experiences, she found that staying true to herself and her own personal journey helped her build grassroots communities, whether it was women who want to embrace their own definition of natural beauty, or customers who need someone to help them craft their style. In this episode of Hacks and Flacks, March’s Marina Askari and I talk to Rica about her journey. We talk about why authenticity is so important to how companies – startups and large enterprises – grow, gain customers, gain media coverage and more. We also ask about the local startup resources – like MassChallenge – that helped her build her business. LINKS: Visit BeautyLynk: BeautyLynk Learn more about BostonNaturals: meetup.com/bostonnaturals Learn about the MassChallenge application cycle this February masschallenge.org Follow Hacks and Flacks on Twitter: @hacksflacks Follow Hacks and Flacks on Instagram:@hacksflacks Follow our Facebook Fan Page: Hacks and Flacks Podcast Follow March Communications on Twitter:@MarchComms Visit the M+PR Nonsense blog: MarchComms.com/blog Subscribe to Hacks and Flacks on iTunes, Stitcher orPodbay today. The show’s music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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