Pursuing the Vision

This week, Dafina Smith, Founder and CEO of Covet & Mane—which she thoughtfully refers to as “the Chanel of hair extensions''—shares how she is delivering quality, hand-tied hair featuring proprietary cut-point wefts along with the magic of in person experiences.   Dafina candidly talks about the importance of advocating for your brand, how growing up in her parent’s beauty supply store gave her hands-on training, and how her career in business development and real estate gave her a 360 perspective on the business of sales, margins, trends and storytelling.  Dafina shares that the hardest part of being an entrepreneur is risk and social isolation, and how she has overcome both to actualize the vision she set out to create over 15 years ago.  With stylists at the forefront of her business, Dalfina talks about her love for putting on a show, her mission to help people dream bigger and her plans to expand globally.  Bio: Dafina Smith is changing the hair industry through innovative products with a thoughtful touch. Her passion is personal. With her parent’s influence and history behind her, she has turned what once was a demoralizing trip to a beauty supply store into an empowering experience. Smith graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in social justice, served in AmeriCorps and lived in DC’s Housing projects where she worked to improve literacy for at-risk children. After college she leveraged her love of beauty, business and people to pursue a successful career in sales and branding. In 2007, Smith opened Atlanta’s flagship location of Sunny’s Hair & Wigs which quickly became a fixture of the beauty community. Known for providing the industry’s highest quality extensions, wigs and hair products, Smith’s signature concierge-level service really set Sunny’s apart. It became a trusted name with celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Nikki Minaj and was featured on shows such as The Real Housewives of Atlanta. In 2019, Smith disrupted the market by launching Covet & Mane, the world’s first line of customizable hand-tied hair extensions which offer stylists unparalleled color with unique patent-pending cut-point wefts for a seamless, luxurious and natural look without the complications of traditional application methods. Smith innovates both color and texture while staying true to her roots by focusing on comprehensive, hands-on, peer led education through the brand’s carefully cultivated “Covet Collective.” This exclusive group of professional stylists allows Smith to focus on the brand’s signature method while empowering stylists to invest in their own success.  Follow @covetandmane or visit https://covetandmane.com/. “The vision was there. The actualizing the vision was such a windy road.” Tune in to hear more from Dafina Smith and Kendra! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.