She Ran a $14M Beauty Department, Then Watched It Shut Black Founders Out

Montré Moore spent years managing a $14 million prestige cosmetics department at Neiman Marcus watching brand founders get shut out by red tape, gatekeeping, and unspoken rules about who gets shelf space. Then a night out in downtown LA, searching for a single hair product she couldn't find within 45 minutes of a major metro area, became the moment that changed everything. That search became AMP Beauty, a platform working to democratize retail access for underrepresented beauty founders. What started as a marketplace and evolved into something more fundamental: a data and technology company that tells brands exactly what "retail-ready" means, and gets them there. In this conversation, Montré breaks down what it actually costs to launch a beauty brand, why chemical safety is a structural issue and not a marketing choice, the pivot that 6X'd AMP's revenue, and why she chose Kansas City, not LA, as the next chapter of AMP's growth. This is a story about access, infrastructure, and what it takes to change who gets to be seen on the shelf.