Profiles in Black Entrepreneurship: Leilani Baugh, founder of Roux and Vine

To celebrate Black History Month, we want to highlight and celebrate a few of our amazing entrepreneurial contributors to Self-Made Boss and share more of their insightful advice and journeys. Leilani Baugh owns Roux and Vine, a restaurant in Oakland, CA. She grew up with a love of food, learning Southern cooking from her Black grandmother and Chinese cooking from her Chinese grandmother. Below, Leilani shares some of her thoughts about how her background has influenced her entrepreneurial path:

“Being a black female entrepreneur has definitely been a journey full of twists and turns, many joys and an excruciating amount of tears. There have been so many days that I wanted to give up because of the many obstacles that Black business owners face. The disproportionate available capital, the lack of mentorship and business education have become mountains for so many of us to climb.

Being raised the way I was, by two strong women, I was determined not to give up. Being a black woman made me want to push harder to make sure my business was successful so that other Black women could see that success is in fact possible. It is my personal and professional mission to be able to show a way for others. I want to be someone pulling up someone else with me even while I'm still on my own journey.”