Darrell Spencer Helped Big Tech Make Millions, Now He Leads A Science-Backed Skincare And Grooming Company – AfroTech
Darrell Spencer is shattering various glass ceilings.
The Chicago native credits his hustling nature to his parents. His mother works as a postmaster for the United States Postal Service. His father worked for the Chicago Police Department and rose through the ranks to become a commander before retiring. His father also has a real estate portfolio, which was an additional stream of revenue for the family and was an early sign for Spencer that there are other financial paths to follow outside the confines of corporate America.
Working In Big Tech
“I helped them generate millions of dollars in revenue through a strategy across each different platform at each company that I was at,” he shared. “Did really well there. However, I just didn’t feel fulfilled. I woke up every day feeling just like it was routine. And it got to a point where I was very dissatisfied with the trajectory of my life. I felt as if there was more in life that I had to do. And growing up, I’ve always known that I wanted to do something in business … I just never knew what I wanted to do, but I’ve always known I wanted to create.”
Leap Into Entrepreneurship
In 2021, Spencer’s first swing as a founder was with Kings Crowning, which offered a satin-lined cap that was a functional, stylish, alternative bonnet for men. The business launched from a storage unit and grew into a multimillion-dollar company, leading him to become a first-generation CEO and millionaire by the time he was 27 years old, per Business Insider.
Crowned Skin
Fast forward to March 2024, and Spencer is on to his next brainchild, Crowned Skin, a science-backed skincare and grooming brand for men. The inspiration for the company came from a place of frustration while walking down retail aisles, seeing little representation and few innovative products for men in these categories, he told AFROTECH™.
Spencer made an upfront investment of between $10,000 and $15,000 into Crowned Skin with the income generated from King’s Crowning, coupled with real estate investments. These funds were recouped within a few months, he recalled. The investment gave him the financial freedom to create products, establish warehousing, and fund advertising.
“I just wanted to create products that made men feel seen and confident,” Spencer explained. “I think men across the board, there’s this stigma when it comes down to men’s beauty, men’s grooming. It’s this hush topic that men don’t feel comfortable talking about.”
Crowned Skin offers body butter, cologne, and body oil in a range of scents, including its newest scent, Empire.
Spencer has been intentional with growing the company to be profitable and self-sustaining. Strategic decisions, such as pivoting early in Crowned Skin’s marketing messaging, have helped him guide the company towards those goals. Working at various big tech companies as an ads manager allowed him to understand the power of attention and how to retain it.
This knowledge influenced how the brand positioned its products. Spencer showed the functionality of the products, which include ultra-moisturizing and healing properties; aligned with what would resonate with men, such as the allure of certain scents; and demonstrated the products’ efficiency, as they could cut morning routines in half by functioning as a two-in-one product.
“We ended up running with those street marketing pieces. And then we learned that through creative messaging, through compelling five- to ten-second ad content around that messaging, that’s what really compelled. That’s what really propelled the business forward very, very fast,” he acknowledged.
“So then at that point, we were getting our revenue shot up. The business was funding itself. We were very profitable. We were mindful of our return on ad spend, and we were able to scale up as more funds came in. And the next thing we knew, at that point, we really didn’t need any outside investments,” he added. “We didn’t need any other injections of capital … We chose to scale intentionally and scale when revenue came in.”
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Revenue
Crowned Skin earned $4 million in revenue within its first year and is now a multi-million-dollar company, Spencer confirmed to AFROTECH™. This feat is aided by strong teams across financial, fulfillment, product development, and manufacturing. Additionally, e-commerce has remained a major component of Crowned Skin’s success through Amazon and TikTok Shop, which have particularly helped boost revenue for the venture.
“If you want to be a highly competitive and successful brand and company in today’s age, you need to diversify, be on every e-commerce channel across the board, and be your best at all of them. TikTok Shop has been huge. TikTok shop is becoming one of our biggest revenue channels. And the way that you can work with affiliates and really seed samples and fuel your company through affiliates, but also the age of live selling on TikTok, we’re coming into a whole new age of e-commerce marketing,” Spencer explained.
TikTok Shop has become a six-figure-a-month channel for the company. Crowned Skin also makes history as the first Black male-founded skincare company to reach the #2 spot on TikTok Shop, according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
“I get to really be a forward-thinking leader in this space as a Black man in an underrepresented category where there’s not many other Black males doing this … This all was self-taught … Representation is everything for me because I think there’s so many other Black men out there that are in that similar position, but honestly, fear might stunt them. I’m really proud that I get to really create this amazing company and showcase all that you can do as a Black man. If you truly put your head down, it really works,” Spencer explained.
First Retail Partnership
The overarching goal is to position Crowned Skin as a one-stop shop for men’s grooming. There are currently various products in research and development, including body washes and deodorants, Spencer told AFROTECH™. It will also soon gain greater visibility following its first-ever retail partnership with Walmart.com. There are plans to later expand regionally, then nationally on store shelves, Spencer shared.
Spencer also stated that he intends to raise a Series A, likely in 2026, to scale the company globally.
“I want Crowned Skin to be around for years and years, and I want it to last even when I’m not here. I want this to be a legacy company … I want global access … That’ll be an amazing opportunity for us to scale to even more heights, bring on an amazing partner or partners right in this space that have done it, that have scaled companies to nine, 10 figures, and that can really position Crowned Skin to be one of the most dominating forces in men’s grooming,” he expressed.
