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Business Movers
Pioneers and Rivals - Annie Turnbo Malone and Madam C.J. Walker | Rinse, Lather, Repeat | 3
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- [00:00]
Lindsey Graham
Want to get more from business movers? Subscribe to Wondery for early access to new episodes, ad free listening and exclusive content you can't find anywhere else. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on apple podcasts. It's 1911 at a Ford car showroom in Indianapolis, Indiana. 43 year old Sarah Walker opens the door and walks in off the street, a handbag hanging from her arm. She walks straight up to a deep green Model T that's sitting in the middle of the showroom and runs her fingers along the polished door. Over the past decade, America has begun to fall in love with the automobile. Dozens of manufacturers have sprung up to cater to the growing customer. Demand by none has been as successful as Henry Ford's motor company from Detroit. Three years ago, Ford released the Model T and it instantly became the country's best selling car. Now Sarah wants to join the growing number of Americans getting their first taste of the open road. A salesman hustles over to Sarah, smoothing down the creases of his suit. Excuse me, I think you want to be over there. The salesman gestures to a desk at the back of the room and Sarah looks confused. Oh, I'm just trying to take a closer look. Well, we're actually a little short staffed, so as long as you have the references with you, we'll be able to get you started right away. I need references? I'm a cash buyer. Now it's the salesman's turn to look confused. You're not here for the job. He points to a poster in the window and Sarah can make out the words Cleaner wanted. So she sets her shoulders back and lifts her chin. This is not the first time that a white man has made an assumption like this. No, I'm not here for the job. I'm here to buy a car. You do sell cars, right? The salesman forces a smile onto his face. Yes ma'am, we certainly do. And this one would be a great choice. The Model T is the finest car in America. Sarah opens the car door and takes a seat behind the wheel. This particular model retails at $780. It's got your standard four cylinder engine and a top speed of 45 miles per hour. This is the Touring Car version though, so if you just want something for running errands, I'd recommend the town car. It's $100 less. Sarah squeezes the horn. Well, I travel a lot due to my work. I think the Touring Car is the one for me. Oh, and what exactly is it that you do? You ever heard of Madam C.J. walker. I'm afraid I haven't. Well, that's me. $780, he said. That's right. Well, I'll give you $700 to drive it out today. It's clear from the salesman's expression that he doesn't believe her. So Sarah opens her handbag and pulls out a roll of banknotes. Salesman can't help staring as Sarah counts out the money. 5, 6, 7, 700. I think you'll find my dollars are worth just as much as anyone else's. $700 it is. Well, congratulations, Madam Walker. You are now a car owner. In 1911, hair care entrepreneur Sarah Walker had a surprising amount in common with the car manufacturer Henry Ford. Both had defied their humble beginnings to set up successful businesses that were about to expand across the nation. But while Henry Ford would be hailed as a genius, Sarah would struggle for recognition even within her own community. Business was a man's world, and it would never let Sarah forget that she did not belong. Business Movers is sponsored by bamboohr Even though my podcast company is pretty small, I have employees in five states and two countries, plus dozens of freelancers all over. And that's great, because even if the time zones may be challenging, my team brings a vast array of experiences and perspectives to the table. But it also means I have five states and two countries worth of employment compliance to figure out federal, state and local payroll taxes, regulations, insurance and benefit administration. Let me tell you, HR is not for the faint of heart. So when I watched the live demo of Bamboohr recently, I realized they weren't joking around about an all in one solution. Payroll, time tracking, benefits, performance management. All of it in one place and designed to be super easy, easy to use, easy to learn, easy to implement. So reclaim your time with Bamboohr. Check out the free demo@bamboohr.com freedemo See for yourself all that Bamboohr can do and how truly affordable it can be, too. That's bamboohr.com freedemo Bamboohr.com freedemo With a.
- [04:39]
Jorge Gaviria
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- [05:13]
Lindsey Graham
From Wondery I'm Lindsey Graham. And this is Business movers. Among the corporate titans of the early 20th century, Sarah Walker might seem an unlikely business pioneer. After years of living hand to mouth, she found a job selling Annie Pope's Wonderful Hair Grower to the black women of St. Louis, Missouri. Then she moved to Denver to set up a salon that sold Annie's hair care products to the people of Colorado. But the freedom of running her own place in a new city made Sarah realize she didn't need Annie as much as she thought. Just a few months after arriving in Denver, Sarah set up her own hair care company. But Sarah lacked Annie's signature product, her wonderful hair grower. So Sarah stole Annie's formula and used it to make her own copycat version. This decision shattered Sarah's relationship with her former boss, Annie. But it was a huge risk in another way too. Because although Sarah had plenty of confidence in herself, few others thought that someone like her could succeed in business. Thanks to a combination of segregationist laws and common bigotry, Sarah faced racist discrimination and abuse on an almost daily basis. But she didn't just face prejudice because the color of her skin, whether black or white, men everywhere seemed to doubt that a woman could possibly run a successful business. But Sarah was determined to face down those who doubted her. And while her old boss, Annie Malone, kept growing her business in St. Louis, Sarah would set her sights on national expansion. This is the third episode in our four part series on the pioneers of black hair care. Rinse, lather, repeat, foreign. It's early 1907 in Denver, Colorado, four years before Sarah Walker buys her first car. 39 year old Sarah sweeps the floor of her hair salon in Market Street. Usually the salon would be a whirl of activity at this time with clients chatting as they receive treatments and Sarah's assistants busily packing up boxes of conditioner to sell to salons across the state. But right now, Sarah is all alone. A few hours ago, Sarah saw her last customer here. And since then, everything's been cleared out and Sarah's been giving the place a final clean before she hands the keys back to her landlord. The door opens and Sarah's husband CJ enters, wiping the sweat from his brow. We are just about done. Yep, just about. Sure looks bare. Oh, don't get emotional on me. I just don't think I've ever been here when it's not been full of pretty ladies. Thanks to you and your hair treatments, of course. Oh, you old charmer. Charming, yes, but not that old. I'm going to miss this place. We had a good thing here. We did. But life moves on. Here, one more box. Sarah prods her foot at a wooden crate beside her. CJ bends down and picks it up. More hair grower, huh? I thought you used all of it up. I mixed a final batch this afternoon just in case one of my agents needs to restock while we're closed. Surely they can cope for a day or two, right? We're getting settled in a new place. Oh no. I remember all too well what happened when I couldn't get Hair Grower from Annie fast enough. I don't want any of my girls getting the same idea. Alright, you're the boss. But I don't think any of your girls are that smart. Oh, hush. Only the best and brightest complete the Madam C.J. walker training course. You know that. C.J. balances the crate on his knee while he turns the door handle. But seeing him leave with the last box suddenly brings it home to Sarah. Oh, hey, C.J. yeah, what? Another box? No. We're doing the right thing, right? Aren't we leaving Denver? I know we are, but you said it yourself, we have a good thing here. C.J. puts the box back on the ground. Then he walks across the room and puts his arms around Sarah. You are the most driven and determined person I've ever met. Denver is always going to be too small for a woman like you. So Trust me, Madam C.J. walker, you are bound for far bigger things than this. Sarah Walker's decision to shut down her first hair salon was a difficult one. But she was not the kind of woman who would let her emotions get in the way of business. Denver was simply too small a market, and Sarah's ambitions had outgrown it. But the move away was still a gamble. If it worked, it would propel her business to new heights. If it failed, she stood to lose everything she'd fought so hard to achieve. By 1907, Sarah Walker had cornered the black hair care market in Colorado to expand her business. From her salon in Denver, she had embarked on a road trip across the state, instructing trainees in her new hair care system and giving them advice on how to set up their own salons. These newly trained hairdressers excluded exclusively used Madam C.J. walker products. This gave Sarah's company dozens of outlets all across Colorado in what was effectively an early form of franchising, and these efforts boosted Sarah's revenues considerably. But the financial returns were still constrained by the state's demographics. Less than three quarters of a million people lived in Colorado, and only 10,000 of those were black. And since Sarah's hair conditioner was primarily used by women, her target market was even smaller. Sarah soon realized that if her business was to continue to grow, she needed to look beyond the state's borders. So she began planning another road trip. Only this time, she'd go much farther afield. Sarah plotted a course through America's deep South. And just as in Colorado, her plan was to recruit new trainees in every town she visited, tying them to exclusive supply agreements with her company. But this trip made her nervous. For a black woman in the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of traveling through the Southern states for months on end was not an appealing prospect. Sarah was used to racial discrimination and being treated like a second class citizen. But she knew that in the south, racist attitudes were even more ingrained. Segregation of public facilities was strictly enforced. Communities were divided by race, and every year, dozens of black people were killed in lynchings, with the white mobs responsible, almost always going unpunished. And as a black businesswoman with ambitions and a growing reputation, Sarah knew that she would stand out. And that would make her even more of a target for white supremacists. Despite the risk, though, she was still determined to go. 90% of black Americans lived in the south, and that meant there were more than 4 million women who were potential customers there. If Sarah could break into that market, the potential rewards were enormous. But before she left Denver, Sarah needed to work out what to do with her salon in the city. Before, when she'd taken just a few weeks off to train agents across Colorado, she had put her daughter Leilia in charge. But this was a different matter. Her trip through the south would mean her being gone for months. And this time, Sara wanted Leilia to join her on the race road. As there was no one else she trusted in Denver to manage her affairs, Sarah reluctantly decided that she had no choice but to close her salon permanently. But that left Sarah with no base for her business. And she still needed someone, somewhere to manufacture her hair care products. Sarah herself would need to be resupplied on her long trip across the South. And her existing agents in Colorado couldn't go without either. Sarah's solution was to recruit a person she she could trust to act as her distributor. So before embarking on their sales trip throughout the South, Sarah and her husband CJ stopped off in Louisville, Kentucky. There, they called on CJ's sister Agnes. Sarah showed her how to manufacture the Madam C.J. walker range of hair care products. And satisfied that Angus would keep her and her agents adequately supplied Sarah then set off on her mammoth 1500 mile trip across America. Over the course of 1907, Sarah visited Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. At each stop, Sarah and CJ introduced themselves at the local black church and arranged a demonstration of their products in the church hall. Then they held classes to train new hairdressers in the Madam C.J. walker system. It was exhausting work. They rarely spent more than a week or two in any one place living out of suitcases. But the discomfort was worth it. During her year in Denver, Sarah had earned a little over $1,000. Close to twice the average wage at the time. But Sarah's road trip saw her more than triple that amount to over $3,600. But this success was a double edged sword. Demand for Sarah's products grew so large that back in Louisville, her sister in law, Agnes was struggling to keep up. Increasingly, all the new agents Sarah was training had to wait for deliveries. It wasn't necessarily Agnes's fault, but Sarah knew the situation wasn't sustainable. If she couldn't expand production, she couldn't expand her company. So she had to deal with the problem. At the end of 1907, with her long southern business trip finally at an end, Sarah took back control of manufacturing and distribution. She rented a building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and and set up a small factory there. Pittsburgh was a smart choice for a business with national ambitions. It was located at the heart of America's rail network, meaning that shipments could reach Sarah's agents as quickly as possible. The move to Pittsburgh also gave Sarah the opportunity to modify her business strategy in another way. Up until now, Sarah had sought out new agents to train in the Madam C.J. walker hair care system. What? The brand was now so well known that Sarah felt her company's reputation could do the recruiting work for her. She rented another building beside her new factory and set it up as a training facility. And rather than Sarah going out to find new sales agents on cross country road trips, potential trainees would come to her. It would save Sarah time and money she could spend on other things. This new approach paid off with another year of rapid growth. In 1908, Sarah's income doubled to more than $6,500. And the next year it went up again to almost $9,000. So even the new factory in Pittsburgh soon proved too small. As it neared its manufacturing capacity, Sarah faced the same choice for the second time in two. Either expand production or stop taking on new agents. Of course, Sarah chose to expand again. But this time she didn't seek out a new factory on the rental market. Instead, she decided she would build a bespoke. Bespoke production facility from scratch. Constructing a purpose built factory would solve the Walker company's supply problems for years to come. But it would be an expensive proposition. And even though Sarah's income had grown quickly over the last three years, a factory would cost more than she could afford. She needed finance. And she first reached out to banks. In 1910. There were around 7,000 commercial banks and credit unions across the United States. States. But Sarah faced an all too familiar racial discrimination. Many banks allowed black customers to deposit money, but they were reluctant to let them borrow it. A few institutions did offer financing to black customers, but they charged such high rates of interest that it made borrowing uneconomical For Sarah. It quickly became clear that a bank loan was not an option. So Sarah turned to the world of private equity. But there, Sarah would soon butt up against another form of discrimination. Investors would be hard to find, not just because she was black, but also because she was a woman. Business Movers is sponsored by ShipStation I think my 2025 is going to have to start in February because January, which should have been a month of planning and preparation, has instead been four weeks of unexpected chaos. And for you business owners, you know that even a little chaos can spell big trouble. But for those of you in char order fulfillment for an e commerce business, there's ShipStation. To keep your day to day remaining calm. Save time and money every month by shipping from all your stores with one login. Automating repetitive tasks and finding the best rates among all the global carriers. Calm the chaos of order fulfillment with the shipping software that delivers. Switch to ShipStation today. Go to ShipStation.com and use code Movers to sign up for your free trial. That's shipstation.com code movers business movers is sponsored by Attentive. Imagine for a moment if you got a message from your favorite brand and it's so specific and personalized it feels like it was created just for you. Well, chances are if you got such a message, they're using Attentive, the SMS and email marketing platform designed to help brands build and connect with their ideal audience. Attentive helps marketers create unique messages for every subscriber, transforming the consumer shopping experience and maximizing marketing performance. It works like this. Attentive's AI learns what subscribers actually want based on their real time interactions with your brand. And that means it customizes the content, tone and even timing of every message so they Always resonate if you're ready to take your customers on a journey created just for them. Visit attentive.combusinessmovers to learn more. It's January 1910 at a house in Louisville, Kentucky, three years after Sarah Walker left Colorado. Now 40 years old, Sarah opens the door to a well dressed man in his 50s and gestures him toward a comfortable seat in the parlor. Sarah has borrowed her sister in law's house for a business meeting with Reverend Charles Parrish, the pastor at a nearby Baptist Church. But Rev. Parrish is more than just a minister. He's also a prominent leader in the black community and a trustee of a local children's home. He's just the kind of influential person that Sarah wants to invest in her business. Reverend, thank you so much for coming. Not at all. I've heard so much about you from CJ's family. They're all very proud of you, Sarah. Oh, thank you. Now, how can I help? Well, I have a confession to make. I'm not that kind of priest, Sarah. I know. And it's not a spiritual question that's behind my asking you here. I see. Well, I can help with more earthly matters as well. Sarah takes a tin of Madam C.J. walker branded hair Grower from the shelf and hands it to the Reverend. This is my wonderful hair grower. Yes, I've heard all about it. The Reverend removes the lid and takes a sniff. Coconut oil. That's right. So that's what I can smell every Sunday wafting up from the pews. I think half the women in my congregation must use this. Well, I'd like to increase that number if I can. I want as many people as possible to have access to Madam C.J. walker products. But to do that, I need to manufacture more. I want to build a new facility and I'm looking for investors. Ah, I see. My sister in law said you might be the man to talk to. Well, how much are you looking for? $50,000. Not all from you, of course. I'm looking for a group of investors to make this happen. But I'd like you to be the first. You're a leader in this community and if you give me your blessing, I know it'll encourage others to invest. Reverend Parrish settles back into his chair and holds the tin to his nose once again. You know, it really is a charming aroma, but I'm not sure this is right for me. The Reverend goes to hand the tin back, but Sarah doesn't take it. Reverend Parrish, I'm not doing this to become rich. I want to build the largest plant of its kind in America to provide employment for girls and boys who are barred from jobs elsewhere. And I applaud that instinct, but I'm afraid any spare cash I have goes to the children's home. I couldn't invest knowing that the children had gone without as a result. No. I'm sorry. The Reverend holds the tin out again, and this time, Sarah takes it back. Well, I guess I thank you for your time, Reverend. I do know you're a busy man. Of course, of course. But there is actually one thing I could do for you. Let me write to a friend of mine. Perhaps he can be of more help. Well, thank you, Reverend. What's your friend's name? Is he in Louisville? No, he's not a local. But I think you'll know him all the same. The man Sarah Walker was given an introduction to was Booker T. Washington. Washington was the most prominent black person in America in the early 20th century, and Sarah could hardly believe her luck that he might be the first investor in her business. But Washington, too, was a busy man. Sarah would have to hope that her company's spectacular growth would capture his interest. Or else she'd have to shelve her ambitious plans and her new factory would never be built. Sarah Walker began the year 1910 on a quest for funding. The $50,000 she needed was a lot of money, the equivalent of several million today. But after failing to secure a loan from the banks, Sarah was forced to seek investment from private individuals. She contacted businessmen and prominent figures who she thought would have the means to invest. But most didn't even bother to reply. One or two did make the effort to visit Sarah in Pittsburgh, and they raised Sarah's hopes by being highly complimentary about what she'd achieved. But the intricacies of women's hair care were so unfamiliar to these men that none could see the potential profit in it, and they all declined to invest. But thanks to Reverend Charles Parrish's contacts, Sarah now had an ace up her sleeve. Booker T. Washington was the president of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. His autobiography, Up From Slavery, was a national bestseller. And he was the first black American ever to be invited to dine with a president at the White House. More importantly for Sarah, though, Washington had also founded the National Negro Business League. This was an organization that promoted black businesses in America. So if anyone should give Sarah a sympathetic hearing, it was Booker T. Washington. In her letter to him, Sarah outlined the history of her company as well as her ambitious plans for its future. She Emphasized that the Walker Company was an asset for the black community, providing employment opportunities for agents all across the country. And then she ended her letter with a dire if she did not get the investment she needed, she might be forced to sell the company to white owners who wouldn't have the interests of the black community at heart. This was an exaggeration. Sarah had no intention of selling. She was just trying every ploy she could to persuade Washington to buy a stake in her business. But it didn't work. When Washington's reply came, Sarah was left disappointed. Washington claimed that he sadly didn't have the time to help Sarah, but he wished her luck. Sarah knew that he was brushing her off. Like all the other investors that Sarah had approached, Washington did not seem to see the value in a business run by a woman for other women. And without a high profile backer like Booker T. Washington or Reverend Parrish, Sarah knew she'd never win over enough investors to get the $50,000 she needed. But Sarah did not give up on her idea of building a new factory. Instead, she went ahead with her plans. With a few adjustments, rather than build a new facility in Pittsburgh, Sarah relocated her company once more. By now, Sarah was used to moving and her next destination was Indianapolis, Indiana. Like Pittsburgh, Indianapolis had excellent access to railroads and it also had a large black community for her to target with her products. But crucially, Indianapolis real estate was cheaper than Pittsburgh's and this would save thousands of dollars in building any new facility. Sara arrived in Indianapolis in February 193010 and then immediately started searching for the ideal location. She soon selected a two story brick home in a black neighborhood with plenty of land around it. Sarah paid $10,000 in cash from her own savings. Then she hired builders to add a two room extension containing a small laboratory and hair salon. This transformed her new home into her new workplace. But the extension was only a temporary solution. Sarah had also hired an architect to draw up plans for a larger facility to be built when funds allowed. Sarah hoped she wouldn't have to wait too long. There were now 950 agents trained in the Madam C.J. walker hair care system, and they all placed regular orders for Sarah's products. This propelled the Walker Company to another record breaking year in 1910. But Sarah left no stone unturned in her quest for the cash she needed to supplement her income. She took in lodgers. And that meant Sarah's days weren't just spent treating clients, training new hairdressers and mixing new products. She was also cooking and cleaning for her guests, thanks to Sarah's tireless efforts, the balance in her bank account rose quickly. Just one year after failing to persuade investors to back her, Sarah had enough cash to self finance the construction of her new factory. The facility opened its doors in 1911, and with the factory up and running, Sarah no longer had to worry about running out of stock. The new facility produced more than enough hair conditioner for all her agents. But still, Sarah was dissatisfied. Part of the reason she had wanted investment from prominent African Americans was recognition. She wanted to be seen as an important part of the black community. And in January 1912, Sara was presented with another opportunity to impress the most influential black leader in America. Booker T. Washington announced that his Tuskegee Institute in Alabama would host a farmers conference and that Washington himself would attend. Most of the delegates would be black farmers and those in agriculture. But that didn't deter Sarah. She wrote to Washington immediately asking whether she could give a talk about her business and sell her products during the conference. But still, Washington showed little interest in Sarah Sarah's business. He replied to her letter suggesting that she had misunderstood the nature of the conference and that the farmers in attendance would not be interested in women's hair care products. But this time, Sarah did not take no for an answer. She showed up at the conference uninvited. And when she did, Hooker T. Washington was unwilling to embarrass both himself and Sarah by turning her away. He grudgingly agreed to allow Sarah a 10 minute slot to talk about the Walker Company during evening session. This 10 minutes was enough time for Sarah to outline the story of her business. She talked about how she'd risen from humble origins to lead a company with revenues over $11,000 a year. And although Sarah was no farmer, her story was inspirational. The response from the audience was positive enough that even Booker T. Washington was impressed. Following her talk, he gave Sarah permission to demonstrate her products to conference call goers. Over the course of the next 10 days, Sarah offered free treatments to 84 people. Some were the wives of delegates at the conference. Others were students at the Tuskegee Institute. A few were members of Washington's own family. And seeing the reception, Sarah decided that the large local black population in Tuskegee made it a very alluring location for a Madam C.J. walker salon. So after she returned home, Sarah approached an Indianapolis hairdresser with a proposal. Dora Lawrie had learned her trade under Sarah and had ambitions to set up her own salon. So Sarah offered to fund Dora's move to Alabama and help her set up her own shop in Tuskegee. Where she'd be the exclusive Madam C.J. walker agent Dora gratefully accepted. So two years after being roundly dismissed, Sarah had finally won the respect of the foremost leader of the Black community. But Sarah's decision to expand the Walker company into Tuskegee would have an unintended consequence. Her choice of agent to manage her affairs in Alabama would prove a poor one. Within just weeks, Dora Lawre would bring Sarah's domestic life crashing to the ground and threaten to pull the Walker company down with it.
- [29:12]
Sarah Walker
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- [30:14]
Lindsey Graham
What inventions have transformed humanity? The wheel, the light bulb, the Internet and me. Learn how to use AI to be more successful with cnbc. Make it's new online course.
- [30:25]
Sarah Walker
It's about how we embrace the technology.
- [30:28]
Lindsey Graham
What we're really talking about is automation of tasks. You're going to feel like they were just always part of your life. We'll give you examples and how you can use AI tools at work and in life. Register @cnbcmake it.com AI the age of AI is now. It's April 1912 at a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, two years after the Walker Company relocated to Indianapolis. Sarah Walker stands in a hallway, banging her fist against the door to a hotel room. She crouches and tries to peer through the keyhole, but she can't see anything inside, so she straightens back up and bangs on the door again. C.J. open this door. I know you're in there. Sarah has traveled 500 miles from Indianapolis to meet up with her husband on a business trip. C.J. didn't know she was coming. And Sarah didn't tell him because she thinks C.J. is having an affair. His refusal to open the door only heightens her suspicions. C.J. all right, Sarah, I'm coming. Coming. Jeez. Finally, the door opens just to sliver. CJ stands in the doorway, blocking Sarah's view of the inside. I was just taking a nap. What are you doing here? Who's in there with you? No one. Then let me in. It's a mess. Look, I've just been woken up. I should have a shower. Just give me five minutes, okay? Let me in there. Cj, I'll meet you in the lobby. I am your wife. Let me in the room. SARAH Wait. Wait. Sarah pushes past C.J. sending the door banging against the wall. Behind the bed, a half dressed woman cowers. It's just as Sarah feared, and so much worse. The woman is Dora Lawre, the hairdresser, specifically recruited by Sarah to work in Tuskegee. Sarah's eyes flash with fury. Get out. Dora doesn't have to be asked twice. Still putting her clothes on, she scurries out the door. There's silence for a moment. Then Sarah speaks, her voice low. How long has this been going on? All those business trips you had to take and always, always to Alabama. SARAH maybe we should head back home to talk about this. Work on how we can fix it. How we can fix it? I've done nothing wrong. It's just you're always working and that's some sort of an excuse seven days a week. Sarah I have a company to run and you have a husband. Don't you dare make yourself the victim. I am not to blame for this. I just mean there's never any time for me, for us. Oh, there's no us. I'm going back to Indianapolis. When I get home, I'm going to contact my attorney. Discovering her husband CJ's affair was devastating for Sarah Walker. But the fallout went beyond their marriage. According to the social norms of the time, a wife was expected to be the junior partner, subservient to the wishes and demands of her husband. Sarah certainly didn't see herself that way. But C.J. did. And after their marriage fell apart, he'd betray her a second time. In October 1912, a judge finalized Sarah and C.J. walker's divorce. Since there was clear evidence of infidelity, C.J. did not contest it, and the divorce decree stated that no money would change hands. But CJ had no intention of letting the matter rest there. He felt he had played a crucial role in Creating the Madam CJ Walker brand that had made Sarah so rich. And he wanted payback. After leaving Sarah, CJ went to Alabama and moved in with Dora Lawrie. He thought he and Dora had the skills to run their own business. Business. So he encouraged Dora to break the agreement she'd made with Sarah and set up on her own. Together, Dora and CJ founded the Walker Laurie Company and began making their own line of hair care products. The growth of the Madam C.J. walker company had proven that there was money to be made selling hair care products to black women. Plenty of rival companies had sprung up, but most were small, local outfits that barely registered on Sarah's radar. Dora and CJ's new business was different. Thanks to CJ's insider knowledge, Dora could copy the formulas Sarah had used to make her products, including her signature wonderful hair grower. The Walker Laurie Company soon became even more of a threat, though, when CJ and Dora married. Thereafter, Dora began publicly referring to herself as Madam C.J. walker. Sarah had spent six years building that name into a nationally recognized brand. And. And now there was a risk that Dora and CJ's products would confuse customers and take a share of the market. So Sarah considered pursuing CJ and Dora through the courts to put a stop to all of this. But she feared that she was on shaky legal ground. Dora had the right to refer to herself as Madam C.J. walker in her personal life. She was married to C.J. walker, after all. And if a judge ruled that she could use that name in business as well, then Sarah might be forced to rebrand her company. That would be a disaster. So instead, Sarah decided to do nothing and wait. She suspected that CJ and Dora's new business wouldn't last. During their marriage, CJ had been a good salesperson with the ability to turn on the charm. But he had never displayed the business instincts that Sarah had. So she doubted that he had any strategy beyond writing off Sarah's name. Sarah was soon proven right. After only a few months, CJ and Dora's rival company fell apart. And so did their marriage. CJ began drinking heavily and left most of the work to his new wife. Dora didn't appreciate that and left C.J. accusing him of trying to embezzle money from the business. After all this, CJ realized he had made a huge mistake. He wrote to Sarah, begging for forgiveness and asking to be let back into her life. He even took out an ad in a newspaper to make a public apology, blaming his affair on a combination of alcohol and Dora's conniving ways. But Sarah refused to take C.J. back. Instead, she had her attorney send C.J. a little bit of money along with a piece of go to Florida or Cuba and make a fresh start. CJ didn't listen. He made more public pleas for forgiveness and private ones for more money. But from that point on he Sarah cut him off. Some people thought she was treating CJ too cruelly, but the events of the past few years had taught Sara an important lesson. The world of business was cutthroat, especially for someone like Sarah who faced additional obstacles due to her race and her sex. She could not afford to be soft, not with her ex husband, not with anyone. And this inner steal would push the Madam C.J. walker Company to even greater heights in the years to come, making Sarah one of the richest self made women in America. But that would only leave her with a new what to do with all the money from Wonder Eat. This is episode three of Pioneers and Rivals for Business Movers. On the next episode, with successful businesses and vast fortunes at their disposal, both Sarah Walker and her old rival Annie Malone turn their attention to their legacies. If you like business movers, you can unlock exclusive episodes found nowhere else on Wondery and access new episodes early and ad free. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a survey@wondery.com survey if you'd like to learn more about Annie Malone and Sarah Walker, we recommend on her own the Life and times of Madam C.J. walker by A'Lelia Bundles, a friend to all mankind, Mrs. Annie Tumbo Malone and Poro College by John H. Whitfield and Notable Black American Women Edited by Jessie Carney Smith this episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. And while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. Business Movers is host, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship. Audio editing by Mohammed Shahzib Sound design by Molly Bach. Supervising sound designer is Matthew Filler. Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves. Executive producers are William Simpson for airship and Aaron O'Flaherty, Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louie for Wondering.
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Jorge Gaviria
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