At Volition, we note the importance of celebrating and recognizing the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans (AAPI). Not only do we engage with the community to inspire and bring life beauty breakthroughs, we value empowering diversity. Our founder, Patricia Santos, team members, and a handful of innovators identify as part of the AAPI community. To commemorate AAPI heritage month, our founders and innovators would like to share their stories of how their Asian heritage is of importance and successful entrepreneurial adventures that identify part of who they are today.
Meet Our CEO….
Patricia Santos:
After completing her undergraduate degree at Harvard College and a MBA from Harvard Business School, she gained over 17 years of experience in finance and venture capital before leaving an impact in the beauty industry. During Volition's early beginnings, Patricia was able to meet and learn from amazing entrepreneurs. However, she also noticed that most female founders were not getting funded. Many investors did not fully understand the type of companies or brands these female entrepreneurs were pitching because they were in industries they were not familiar with. This inspired her to find a way to give female entrepreneurs an alternative way to get groundbreaking product ideas to the market.
To combat this issue, Volition provides a platform for female entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to actual customers, rather than to a board full of disinterested investors. Patricia voiced that “As an Asian woman, a person of color, a minority, I am so proud that we have pioneered such a uniquely inclusive innovation process and are setting the standard for other beauty companies in this regard.” The company opened doors for female entrepreneurs to create innovative skincare ideas, and also inspired them to continue to empower women in business. Additionally, she has been able to help out numerous beauty brands and management teams to build their companies.
Meet Our Innovators….
Varika Pinnam:
Varika was inspired by the “bold colors, flavors, music, and traditions” of her heritage. Varika’s culture has influenced her to experiment with natural ingredients that are often incorporated in her food, health, or skincare. After innovating the Strawberry-C Brightening Serum, Varika Pinnam wanted to continue to exercise her entrepreneurship skills and co-founded a startup with her sister called Ideate Decide Act (IDA). IDA is a platform that helps empower women entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses. Now developing a mobile app, IDA's growth of resources “will help women figure out what steps to take to build a business and conduct competitor and market analysis with ease!”
She is very thrilled about the launch and believes that “the best part of the journey with IDA has been the impact we get to have on women, and I absolutely love everyone I get to meet and chat with or hear how IDA has helped them.” Varika also stated how Volition’s mission aligns with hers on empowering female entrepreneurs, and “truly believe that Volition is bringing to light the ideas of women that they might have never thought possible, such as myself, which is awesome to see."
Check Out Varika’s Product: → Link
Alice Rolfe-Chin:
Alice is our innovator for the Oil-Control Mattifying Mist and is also the founder of a lifestyle blog called Al Rochi. She is passionate about beauty, and created the Oil-Control Mattifying Mist to have a solution to combat the oiliness she felt after her workouts that also doubled as a make-up setting spray. Alice felt that “bloating papers and other mattifying sprays felt outdated and without the true innovation that consumers desire.” With her ideas of incorporating natural humectant powder and an amino acid complex, the Oil-Control Mattifying Mist is a game-changer that leaves a mattifying finish while minimizing pores and soothes and hydrates the skin.
Alice’s Asian heritage has played an impact on her, she stated, “it has empowered me to embrace who I am; to love myself and every stage I grow through.” And since the launch of the product, she noted that it has helped open more business opportunities for her, and encouraged other aspiring female entrepreneurs to submit an idea as well.
Check Out Alice’s Product: → Link
Aja Aguirre:
Aja is a style and beauty editor for Autostraddle and runs a style blog called Fit for a Femme. She inspires other female individuals with her establishment of style and beauty. Her innovative ideas have led to the creation of two sunscreen products for Volition, the Prismatic Luminizing Shield SPF 50 and the Mineral Prismatic Luminizing Shield SPF 35. It was important for Aja to create a mineral version of the Prismatic Luminizing Shield SPF 50, as she believes everyone’s skin has unique needs. Her enthusiasm for skincare and beauty is prominent in the creation of both sunscreens because they are of luxe quality and ultra-wearability for daily protection.
Creating a clean and reef-safe product was of importance for her and Volition, and therefore is incorporated into the formation of both SPFs. With her innovative process, Aja chose to donate 100% of her commission to the Humble Equestrian Collective. She stated that “making riding and competing more accessible and welcoming for the next generation is something I'm deeply passionate about, and I think it's wonderful that Prismatic can help to support efforts to lift these kids up.”
Check Out Aja’s Product: → Link
With the inspirational stories and the importance of Asian heritage shared, we value and continue to support our innovators' journey. There were many achievements and contributions that our founder and innovators made. However, we would also like to recognize individuals from the AAPI community who have contributed significantly to many facets of American culture and history. We also understand the growing Anti-Asian violence that continues to be an endangering threat for the AAPI community. Resources such as Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Pacific Fund, National Asian Pacific Women’s Forum, Send Chinatown Love, and Very Asian Foundation, are a few of the many organizations that are worth self-educating further about AAPI or help donate to uplift many of the problems that the AAPI community face today.
