Jasmin Smith says it’s never easy to start a new kind of business, but as a Black woman, there are simply more hurdles in winning the confidence of investors. On top of that, it was hard to convince them about the need for vending machines to dispense diapers and baby supplies. Also, starting a company in Alaska turned out to be a bigger challenge than she expected, because she was constantly fighting preconceptions about the 49th state as a difficult place to do business. But Smith says she eventually found support in some unexpected places.
