Arkia Ivey
Arkia Ivey came to Make Startups looking for help to jumpstart her business. She left a year later with her wellness brand, From Phoenix, going full steam—and a community of cheerleaders and mentors behind her.
It took trial and error, a shot of confidence, and a little push from an unexpected place: TJ Maxx.
Ivey was a college sophomore when she started getting into wellness as a way to refocus and heal after earlier trauma in her life. She was doing yoga, meditation, prayer—and she had a particular candle scent from TJ Maxx she was especially drawn to. “It became a ritual,” she says, “lighting a candle and incense at the end of my day. It really contributed to my space, and it smelled amazing.”
But one day, the store stopped carrying it.
Most people would have moved on and looked for something similar. Ivey says she thought, “OK, I guess I’m going to make my own candles.”
A few Google and YouTube sessions later, and Ivey had a few prototypes. Those early candles were pretty basic, she admits. But a little trial and error, plus feedback from friends and family, helped her start to refine her scent blends. She began experimenting with a coconut/soy wax base, then custom blended potent scents like cedar, musk and vetiver or vanilla, cocoa and sandalwood. “Making the candles was even more relaxing than lighting them,” she says. “The process, from pouring the wax to adding my own unique twist—that became exciting for me. I realized I was looking forward to it whenever I wasn’t busy at school.”
She also realized that she wasn’t alone in appreciating not only a great-smelling candle, but the story behind it—how a scent can take you places and help you refocus and calm your mind. Plus, as a sociology major who had planned to go into social work, she also grooved to the idea that what she was doing could be a starting point to give resources and rest to people who were struggling.
That’s how From Phoenix was born.
“In the beginning especially your confidence has to be bigger than your success, Make Startups reinforced what I knew was possible.”
Ivey launched her business in April 2022. Around the same time, she was talking to her therapist about her plans. “I have the perfect organization that can help you,” Ivey remembers her saying. “It’s called theClubhou.se. They have a program called Make Startups.”
Ivey went back to Google. After reading up on theClubhou.se’s monthly Lunch and Learns and other networking events, she scheduled a tour and met cofounder Grace Belangia. Belangia also encouraged her to sign up for Make Startups, which is theClubhou.se’s entrepreneurial certificate program.
“I thought, ‘OK, this is the second time I’ve heard about this,’” says Ivey. After qualifying for financial aid through her local Workforce Development office, Ivey joined the June 2022 cohort.
It happened that the entrepreneurs in that particular cohort were all Black women. “It gave me a sense of community,” Ivey says, “a sense that I’m not in this alone.”
Being a part of Make Startups also held her accountable, she says, to absorbing a practical curriculum that also gave her—a total newcomer to business ownership—a solid foundation in running a business, especially the financial side of managing her accounts, along with networking and pitching her products. Ivey says that after finishing the program, she’s seen a jump in in-person sales at local markets, and she’s working on her online marketing strategy now.
But the biggest takeaway was that community. Entrepreneurship can be lonely, discouraging, even cutthroat. “In the beginning especially your confidence has to be bigger than your success,” Ivey says. “Make Startups reinforced what I knew was possible. It’s reassurance, ‘No, you’re not crazy, girl, you’re not dreaming too big.’ It reminds me it’s all possible.”
