Introduction
Adrianne Watkiss, the founder of LevelHeaded, is driven by a powerful combination of faith, family, and a creative mind. As a stylist who understands the daily challenges of the craft, Adrianne identified a common struggle in hair care: the difficulty of achieving perfectly clean, straight guidelines. Her comb concept is an innovative tool designed to simplify this fundamental step, ensuring sharp, even results for everyone from seasoned stylists to at-home users. Motivated by a desire to build a stable and independent future for her children, Adrianne launched her business to turn her “spunky energy” and professional insights into a tangible legacy.
Challenge and Goals
When Adrianne joined the Innovation Forge Startup Accelerator, she had a concept and the confidence to see it through, but she was at the very beginning of her entrepreneurial journey. While she knew the problem intimately and the potential solution from her experience cutting hair, she faced a steep learning curve regarding the “how” of business.
Her primary challenges were technical and strategic: she needed to understand prototyping, manufacturing, and how to make a product production-ready comb. Beyond the physical comb, she was looking for a clear roadmap to move forward with intention. Her goals were to stop second-guessing her decisions, formally structure her business, and finally hold a physical version of her idea in her hands.
Outcomes and Results
The Innovation Forge program, a collaboration between The Corner and the Digital Foundry at New Kensington, provided the structured guidance Adrianne needed to move the idea out of her head and into design. Through the program, she worked with mentors like Sherri and Johanna, who helped her think beyond the initial product.
This mentorship led to a broader business strategy. Instead of just a comb, Adrianne began exploring a complete user experience, including instructional guides and potential companion products. Since completing the program, she has made measurable progress: she has moved into the formal design stage, begun the process of establishing her LLC, and expanded her target market to include cosmetology students and the general public. The program helped her bridge the gap between being a stylist with an idea and being a founder with a business.
Impact and Next Steps
LevelHeaded is now focused on turning a finalized design into a manufacturable reality. Over the next two years, Adrianne’s roadmap includes testing prototypes with real-world users to refine the design and packaging.
With the foundation of her brand now in place, she plans to incorporate features like scannable QR codes on packaging to provide instant instructional support for her customers. Her long-term vision is to grow LevelHeaded into a brand that stands for independence, creativity, and precision, showing her children that through determination, it is possible to create the life you want.
To fellow entrepreneurs, Adrianne offers an encouraging word: “This program helped me start turning my idea into something real and gave me direction. It helped me see my idea in a bigger way and gave me the confidence and a clearer path for building something real.”