Winnie Harlow is getting candid about her journey as an entrepreneur.

Cay Skin

The supermodel, who was raised in Jamaica, founded Cay Skin in 2022, an inclusive and affordable SPF skincare brand. After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and vitiligo, she set out to create sun care products that are effective for all complexions.

“I have two skin tones, and it needs to work on me, and most SPFs don’t,” she told AFROTECH™ during a virtual press junket.

Cay Skin offers SPF products, including lip balm, sunscreen, moisturizer, sun sticks, and lip masks.

Raising VC

Harlow envisions long-term staying power for the brand, and raised $4.1 million in a seed round ahead of Cay Skin’s official launch, bringing its total funding to $6.5 million at the time, according to Fortune. However, it wasn’t an easy victory, and Harlow admitted she heard enough ‘no’s that nearly made her question launching the business.

“When it came to even fundraising, I still got a lot of no’s, and I was unsure about even starting the business,” she acknowledged at the press junket. “But it was something that I believed in, and also I was not used to, but I was familiar with getting no’s my entire career and continuing to persevere and not take no as an answer.”

The CEO Club

Harlow is among the few Black women to have raised more than $1 million in VC funding, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.

“I really wanted to not just trail blaze in the sense of being a part of that number, but also putting a spotlight on that number to continue to build forward Black entrepreneurs and making sure that we are not forgetting, although that we are growing, there is still more room to be grown,” she said at the press junket.

She hopes to continue to be a disruptor in her industry while encouraging others to follow suit. It’s one of the many reasons she is appearing on Amazon Prime’s newest show, “The CEO Club.”

“The CEO Club” will give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of various women who serve as CEOs. As for Harlow, the footage captures her in high-level meetings — including weighing a pivotal decision about a product’s formula — while also underscoring just how hands-on she is with the brand.

The show will also highlight other leading women in business, such as Serena Williams, Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, Loren Ridinger, Hannah Bronfman, and Isabela Rangel Grutman.

At the virtual press junket for the show, Grutman shared, “It’s very important that we keep the community, and we keep the girls around us that support us and make us grow. And that’s the amazing thing that I’m so excited that people will get to watch because that’s our natural circle anyway.”

Ridinger added:

“When you really do have a community of women who are really your friends and support, you find a way to solve problems. You can turn to people and say, ‘What do you think I should do? How do you think I should handle this?’ And as Isabella said, that really happens in real life.”

The show premieres Feb. 23, 2026, on Amazon Prime Video.