Brand Building: Interview explores how Miss Jessie’s became a leader in the natural hair movement, before it became trendy.
July 16, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readMiko Branch, co-founder and CEO of Miss Jessie’s, started the company with her late sister Titi on their kitchen table in a Brooklyn brownstone. That was 2004, long before “natural hair” was a market category or a social media trend. Branch describes their home beginnings as a direct line to authenticity: they made products for themselves and their salon clients, tested them in their own space, and only then shared them. “Luckily my sister T and I were able to make products that really work,” she says. “When we started sharing products from our home… it really caught fire.”
The brand’s name comes from their paternal grandmother, Jessie, who ran the family from her own kitchen table. Branch credits her as the first CEO and CMO they ever saw. Neither sister went to business school, so when they faced decisions, they tapped into what they learned watching her: how to mix, measure, and serve—and how to build a business from a domestic base. That grandmother’s kitchen became the operational and emotional template for Miss Jessie’s.
A product-first foundation, not a marketing play
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:33) **Introducing Miko Branch and Miss Jessie’s Origin Story** - Co-founder and CEO is welcomed; the company was started with her late sister, Titi Branch, at their kitchen table in a Brooklyn brownstone.
- 2 (06:11) **The Meaning Behind the Name “Miss Jessie’s”** - The brand is named after the founders’ paternal grandmother, Jessie, who was their first CEO and CMO.
- 3 (07:58) **Early Customer Strategy: Education Over Trends** - The founders focused on teaching customers how to care for their own hair at home, not on fleeting styles.
- 4 (09:26) **The Importance of a Strong Foundation** - The host highlights that the brand’s success is rooted in a pre-social-media foundation of authentic community and proven products.
- 5 (16:00) **Signature Product Lines and Innovation** - Miko explains how Miss Jessie’s innovated by marrying hair care technology with fabric care technology to create products like “Jelly Soft Curls.”
- 6 (18:06) **Scaling the Product Line Through Research** - The host observes that the variety of product lines shows deep research into different hair textures and customer needs.
- 7 (19:56) **The Power of Information and Education** - The host praises the brand’s website for providing detailed descriptions of each hair type, educating customers who may not know their own hair.
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Show Notes
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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Miko Branch.
Here is a clear, structured summary of the Miko Branch interview with Rushion McDonald, along with its purpose, key takeaways, and notable quotes, drawn directly from the transcript you provided.
All information cites the uploaded file.
SUMMARY OF THE INTERVIEW
In this Money Making Conversations Masterclass episode, Rushion McDonald interviews Miko Branch, co‑founder and CEO of Miss Jessie’s, a pioneering hair‑care brand serving people with textured, curly, kinky, and wavy hair.
Miko recounts how she and her late sister, Titi Branch, built Miss Jessie’s from their kitchen table in their Brooklyn brownstone, developing products designed to genuinely work for people with textured hair. She highlights the brand’s deeply personal roots—named after their grandmother Jessie Mae Branch, the first “CEO” they ever observed in action.
Throughout the interview, Miko explains how Miss Jessie’s expanded from grassroots marketing, word‑of‑mouth, and early internet chat rooms to becoming a national brand found in Walgreens, CVS, Target, and more. She stresses the brand’s emphasis on education, authenticity, and providing solutions for all textured hair types.
Miko also discusses signature product lines (Curly Pudding, Pillow Soft Curls, Daily Soft Curls, sulfate‑free shampoo) and how Miss Jessie’s became a leader in the natural hair movement—well before it became a mainstream trend.
PURPOSE OF THE INTERVIEW 1. To showcase Miss Jessie’s origin story and entrepreneurial journey
McDonald highlights how Miko built a multimillion‑dollar brand from her k
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