Butler left her job on Wall Street last year to launch a lipstick line Lip Bar, which is now sold at Urban Outfitters. She used more than $30,000 of her own money to manufacture and market the product. The rest of the funding has come from sales, her personal network and crowdsourcing.
An Indiegogo campaign raised $13,500, which helped purchase a cosmetic truck. Butler plans to take her Lip Bar truck on a nationwide tour this month, starting in Los Angeles and San Francisco
"To be clear, we don't want to make the truck our business. But the truck is less expensive than a brick-and-mortar and it's a moving billboard," Butler said.
In order to take the next step and expand Lip Bar's offerings, she said she needs a strong investment partner or venture capital.
"The ultimate goal is to take the business back to my hometown," Butler said. "And, bring the beauty back to Detroit.