Beyoncé could have lined up outside money for her hair care brand from some of the biggest names in business. Instead she decided to cover the bill herself. Her mother says it all came down to one line in the budget.

Tina Knowles, 72, is vice chairwoman of Cécred, the company Beyoncé launched in February 2024. In a sit-down at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara, California, earlier this month, Knowles said the family held early talks with potential backers. Those conversations went nowhere once the investors got a close look at the spending plan.

The largest slice of Cécred's money goes to research, development and product testing. Knowles said the would-be investors were not comfortable with that. They wanted the company to shift dollars toward advertising and spend less on what actually goes into the bottle.

"Crazy expensive"

So Beyoncé chose to pay her own way. Knowles admitted she had doubts. She told Fortune she called the move "crazy expensive" and asked her daughter whether she really knew what she was getting into.

Beyoncé said she did. Her reason was simple: she did not want anyone with the power to tell her she could not pour money into research and development. Knowles said everything would have needed outside approval. The whole picture changed when it came time to sign the paperwork.

That leaves Cécred with no venture capital or outside money behind it. It is an unusual setup in a celebrity beauty world where many lines are built on licensing deals.

Roots in a Houston salon

The idea goes back decades. Before the world knew her family name, Knowles owned a busy hair salon in Houston where Beyoncé and her younger sister Solange both worked. She told Fortune she used to make her own moisture treatments from butter and warm olive oil for clients. Her daughters were among her regulars.

That experience shaped how the company works today. The team spent six years on its formulas before the first products reached shelves. Cécred also puts its products through testing in three countries so they work on every hair texture.

The founder who skips the ads

Fans may notice that one of the most famous faces on the planet does not appear in the brand's campaigns. Knowles said that was done on purpose. Beyoncé is closely involved in every product but did not want to be its model.

Beyoncé made the same point herself in a recent i-D interview. She called herself the brand's founder, visionary and sole investor rather than its face. She joked that she wanted the products to work so well that even people who cannot stand her music would keep buying them.

The bet is paying off

So far the gamble looks like a winner. According to Fortune, Cécred's arrival at Ulta Beauty was the strongest prestige hair launch Ulta has ever recorded. The brand has collected 89 beauty industry awards. It has also crossed the Atlantic through the British beauty chain Space NK, where Knowles said it was the biggest launch the retailer has ever had.

Knowles gives much of the credit to customers. She said they have done the marketing for the brand because the products deliver. For a woman who once mixed treatments by hand for the women in her salon chair, that may be the best review of all.