*We spoke to April Showers, the visionary founder of Afro Unicorn®️, about her journey of empowering women and children of color through creativity and advocacy.
April’s mission to inspire greatness began after a close friend dubbed her a “unicorn” for her ability to balance two business ventures, motherhood, and a thriving personal life. This led to the creation of Afro Unicorn®️—an inclusive brand born out of her desire to provide representation through diverse, magical unicorn characters designed in her likeness.
Since its inception, Afro Unicorn®️ has soared, expanding into apparel, toys, books, and more, all while serving as a beacon of empowerment. With the historic 2022 launch of Afro Unicorn products in Walmart, April became the first Black woman to own a licensed character brand in major retail, cementing her place as a trailblazer in both entrepreneurship and cultural representation.
We asked April what valuable lessons from her early entrepreneurial journey helped shape the creation of Afro Unicorn.
“I would say believing that anything is possible,” she told EURweb exclusively. “The fact that I started PA agency at the age of 19, I just knew I could do anything. My belief system has, from a very young age, led me on this path in this journey.”
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Afro Unicorn made history as the first Black woman-owned fully-licensed character brand in major retailers. Can you share the inspiration behind the company and what it represents for women and children of color?
The inspiration behind it was me wanting to find an avatar that represented me being a serial entrepreneur, having an insurance agency, a brokerage for real estate, and raising my two boys by myself. It was something for me to identify as I’m a “unicorn.,” after my friend kept referring to me as such. I saw that they were unique. They were mystical. I’m definitely unique. I’m Black girl magic. I wanted to have something that embodied who I was and by creating Afro Unicorn, I realized that it wasn’t just me. This could help other people, other women, and other children who don’t have the belief system that I have or don’t know that they’re a unicorn. I wanted to create something where everyone knew that they had a unicorn within them and all they have to do is believe.
As a single mother of two, how has balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship influenced your approach to building Afro Unicorn and empowering others?
I like the word managing and not balance because as a woman when I look at balancing, it’s like a skill. I can’t be a 50% parent. I can’t be a 50% business owner. I have to show up 100% in every category. It’s managing my time wisely and knowing I have a hard cutoff time because I have to go pick up my son. When I pick up my son, I have to give him 100% of me. I learned how to manage all of the roles and I still have to show up 100% in every single role that I have.
Afro Unicorn is a global brand with products in major stores like Walmart, Target, and Amazon. What has been the most rewarding part of seeing it grow into this phenomenon?
It’s seeing other people see the possibility for themselves. That is the biggest inspiration. I get DMs and emails and messages because people now see ‘I too can do the same exact thing because it’s been done. So if it’s been done, then there’s no reason why I can’t do it. So let me tap into whatever you have so I can figure out how I get my stuff into the Walmart’s, the Targets of the world.’ So that’s the biggest inspiration, seeing other people have that belief, ‘I Can!’
It’s important that I always say I’m a single mom of two boys… because that’s also the representation that others need to see as well. Some people may think that because of them being a single mom, they’re not able to accomplish X, Y, and Z. I never had a single mom that I could look up to in my family. Everyone’s married. I didn’t know single motherhood. The only thing I heard was what they said about it. I just knew it was bad. It was the worst thing ever. Those were the thoughts that I had about it. So when I found myself in that situation… I have to make sure that I speak up… you could be the single mom and still be the first Black woman to have a fully licensed character brand in major retail.
What’s most challenging for you as a CEO of a global brand?
It’s the direct competition. Our product sits next to Disney. In the party aisle, right next to me is Disney Princesses and Batman and Bluey. Those companies have budgets that are different than my budgets. The biggest separation of us is content. They have the movies, they have the TV shows, we’re working on it. We were thrown into this category when the buyer at Walmart found it and said, ‘Hey, I want to put you into this space.’ The biggest challenge is getting the word out globally about Afro Unicorns so that we can stay on the shelves. Because it’s one thing to get on the shelves and another thing to stay on the shelves. I’m the first but I don’t ever want to be the last so it matters that we support the brand Afro Unicorn in retail so that they can see a demand because right now DEI is dead and the only color they care about is green.
Your children’s books feature Afro Unicorn characters promoting self-love and empowerment. Why was it important for you to create content that resonates with children and reflects diversity?
The books allow us to dive more into the characters so you can understand the characters and then it leads to television and movies. That’s why we have books. But on the flip side, we have them written the way that they’re written and shown the way that they’re shown so that people can see themselves in it. We have unicorns with glasses, locks. Dreamo, I just talked about today in my new book, Afronia Academy, which is a graphic novel, she’s Afro-Latina. We have so many different characteristics. We have one that has vitiligo. It’s important that everyone can see themselves within these characters. That’s why we developed the books, so we could develop more of the world.
You’ve earned several prestigious awards, including the Wonder Women Social Impact Award. How do you stay motivated to continue breaking barriers and inspiring others through your work?
I stay motivated because of the others. It’s the messages that I get from people telling me how inspired they are to do what they need to do because of what they see Afro Unicorn is doing and what they see I’m doing. I’ve met several people who have now transitioned from like, ‘I was in my kitchen,’ now they have storefronts. One guy in general, Sweet Valentine Bakery here in Carson, California. He opened up his bakery but for the last three or four years. I’ve been sharing his business on Small Business Saturday as he was preparing his buns in his kitchen. Now he has his own storefront. I never met him, but he saw me. He was a waiter at Ruth’s Chris and I was wearing my Afro Unicorn shirt. When he looked up and saw me, he just froze and started crying. He went on to tell me who he was. I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, sweet Valentine bakery. I know you like, that’s me that be sharing all your stories.’ He said, ‘You know, I told my wife that if April can do it, we can do it too. I’m stepping out on faith. I know I’m gonna have a storefront and I’m gonna have it by this date. And I’ve claimed it.’ Then I saw him have a Spectrum One News feature of his new location. So those are the things that motivate me to keep going. I always get a story. Somebody always comes in with a story about how I’m inspiring them to keep going.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those from unrepresented communities who want to follow in your footsteps?
It’s the mindset. You have to first understand what it is that you want, and you have to see what that looks like. Then you have to have conviction enough to not worry about the how, but that you show up every single day, and that you’re consistent, and that you give it everything. It’s the pedal to the metal. If this wall is stopping you from what you know is behind it, you just gotta go through the wall. There’s no other option. We’re going through the wall, it’s all gas, no breaks. So that is what I would give the entrepreneur. You gotta see the end, don’t worry about the how, be consistent, show up every day, and give it all you got.
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