There is no shortage of success roaming the halls of the Russell Center. After all, this young, yet fast-growing business accelerator has assisted in the generation of at least $218 million in revenue over the past five years, according to its recently published RICE Report. Still, every once in a while, you are bound to hear a story that surprises you. Now, imagine hearing several stories that surprise you, each more than the last, and all of them coming from the same person. That was my experience when listening to Kristen Dunning recount her journey to entrepreneurship with Gently.
How Gently Came to Be
Like all good stories, hers starts with challenge. Kristen developed eczema and extremely sensitive skin early on in life—a condition that defined much of her childhood and adolescence. Something as common and typically benign as soap inflamed her skin so badly that her vigilance on the matter became mandatory. It also influenced her decision to pursue a degree in agricultural science. Kristen wanted a solution to her problem. She wanted to experience life without the potentially daily inflammation that simply washing her hands would bring. Thus, Gently was born.
It began in college, when she finally created a combination of ingredients that did not irritate her skin, and decided to turn it into a business. “I thought I’d be selling at farmer’s markets my entire life,” Kristen said of Gently’s early stages, which she admits to preferring over the corporate life she had been steered towards. Then, Shark Tank happened.
The Shark Tank Moment
Kristen had already experienced a string of smaller wins—being a finalist for Pharrell’s Black Ambition award and the winner of Aveeno’s 2023 Skin Health Startup of the Year, to name a few. That roll continued with a fateful conversation with guest shark Candace Nelson, who offered Kristen $75,000 in exchange for 25% of her company. Turns out, it was more than worth it.
“The money at that time was used to go towards clinical testing,” Kristen confided, a process that earned her the National Eczema Association’s seal of acceptance.
She also won tutelage from an established entrepreneur in Candace, who still meets with her every other week to discuss goals and challenges. That relationship was instrumental in winning Kristen her next major award: Oprah’s admiration.
Oprah’s Favorite Thing
Kristen was initially advised against submitting to Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2024, as their team noted that Oprah typically doesn’t enjoy bar soaps. Kristen powered ahead anyway.
“Three months after that, I heard back, and they said, ‘Oprah usually doesn’t like bar soaps, but she loves yours!’”
Oprah loved Gently so much that she named the company in one of her bath awards and called it “the best bar soap for sensitive skin.” If these recognitions and awards sound spectacular already, keep in mind, we haven’t even gotten to 2025 yet.
Finding Community and Growth at the Russell Center
Always in pursuit of the knowledge or mentorship she feels she needs to reach the next milestone, Kristen became a Stakeholder at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs earlier this year.
“I was missing community,” Kristen noted. “I didn’t have a lot of it—and in the one [entrepreneurial community] that I did have, I was the only Black student there.”
Kristen found that and more in RICE’s RRA program, which was instrumental in guiding her to her next—and perhaps biggest—win yet: Walmart.
Gently Wins Walmart
Walmart toured the entire country to search for American-made products. This highly competitive, nationally renowned competition made a special stop at the Russell Center, where Kristen was waiting and ready—if not a bit apprehensive—to present Gently for consideration at Open Call.
“I was nervous out of my mind,” Kristen says of the journey through the competition. “My experience with retail in the past was always like, ‘you need more sales, you need more followers, you need more brand awareness.’ So if I get a no [now], what else can I do to prove to them that I’m ready?”
With the full support of her family, her mentors, and the Russell Center—including CEO James Bailey—behind her, Kristen did eventually win a deal at Open Call. That’s right—the company that’s only a few years old, started by a hopeful kid in college, would soon be on Walmart shelves nationwide.
The Best Combination
Gently is now poised to change skincare for people like Kristen everywhere. The brand is singlehandedly redefining cleansing for people with sensitive skin and eczema so that their daily wash now becomes the foundation of their care and not the cause of flare-ups and inflammation. With RICE, Walmart, Oprah, and many other powerful companies and organizations helping to accelerate the growth of her business, it’s clear that Kristen’s success has only just begun to blossom.
by Garnell Bradley
