From SVC Finalist to Campus Launch: Zariah Taylor Brings TheHairVault to WashU
An idea that made its way through the Skandalaris Venture Competition is now serving students on WashU’s campus.
Zariah Taylor (FA ’27), a fashion design student in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, is the founder of TheHairVault, a vending machine concept created to make textured hair-care products more accessible to college students.
Recently featured in The Source, Taylor has brought that idea to life with a TheHairVault vending machine in the Village, giving WashU students a convenient way to purchase textured hair products on campus.
From an Idea to a Venture
TheHairVault is no stranger to the Skandalaris Center.
Taylor competed in the Spring 2025 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC), where TheHairVault advanced from the semifinal round to become one of 16 finalists. The venture was built around a straightforward but important problem: students with textured hair do not always have convenient access to the products they need while living on a college campus.
For Taylor, the problem is also personal. Hair can be an important part of identity, culture and self-expression, making access to the right products about more than convenience.
TheHairVault addresses that need by bringing hair-care products directly to students where they live.
Building Beyond the Competition
Taylor has continued developing TheHairVault since her time in SVC.
In addition to advancing to the SVC finals, Taylor received support through Olin Business School’s Holekamp Seed Fund in 2025. Her progress demonstrates what can happen when an entrepreneur continues testing, refining and building an idea beyond the pitch.
Now, students can see the result of that work firsthand on campus.
TheHairVault’s launch is also an example of the entrepreneurial process the Skandalaris Center encourages: identify a real problem, listen to the people experiencing it, test a solution and continue building.
For Taylor, what began as an idea for improving access to textured hair-care products has become a venture meeting that need within her own university community.
Read More About Zariah Taylor and TheHairVault
Learn more about Taylor, what inspired TheHairVault and the journey to bringing the vending machine to WashU in the original story from The Source.
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