By Scott Berson
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Entrepreneur Latanya Tibbs, who owns the “Wombpreneur Wellness Boutique” is set to appear on Steve Harvey’s new show “Steve Harvey’s FUNDERDOME.” The show, which debuts June 11 at 9 p.m. on ABC, pits two inventors against each other as they compete for seed money to fund their business. The twist? The audience votes on the winner at the end of the show.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.
At first, Latanya Tibbs didn’t think the call was real.
She was preparing for an ordinary day when she noticed a new message on her phone. A representative from the ABC network had called asking if she would be interested in appearing on a new TV show hosted and coproduced by popular comedian Steve Harvey.
“I have five creative sisters, so at first I thought it was a prank,” Tibbs said. “When they sent the email, I knew it was real.”
She called back, and before she knew it, Latanya found herself on a plane to Los Angeles. She was going to compete in the premiere of a new show, “Steve Harvey’s FUNDERDOME.”
The show, which debuts June 11 at 9 p.m. on ABC, pits two inventors against each other as they compete for seed money to fund their business. The twist? The audience votes on the winner at the end of the show.
Tibbs, who owns the Wombpreneur Wellness Boutique on 3878 East Britt David Road, is no stranger to business or television. An “herbal specialist” and expert in hollistic and alternative women’s health, she has appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show” and even created a custom soap for Kandi Buress of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
Her invention for “FUNDERDOME” was also a soap, but it was one that left Steve Harvey a little vexed — the V-Smart Bar, a soap made specifically for vagina and womb care.
“It’s a unique and a little strange product, so they were very into it,” Tibbs said. “And of course Steve was just speechless. He was just looking at me like ‘You have a what for what'”?
She said she invented the soap over 30 years ago.
“One of my sisters was having major issues with her skin and her womb, so she asked me if I could make a product,” she said.
Tibbs kept making the soap for her and her family’s personal use for years while working as a hairstylist, but she eventually realized that it could be of interest to offer it to women all over the world.
“I did a natural hair show back in 2012, and I had about 17 products on the table, and the V-Smart Bar was the first thing to sell out,” she said. “It was a three-day event and it sold out within an hour. Somebody even bought the sample that was on the tray.”
She now sells the bar to folks as far away as Australia, and she even opened her boutique in Columbus in January, where she provides holistic women’s health services and sells a wider range of products, including bleach-free toilet paper and herbal body oils.
Columbus residents won’t know if their local entrepreneur won until the show’s premiere on Sunday, but Tibbs said that it was an “amazing” experience either way.
“I think the thing I really love about this show is that it’s not cut throat, like ‘Shark Tank.’ It’s fun,” she said. “I laughed the entire time.”
