Steelo Salon: Alexis and Leu Freycinet

In the heart of Durham, Alexis and Leu Freycinet are bringing their more than 30 years of experience as stylists to Steelo Salon, focused on providing clients comfort and confidence as they build a community focused salon.  

After moving to North Carolina from California a few years ago, Alexis and Leu decided to take the jump into entrepreneurship and open their own salon focused on providing a laid-back luxury vibe to the area.  

“We’ve both been stylists for a long time,” said Alexis. “We’ve helped grow and scale other salons in the past, and we just decided that it was time to start our own. It’s definitely something we’ve always wanted to do.” 

As the couple looked to access capital to help address the startup costs of opening Steelo Salon, they found Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF) and began the process of accessing capital through the organization. 

“We had been turned down by a couple of regular banks,” said Leu. “But we came across CSBDF, and it was the first time that we got an ‘ok, yes’ and thought that maybe we could do this.” 

Working with the team at CSBDF, Alexis and Leu began the process of acquiring a small business loan to help get Steelo Salon off the ground and running. For the Freycinets, having a guiding hand throughout the process was a huge help.  

“The team at CSBDF held our hand the entire way. It was a great experience,” said Alexis. “We had many phone calls helping us to build our projections, assess our startup costs, and they helped with every form we had to build before we applied. They made sure to set us up in a way that made our application special and complete, and they really helped us understand our business more on the back end. We felt confident we knew our stuff thanks to CSBDF.” 

“I think some people just apply to a bank and get capital and don’t know what to do with it,” said Leu. “One thing I loved about CSBDF was that they told us to raise a certain amount of money first, so we weren’t just blindly going in. We had to work at it because it made us have a stake in the decision. We had a vested interest. The other thing I loved about the process was they just kept saying ‘ok, when this is done then we can do this.’ That was great, just having a lot of people on our side helping us stay on track.” 

After working with CSBDF through the process, Alexis and Leu were approved for a loan in August of 2024 and returned to the organization for an additional loan in October as they looked to expand their original plans. The capital injection helped with various startup costs for the business. 

“The loan has helped us immensely,” said Alexis. “It helped us stay on budget and on track. It helped us do a full build out and expand from being a salon with just three stations to being able to add a second floor, which means more stylists and more longevity. The loan also helped us with our marketing, which has helped us to be successful as we opened. It allowed us to hire a team. CSBDF helped us to be very strategic with all of that and to know what was and wasn’t realistic for us.” 

For Alexis and Leu, Steelo is more than just a salon. It’s a place in the community. It’s a vision and a dream. And it’s an inspiration to their family members.  

“We want Steelo Salon to be a huge part of the community and to inspire our family because we are first-generation business owners,” said Alexis. “I would love to grow and scale our company and show our family that dreams do come true.” 

In addition to inspiring their family, Leu and Alexis also hope that Steelo Salon can help to inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Leu said that it’s not always a loving sendoff when stylists leave their salons, but he wants Steelo to be a place where their employees can grow in their craft and maybe someday venture out on their own as well.  

“Hopefully we can inspire some of our current employees to do their own thing someday, too,” said Leu. “We want to come across as tangible and transparent to influence people to do what we’ve done. Normally it can be weird when you leave a salon, but we want to encourage our employees to do their own thing or even start a Steelo number two of their own in another area.” 

To learn more about Steelo Salon and to check out what they have to offer, visit steelosalon.com or visit them on Instagram at @steelosalon, on Pinterest at @steelosalon, on Facebook at Steelo Salon, or on TikTok at @steelosalon.