For This Main Line Entrepreneur, Beauty Is Ageless

Ciao Bella Celebrates 30 Years In Business

Tina Fortebuono turned a $20K investment into a million-dollar beauty empire by catering to an unlikely clientele.

Back in 1993, 25-year old Tina Fortebuono dreamed of owning her own salon. Just one would do, but she wanted it to be near King of Prussia, her hometown. Her family was there, as were the loyal clients she garnered working as a stylist in a high-end salon in the King of Prussia Mall.

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Still, Fortebuono didn’t have wealthy investors, corporate backing or a trust fund. Other girls at Archbishop John Carroll High School had closets filled with cardigans; Fortebuono had one. She didn’t complain. Fortebuono knew that her parents had immigrated to the US from Italy to provide better lives for their children. When Fortebuono was ready to open her own salon, her  parents took out a second mortgage and gave her $20,000 to get started. They wanted to help Fortebuono find her piece of the American dream. She intended to do exactly that.  Click below for the entire story.