How I went from a Stylist to a Top ARR 2% Tech CEO
I never expected to own award-winning tech business, or that one of my oldest clients would become the investor that would enable me to revolutionize an industry for the better.
Both are true, but where did it all begin for me.
My Beginnings
My start was in the Hair Industry, which I lived and breathed for … years. Working the traditional route, all the way from stylist assistant to a salon owner. I always thought I would be a hairstylist for my entire career. That is, until tech found me, or rather hit me in the face, but we’ll get to that.
Whilst being a stylist, learning my trade, I outgrew my chair quickly. Six years allowed me to observe and experience all the happenings at the Salon, and this is where I stumbled upon one of the biggest issues in the industry. The one stylist’s simply didn’t talk about, because no one knew how to fix it.
The back bar.
The beating heart of the salon, where the hair came to life and into technicolor. It was constantly underperforming and leaking money every day, costing income that should’ve been going directly into the bottom line, not on the salon floor.
The Lightbulb Moment
The actual solution came to me in a lightbulb moment one day. One of my oldest and regular clients, Jenny was in the chair, and in the middle of recounting a trip to get frozen yogurt and explaining how they measure weight for payment, it dawned on me that it could work in salons too. Why couldn't hair color and back bar management be the same? We needed a scale.
My brain lit up with the possibilities and I immediately left Jenny in the capable hands of another stylist (Sorry Jenny!) to see how I could put my revolutionary idea into practice. I had no idea this simple idea, would grow into what it is today. A solution used by 1,200 Salons across the world.
Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
At first, I thought I could create an app, and boom become a millionaire. However, three months later, I launched the first version of the SalonScale App. This minimal viable product (MVP) of the app was the first of its kind. A tool that allowed stylists to see how much their color was costing them in real-time.
I truly realized then, “Shit, I’m going to change this industry.”
Here was an app that could solve a worldwide issue regardless of language or location. It would impact salons across the world. From the beginning, this is where I wanted to take SalonScale global.
The BuildUp
The next part of the journey was harder. It was time to grow the product. I put myself forward for a local incubator and developed the idea into a scalable business model. I won the incubator’s prize, which gave me the confidence to become a beauty-tech company CEO.
Inside I was no longer a Salon Owner. It was time to take on the world of tech. Support came from all sides, but one of the most significant to me was from the person who witnessed the idea bloom into life in my Salon Chair.
Jenny wrote me my first investors check for $35,000. She knew I could do it, and in turn, it made me know I could do it too. After all, selling a $100 haircut was similar to raising over a million dollars in capital. If you knew the service was great, it was an easy sell.
Time to Transition
This became my butterfly moment. I went on to raise several million dollars in funding for SalonScale and I eventually sold the salon to one of my team members. I knew I just had to do the damn thing.
I learned my purpose was beyond just one salon. I was going to change thousands of companies. And what’s more, it would be a female-led tech company - something practically unheard of in the industry.
Additionally, we also recently reached a major milestone - $1 million AAR (Top 2%). Not many tech companies ever reach this, and seldom from non-tech founders.
Believe in You
So here’s my story, and I want to leave you with the knowledge you can do anything when you believe in yourself and your own capability. It can take a big jump of faith and often the support of those around you (for me my Chair), but if I can go from hairstylist to CEO, you can do too.
I believe in you.
