Just as makeup sales roared back post-pandemic, so has Glamsquad.
The digital platform, which allows users to connect with beauty professionals like hair stylists, makeup artists and nail technicians, has received a minority investment from Boathouse Capital.
The business has been profitable for the last 18 months, a welcome reversal of the business’ pandemic performance, said David Goldweitz, cofounder and chief executive officer. “Unsurprisingly, the pandemic was very difficult for Glamsquad, there were periods early on where it wasn’t even clear that we were going to emerge,” he said. “We are now back in full scale, and in many ways, stronger and more focused than we ever were.”
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Goldweitz plans to streamline the company’s business model, doing away with the product line and “all sorts of other things that were tangential to the core business,” he said. “Once the pandemic hit, we really had to narrow our focus, and we’ve really refocused all of our energies on our core, on-demand beauty business, and trying to make the best service available for hair and makeup in the markets we’re in.”
He didn’t quantify sales, but industry sources expect revenues to reach $20 million in 2023 under the new strategy, which also includes expanding nationwide. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
“We’re going to launch in a handful of new cities,” he said. “We will probably go into Dallas and Austin next, but we have a whole slate of 15 or 20 cities that we’d like to launch over the next year or two.”
The funds will also help Glamsquad build out its team, as well as shift the focus to experiential marketing, which has historically reaped rewards for the company.
“We consider ourselves to be an experiential service, and our best marketing was experiential,” Goldweitz said. “There was really no experiential marketing for a couple of years… this will help us drive our strategic partnerships and marketing into events, product partnerships and pop-ups, so we can be out there meeting our current and potential clients.”
Added Shivam Patel, principal at Boathouse Capital, via a statement, “While the pandemic was a difficult period to navigate, the steadfast commitment by cofounders Dave Goldweitz and Giovanni Vaccaro helped the company reach profitability and positioned Glamsquad for future success. We are thrilled to partner with the high-caliber Glamsquad team and the current owner, JMB Capital, on expanding the company into new markets and verticals while continuing to operate in a streamlined and cost-efficient manner.”