Just like any other industry, the tech-driven transformation has made marketing functions, communication, and business management more efficient in the beauty and wellness industry. Right now, numerous beauty and wellness brands are using tools right from AI to AR to keep their customer engaged in this intensively competitive market.
Meet Booksy, a beauty marketplace for finding, scheduling, and managing appointments. The company’s booking technology automates the diaries of the always busy, time-poor salon owners, allowing them to get on with their job as their client calendar manages itself.
From the consumer point of view, Booksy is more like an UberEats style app with an index of local hair salons, beauticians, nail salons, and more, where users can automatically schedule appointments at a time that suits them.
Raised €58M funding
Originally founded in Poland but now headquartered in San Francisco, Booksy has secured $70M (approx €58M)in a Series C round led by Cat Rock Capital. Other investors including, Sprints Capital, OpenOcean, Piton Capital, VNV Global, Enern, Kai Hansen, Zach Coelius, and Manta Ray Ventures, participated in the round.
The funding will be used to support fast-paced expansion plans across North America.
At Booksy, our mission is to bring peace of mind to schedule, giving time back for living life fully,” says founder and CEO Stefan Batory. “Like with many sectors negatively hit by the pandemic, it’s been a turbulent time for the beauty and wellness industry, but we’re confident in its ability to come back from this, so it’s fantastic to see our latest group of investors share our optimism and vision. Providing a cost-effective way to offer, manage and increase digital bookings, reduce no-shows and give customers what they want could help make small businesses and entire industries more resilient.”
Simplifying scheduling
Founded by Polish entrepreneurs Stefan Batory and Konrad Howard, Booksy aims to remove the hassle out of scheduling beauty and wellness appointments.
Booksy helps business owners digitally manage their appointments, client database, and time with ease. Through the platform, customers can book and pay for beauty appointments with local businesses via the app at a convenient time.
Partners with major brands, 1500 per cent revenue growth and more
The SaaS company has partnered with tech brands including Facebook, Instagram, Google, and Yelp for a seamless booking experience directly on their platforms. Furthermore, Booksy is also among only three providers globally integrated into the Appointments on Facebook scheduling tool.
Booksy now operates in six markets – the US, the UK, Poland, Spain, Brazil, and South Africa, with 13 million consumers actively using the app.
As per the company’s claims, its revenue has grown 1500 per cent in the past three years and its team strength has increased by 500 per cent. According to the company, this is partly because of the acquisition of rival Lavito in 2018 and, more recently, the merger with Versum in December 2020. The company employs more than 500 people globally.