Just Eat founder secures £1.2m funding for hairdresser booking app
A London-based startup for booking hairdressers from the founder of Just Eat has secured a £1.2m investment from 500 Startups and Seedcamp alongside angel investors, including Tom Singh, the founder of New Look.
The app, Rock Pamper Scissors, is targeting millennial consumers and connecting them with salon stylists. The app will help users find where the nearest appointment is available and allow them to browse personal portfolios of each stylist – like an Uber for hair.
The money will be used to grow the app's usage in London – having already launched in Leeds and Manchester in 2015 – and increase the company's tech team.
Founder Mat Braddy said: "Whilst building Just Eat it really puzzled me that no-one had built an excellent app for haircut booking. We believe that less than 1 per cent of haircuts are currently booked online – that's insane.
"By focussing our brand and thinking on the millennial consumers, Uber's children, who require instant access to services right now, we believe we have come up with a compelling approach which will finally solve this dilemma."
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Singh said that he was impressed by how the app "disrupts the outdated way in which bookings for haircuts can be made" and praised the tech company for giving consumers more choice.
Matt Lerner, UK partner for US-based venture fund 500 Startups said: "We’ve looked at a lot of businesses in this space around the world. We really believe the team here have a fresh approach which will unlock the market."