Beauty booking platform Shedul.com raises $5 mn round and launches marketplace
Shedul.com announced on 2nd August 2018 that it had successfully generated $5mn (€4.3 mn) from a funding round.
Investment team
The investment efforts were spearheaded by Berlin-based Venture Capital firm, Target Global, an investment firm specialising in developing online marketplaces and e-commerce organisations, FJ Labs.
As it prepares to expand its spa and salon-focused booking platform throughout the international stage, Niklas Östberg, Founder and CEO of Delivery Hero, and Hakan Koç, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of AUTO1 Group will also join the team as investors.
Ahead of its forthcoming Series B round, Shedul.com has already brought the total raised to more than $11 mn (€9.5 mn).
What does the software do for salons and spas?
Entering the beauty field in 2015, by offering salons and spas efficient, “intuitive” and free-to-use software, Shedul.com now has merchants in over 120 countries including Australia, the US, Canada and the UK.
It has been hailed by Gartner Inc's user rating service as the industry's most popular, most affordable and most user-friendly software for 2018.
With a strong focus on operational, efficiency and business continuity, the software strives to provide an all-round painless system that enables spas and salons to manage appointments, point-of-sale, customer information, product/stock inventory and financial reporting.
Recently Shedul.com was crowned the industry's most popular, most affordable and most user-friendly software for 2018 by Gartner Inc's user rating service. With an average growth rate of 20% month-on-month, the company anticipates that a total of $3.5 billion (€ 3bn) worth of appointment bookings will have been made this year
How is it gearing up to change the beauty world?
"We're thrilled to have first-rate partners join our growth story, bringing their experience and networks to our rapidly expanding business," enthused Co-Founder and CEO William Zeqiri.
Looking at the bigger story, Zeqiri added: "We are modernising the beauty and wellness industry at the same transformative scale seen in other spaces like food ordering and local transportation. The massive opportunity is clear, by bringing thousands of pen-and-paper based businesses on our platform, we're enabling a whole segment of businesses to connect with consumers online."
With a keen eye of the beauty market, Shmuel Chafets, General Partner at Target Global, commented: "We have been impressed by founders and the product right from the start. Shedul.com has remarkably shown how a small company with very little VC funding can build the best product in the category, grow very fast and service millions of people every month.”
Stressless appointments
Shedul.com has also launched Fresha.com, a consumer marketplace that allows consumers to book appointments at salons and spas. In its initial rollout phase, the marketplace will provide their target audience with mobile apps and real-time booking integrations through social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and Google. For added convenience, it will also offer in-app payment processing.
"The launch of Fresha.com is a triumph for people who want to look and feel their best," emphasised Nick Miller, the company's Co-Founder and Chief of Product.
"It is the easiest, most reliable way to book with salons and spas, and is a milestone in our mission to bring local businesses closer to their customers."
Future growth plans
Describing its fast-paced and ambitious strategic approach, Zeqiri conveyed: "We're incorporating intelligent features on our marketplace to help merchants grow revenues.”
"For example, smartly displaying price and availability options, based on the customer's purchase history and the merchant's projected occupancy. This frees up merchants to do what they do best and spend more face time with customers."
