Hair & handsome: The story behind the world's first salon and spa unicorn, Zenoti

There is not a single industry that has not been changed by technology and has not been spared the world of the spa. Technology-based networks are now rising the pace of searching for innovations that can mitigate market problems for service providers, in addition to the rise in demand for spa and wellbeing services. Salon, salon and fitness providers of all sizes require new technologies to run their business and satisfy changing market needs with the growth of the market. Over the last few years, many startups have poured into the beauty and wellness industry. They are seeking to have diverse solutions; and with some technological assistance, marketplace models have got the most focus.

Laying foundation Stone

Established in 2010, Zenoti is a platform that offers services and solutions for the entire spa and wellness industry, formerly known as ManageMySpa. Before Zenoti, Sudheer and his brother Dheeraj Koneru founded and run a chain of spas and fitness centers in Seattle in the US under the Tangerine Spa and Salon and Latitudes Fitness banner. When he saw the salon and fitness brand industry grow in India, it soon became clear that there was a market difference between what an organization wanted and what could potentially be solved by the latest tech solutions. This motivated him to launch a portal that would bridge the current void between the service and the supplier of solutions. Their platform offers software solutions for billing and inventory, marketing, online bookings, and other services to both chains and individual centers.

Zenoti- Getting our lives groomed 

In the beauty and fitness room, the Zenoti cloud-based solution addresses the needs of spas, salons, medical spas, yoga studios, and other service providers. The technology of Zenoti is based on three principles: efficient and speedy operation, end-to-end business process support capability, and ease of use. The key approach helps the personalization of client encounters, outsourcing of everyday activities, and sales development by a spa or salon. The all-in-one platform provides appointment booking features, CRM, advanced marketing capabilities, back-office capabilities, web solutions, insights, and more. Today, six years down the line, Zenoti is believed to have a presence in 35 countries with offices in seven countries. Over 5,000 outlets, operating from 853 cities across the world, are said to using this platform.

Creating a magnificent change in society

Initially, as a control solution for spas and salons, the product was constructed. Over the years, it has expanded to include other suppliers with health and beauty facilities, including Yoga and Pilates studios, fitness centers, and several wellness clinics. Zenoti is targeting a major market. Zenoti, which began its journey in India, has created a cloud storage solution for the health and wellness industries. The start-up site helps clients after their appointment to pay directly from a smartphone app. It even inspects them as they enter the shop and notifies the vendors. The startup plans to deploy the fresh capital to expand to some additional categories such as grooming. In recent months, it has started to serve gyms and other fitness centers.

Zenoti- strengthening of the social system 

The Zenoti Foundation, a humanitarian non-profit organization devoted to helping workers and their families pass through difficult times and unexpected difficulties, was only founded by Sudheer and the team. The foundation went into motion, developing a specialized COVID 19 Grant scheme for its clients globally, and providing financial assistance to about 500 beauty & fitness practitioners in the United States, Australia, India, the Philippines, and Indonesia for more than $250,000. In recent months, Zenoti's services have proved much more valuable since the pandemic forced companies to digitally transfer many facets of their enterprises. An increasingly growing number of spa and salon chains that previously did not adopt digital offerings are now embracing mobile apps and ways to cut reliance on paper bills.

Funding Programs 

The business, which is headquartered in Seattle, has offices in seven countries and a client base in 30 countries. With clients including Kaya Skin, Enrich Salons, O2 Spas, and Blush Clinics, the company has made a major investment in the Indian industry. In its Series D funding round that priced it at well over $1 billion, the start-up raised $160 million. With participation from Tiger Global and Steadview Partners, the round was headed by Advent International. To date, the start-up has raised over $251 million. The investment comes a year after Tiger Global Management and Steadview Capital raised close to $70 million from Zenoti. It will allow the company to make acquisitions of similar SaaS businesses operating in the spa and salon segment. 

Developing the Future 

The platform is also looking to further penetrate the market in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. A new consumer project named Take5 has recently been launched in India. Used by customers, it is a smartphone app that helps users locate salons and spas based on real-time connectivity, proximity, scores, and so on. Quite shortly, it plans to introduce this app to a wider audience. Sudhir Koneru wants the Uber of the beauty industry to be his venture. He says his platform aims to use the algorithm to transform the field and optimize the profit for space practitioners. Koneru says he wants practitioners to use his platform for their craft and leave all the mundane bits of getting their bookings, tips, and money from customers to zenoti.