Mobile beauty matchmaker Glamdeva shapes plans for funding raise to expand services

Glamdeva: The mobile hair and makeup artist service

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The startup, a matchmaking pioneer in the growing beautytech sector, aims this year to double its reach and have 1000 providers and 100,000 users on board. Further options for clients will include nails, waxing and massages.

Comparisons in aesthetic treatments and partnerships with brands and industry training groups to help providers enhance their qualifications will then follow.

“There are lots of exciting dynamics for investors with expertise in digital or beauty and backing would be from £250,000 to £400,000. We’re also considering crowdfunding,” says co-founder Gurinder Randeva.

Cardiff-based Glamdeva’s new chief executive Louise Santaana, former head of UK wealth lending for Lloyds banking group, will lead the scale up and a £1 million turnover is forecast for 2024 while staff numbers will increase from five to ten.

Gurinder launched the business with tech entrepreneur husband Tej in 2019 after finding there was no convenient way to find the artists and stylists she needed to look her best for the weddings and events she had been invited to.

“Both for professionals and customers our platform is a breath of fresh air, finding each other is no longer a time-consuming chore. There is no other site that instantly offers the all-in-one-place comparisons we do,” she explains. 

“There was a gap as demand increased driven by interest in self-care, the desire to look good and shows like Love Island.”

Customers can decide by price, distance and experience of the providers while the mobile salon businesses can control their charges and availability. 

“That gives time-stretched entrepreneurs more power to develop their businesses,” says Gurinder.

“There are no subscription or other hidden fees. The payment gateway is secure and everything is only based on the confirmed bookings they receive.”

Self-funding Glamdeva to the tune of £100,000, the Randevas worked with an overseas web developer.  

“We focused on the user-experience and search engine optimisation,” says Gurinder. “Customers don’t like downloading apps for one-off purchases so we have put more effort into making the mobile experience as seamless as possible.

“Our technology calculates distance so our providers can be paid a mileage cost and they can decide how far they want to travel. Integrating features like this were technical challenges, but essential for creating the most streamlined service.

“For newly qualified professionals this is a way they can get exposure very cost-effectively. We deployed nationwide pages on our website before we launched officially. This gave us a head start on Google and delivered great organic results.”

Providers go to customers’ homes or hotel rooms which are a popular alternative. Verification checks by Glamdeva are an important part of the process before any access is allowed to the booking service.

Beauty is never one size fits all and inclusivity is a key part of Glamdeva’s strategy going forward with specialist services for ethnic minority needs.

Although customers are predominantly females, “inquiries are increasing from cross-dressers and males who are transitioning. Our platform helps provide the diverse services people today want,” says Gurinder.

When lockdowns paralysed the beauty market, she and Tej used the time to improve the platform’s booking process and make good on the demand they had spotted for affordable, high quality beauty tools. 

Their GLAMX brand has now launched offering China-made luxury brush sets for £25.

“Once we have built the domestic market, we want to expand to the US and Europe,” Gurinder adds. “The last two years have taught me never to stop and always stay optimistic.”

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