Emailed on October 30th, 2020 in The Friday Forward

Dallas-based stylist and salon marketplace (and Malartu Funds portfolio company), ShearShare, announced this week they have raised $2.3M in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners Scouts Program, Jaylon Smith of the Dallas Cowboys, the Bumble Fund, Notley Ventures, and more. 

ShearShare provides a marketplace service connecting stylists with open seats at hair salons. They launched in 2017.  

“We pioneered on-demand barbershop and space rentals,” Courtney said. “If a salon or barbershop has an open station a stylist can book it like they would a hotel room.”

According to the Caldwells, the beauty industry is the second largest industry for freelancers and independent contractors. Unlike other companies that are trying to serve stylists by offering them features like booking and appointments independent of salons — or services for salons alone — ShearShare is trying to serve both sides of the marketplace with the tools they need.

“We’re not a StyleSeat. We’re not a Squire,” said Courtney. What they are is expanding rapidly. The company has listings in more than 600 cities ranging from a chair that rents for $15 in Georgia to one that rents for $569 in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. 

The next step for the company is to begin launching more ancillary services for stylists. They’re pioneering an insurance policy for stylists that would cover them from on-the-job lawsuits.