Squire Barbershop Platform Triples Valuation with Tiger Global

Squire's Growth and New Funding

In 2016, Songe LaRon and Dave Salvant, the co-founders of the barbershop tech platform Squire, adopted a hands-on approach. They acquired a barbershop in Chelsea, New York City, to gain practical understanding of the industry's operations.

For a full year, both co-founders actively worked within the shop – which is now part of a larger chain – managing all aspects of the business except the actual haircuts.

A Significant Milestone

Currently, Squire operates as a 175-person company, and its technology is utilized by over 2,000 barbershops spanning three continents. This growth follows a Series C funding round in December and a subsequent tripling of the company’s valuation.

Today, Squire announced a new $60 million funding round, spearheaded by Tiger Global.

Valuation Triples

The company’s valuation has increased threefold, reaching $750 million. This represents substantial growth, considering Squire was valued at $75 million just over a year ago, fueled by 300% year-over-year revenue growth.

Strategic Expansion and Acquisitions

Squire wasn’t actively seeking additional capital when Tiger Global, a previous investor in Series B and C rounds, proposed leading the new financing. The startup had only utilized 10% of its prior $45 million equity round and now possesses a significant cash reserve.

This new capital will primarily support more aggressive expansion into the U.K. and Canada, even amidst competition from early-stage companies like Boulevard. The co-founders also intend to pursue an acquisition strategy, with Salvant expressing a desire to be “aggressive” in this area.

Introducing Squire Capital

Alongside the funding announcement, Squire officially launched Squire Capital, a financial management platform designed specifically for barbershop businesses. This includes features like instant payments.

Squire’s primary focus has traditionally been on appointment scheduling, loyalty programs, and facilitating contactless payments. Squire Capital adds a fintech component, aiming to provide a specialized service distinct from broader financial service providers such as Square or Paypal.

A Natural Progression into Fintech

Salvant explained that fintech represents a “natural next frontier” for Squire. The company already possesses detailed insights into the operational and sales processes of its client businesses.

By offering additional financial services, Squire aims to deliver a more comprehensive and integrated experience to its users.

Built with Bond

Squire Capital was developed in collaboration with Bond, a fintech infrastructure startup focused on enabling businesses to launch their own banking products. While Squire previously experimented with a $15 million debt financing arm around the time of its Series C, it is not currently offering loans, preferring to explore more scalable solutions in the future.

A Landmark Achievement

Squire is progressing towards becoming a noteworthy and currently uncommon Black-led unicorn. Salvant emphasized the importance of this potential accomplishment, stating it represents “the optimal outcome” of their founding vision.

He expressed hope that Squire’s success will encourage venture capitalists and investors to increase their investment in Black founders, using the company as a compelling example.

Inspiring Future Founders

“We don’t conform to the typical founder profile, in terms of appearance and approach,” Salvant stated. “My goal is to serve as an inspiration and provide validation not only for my co-founder and myself, but also for those who will follow in our footsteps.”