Zenoti, the SaaS startup which provides services to the salon and spa industry, has become a unicorn after raising $160 million in the latest funding round, which helped the company cross the $1 billion valuation mark.
The startup’s Series D funding round was led by Advent International, and also saw participation from existing investors, Tiger Global and Steadview Partners. The company managed to raise $160 million in the funding round. The 10-year-old startup has now made its way into the list of unicorns after the funding increased the valuation of the company well-beyond $1 billion.
While the term unicorn means that the company is a private startup which is valued over $1 billion, the kind of services the startup offers are also unique and hard to find, which further extends how the metaphor or the term applies to it. The SaaS startup, offers all-in-one cloud based software solutions specifically for salons, spas and brands in the beauty and wellness industry.
The startup provides its customers with solutions such as online booking, through which people can book an appointment at the spa / salon easily; automated check-ins, which notifies the owners that their customer has arrived; and digital payments, which make transactions fast and easy. The startup also uses AI to help its customers analyze incoming emails and get insights into customer interactions.
The startup was founded in 2010 by Sudheer Koneru. The company first began its operations in India within the market that it currently serves, as the founder was already running a successful chain of spas and salons in the country. So in a way, the founder was the company’s first customer.
The company decided to establish its presence in the US in 2014, and it is now headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. The startup, having its origin in India, now mostly has international customers, with US-based customers being responsible for 60% of its revenue, followed by the UK.
While the general push for digitization was being made everywhere, the COVID-19 pandemic has especially changed the way people interact with one another. The pandemic has forced countless business to establish a virtual presence to interact with their customers online. This is where SaaS companies like Zenoti come into play, who bring businesses and customers together.
The beauty and wellness market, however, was mostly untapped. Zenoti has managed to grab this opportunity by providing services to business from this market which they were in need of. The company’s success is apparent in the numbers, as it has grown by 100% this year alone. Zenoti now stands among the Indian SaaS startups like Zoho, Freshworks, Druva, and Icertis, who are valued over $1 billion.
