Sometimes, in order to feel your best, you need to look your best, and Glamsquad helps you do exactly that. This beauty services brand brings hair, makeup, and nail services straight to your home. Glamsquad caters to the busy, on-the-go urbanite who wants to look his or her best. The company leverages technology both in matching clients to its professionals as well as for its provider selection process, which ensures that the experience is consistent across different providers and that the providers are representative of the company’s culture.
AlleyWatch sat down with CEO Amy Shecter about the ultimate beauty service company built for the go-getter and its future plans.
Tell us about the product or services that Glamsquad offers.
Glamsquad is a beauty services company delivering hair, makeup and nail services, in NYC, LA, Miami, DC, Boston and San Francisco/Bay Area. Glamsquad’s mission is to connect like-minded beauty enthusiasts through personalized in-home beauty experiences between our clients and our beauty professionals. Our talented and trusted beauty professionals are hand-selected and rigorously vetted to guarantee consistent, high-quality results. Using our intelligent, data-driven technology, we expertly match our professionals and clients to ensure an elevated and customized experience with every appointment. Glamsquad believes that human touch and helping people look their best is at the heart of what makes people feel special.
How is Glamsquad different?
Glamsquad’s biggest differentiator is our highly selective application process for our Beauty Professionals. We accept a small percentage of those that apply as we look for talent, personality and only those that represent the ethos of our culture and brand. Our team of independent hair stylists, makeup artists, and nail technicians are meticulously selected and curated through a rigorous onboarding process which includes both talent/skill analysis and character assessment.
What market does Glamsquad target and how big is it?
Glamsquad targets more densely populated urban markets with an appetite for on-demand services and a passionate beauty community.
What inspired the start of Glamsquad?
Glamsquad launched in New York City in January 2014, offering on-the-go blowouts (and hair styling) to women around the city seeking the convenience of an affordable, yet luxurious, in-home beauty service to help them look and feel their best. In April 2014, Glamsquad launched makeup services in NYC, followed by new market launches in LA that October and Miami that December. Since then, we’ve continued to expand our service offerings and markets to meet the high demand.
You have come into a few organizations as CEO after the company has already launched. What do you do first to ensure that you have a lay of the land and then what’s next?
The first thing I do when I join an organization at any point in the maturation of the company is to immerse myself in the brand, the people and the culture. I believe it’s important to understand what working and what’s not working before making any decisions about what path to create. Within a few months, in collaboration with the leadership team, we create a project plan to align against the priorities we will achieve and then communicate those initiatives throughout the organization. Having a clear vision and a path to execute against makes the whole company operate successfully.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
Our milestones are opening new markets, increasing our footprint in existing markets, launching in-home selling and developing our partnership with CVS.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
One of the greatest pieces of advice I never got but learned on the job is that you don’t necessarily have to have all of the skills to do a new job well. As a strong leader, it is essential to utilize the strength of the team around you to succeed. By leveraging the team, you know so much more than any one individual working alone.
One of the greatest pieces of advice I never got but learned on the job is that you don’t necessarily have to have all of the skills to do a new job well. As a strong leader, it is essential to utilize the strength of the team around you to succeed. By leveraging the team, you know so much more than any one individual working alone.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
I would love to have lunch with Ginni Rometty, the CEO of IBM. She is an inspiration for female executives (especially in the tech community) and is successfully leading a path for change and innovation at one of the largest tech and consulting companies in the world.
Why did the company launch in New York?
The original founding team launched in NYC first because it is where they are from and it is such a strong on-demand and beauty city!
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
My top two favorites are Gramercy Tavern and Nobu.
