New York-based Squire, a startup that sells software to barbershops, raised US$ 59 million on 9 December 2020. The raise is US$ 45 million in equity capital and US$ 15 million in debt financing.
The funding round was led by Iconiq Capital. With the new financing, Squire has nearly tripled its valuation, up from US$ 85 million in June to US$ 250 million today. Other investors in the company include Tiger Global and Trinity Ventures.
Squire is planning to expand into new markets, including Australia, Canada and the U.K. The majority of funds raised will be utilized towards hiring new sales and marketing professionals. Currently, Squire has 100 employees.
About Squire
Founded in 2015 by Dave Salvant, Songe LaRon and Yas Tabasam, Squire is a booking and payment platform that connects people with barbers nationwide. Squire provides barbers and shop owners with the ability to operate their businesses with cashless and contactless pay transactions, thereby streamlining service interaction and helping them earn and retain loyal clientèle as a result.
Squire’s revenue has gone from zero in March, when all barber shops closed, to between US$ 10 million to US$ 20 million 10 months later. “We just took off like a lightning bolt,” said co-founder Dave Salvant. They have partnered with over 2000 barbershops in North America and the UK.
Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon, began the business as a back-end barbershop management tool for independent businesses. The platform lets businesses schedule appointments, offer loyalty programs and install contactless and cashless payments. As barbershop operations are more complex than many other types of small businesses because there are multiple parties transacting and customers might check out different services from different barbers all within one service, Squire comes as a savior by being a point of sale to manage those confusing transactions.
COVID-19 has threatened the livelihoods of small and medium-sized business owners, making it harder for them to secure loans. Squire took on US$ 15 million in debt financing to create a banking-as-a-service feature for these business owners.
“This market is underserved by traditional financial institutions. And we think there are opportunities to help these owners with financial tools,” said Dave Salvant.
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