Songe LaRon and Dave Salvant, founders of Squire, a barbershop platform. Image: Squire
New York-based barbershop management platform Squire, which was founded by Songe LaRon, an attorney, and Dave Salvant, who has a master’s in business administration, has exceeded $1 billion in payments processed.
Though neither LaRon nor Salvant was a barber, LaRon bought a barbershop in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. They noticed inefficiencies in barbershops and set out to solve the problem using the experience they gained working for other people in law and finance.
“Many shops would be using two or three different (kinds of) software to run their business,” LaRon said in a Moguldom interview. “They would use one thing for booking, one thing for point-of-sale payment, and something else for marketing and CRM. Technology is not their specialty, their specialty is cutting hair.”
Squire started in 2016 as a way for people to book and pay for barbershop visits on their cell phones and evolved into an all-inclusive platform used by barbers, barbershop owners, and people looking for a barber. The platform also added Squire Capital, a money management platform with tools catering to barbershop operations.
LaRon outlined Squire’s journey to $1 billion in payments on Twitter.
“It took 2 years to reach our first $1M, 5.5 years to $100M, and now we surpassed $1B!” he tweeted in a series of posts. “Every dollar reflects the hard work of our team and the dedication of barbers we serve.”
The company accumulated 3 million-plus end users in its first three years and processed more than $100 million in transactions, according to a press release. In 2019, Squire announced $8 million in Series A funding, bringing its total financing at the time to $12.2 million. Participation from investors included 645 Ventures, Richelieu Dennis’ New General Market Partners and Y Combinator. An earlier seed round included participation from Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel and serial entrepreneur Paul Judge.
“A huge thanks to our barbering community for making this possible,” LaRon tweeted, announcing the company’s milestone. “It’s your trust that’s brought us here.”
Squire built an ecosystem for the barbershop industry with its own software, partnering with Instagram to incorporate booking a haircut into people’s profiles, and telling the stories of Squire’s barbershop customers on the content site, Ultra.
Both in their 30s and living in New York City, LaRon and Salvant had successful careers in law and finance before becoming entrepreneurs. LaRon attended Yale Law School.
They made sure they understood the problem they were solving from the inside out by opening a high-end Manhattan barbershop and running it.
In 2020, Squire raised $34 million in a Series-B funding round with participation from the San Francisco 49ers and Tiger Global, among others.
They said their app was helping men to have a more efficient experience with the fundamental task of grooming. “Ultimately, we want to be a multi-billion dollar technology company,” LaRon told Moguldom.
When barbershops were forced to close during the covid pandemic, LaRon said “everything went to zero.” By the end of 2020, the company had made a stunning comeback, increasing its valuation from $85 million in mid-2020 to $250 million by year’s end after recent investments.
Squire’s backend management tool gave barbers the resources to manage operations by scheduling appointments, offering loyalty programs, a virtual waiting room and cashless, contactless payments.
By mid-2021, the company announced that it had raised a $60 million round led by investment firm Tiger Global, tripling its valuation to $750 million.
LaRon confirmed his gratefulness and commitment in a June 7 tweet.
“I’m deeply grateful to every shop owner, barber, and team member who’s been part of this journey.
As we celebrate, we set our sights on the next billion(s). It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re committed to serving the barbering community for the long haul.”
READ MORE: A Moguldom Interview with Squire’s Songe LaRon
