ShearShare wins $100K in Diversity & Inclusion Investment Challenge

ShearShare, a platform that connects salon and barbershop owners to independent stylists to fill unused suites and stations on-demand, recently won $100K in the Diversity & Inclusion Investment Challenge presented by Capital Factory in partnership with the DEC (the Dallas Entrepreneur Center), DivInc out of Austin, and Perot Jain, LP out of Dallas.

“DivInc is a cohost and strategic partner with Capital Factory for our joint diversity and inclusion initiatives,” said DivInc CEO Preston James to Black Enterprise. “The leadership collaboration among Capital Factory, DivInc, Perot Jain, and the DEC is a great initial step forward to transforming the Texas tech startup ecosystem to be more authentically inclusive. The $100K Diversity Challenge is one of three signature initiatives that Capital Factory and DivInc do together across Texas, so we’re looking forward to making Texas the No. 1 state for tech startup diversity.”

The company competed against five other finalists and gave a five-minute pitch in front of a large group of partners. After the pitch was complete, the judges were allowed to partake in 10 minutes of Q&A. The competition didn’t stop there. Each team had to meet in 20-minute, one-on-one sessions with the partners to give them a deeper dive into their businesses.

Nearly 100 applications were submitted from Dallas startups and only six startup finalists were selected for interviews.

So what exactly was it about ShearShare that was so appealing to the partners? They are currently operating in 375 cities and 11 countries and have a strategic partnership with L’Oreal, the world’s largest beauty brand. Additionally, the latest version of the ShearShare app includes new features sourced directly from their community of stylists and at the core of every successful business is a super-engaged community. To add to it, they are making these types of moves with a small team of six people.

In total, ShearShare took home a $100K investment, access to the Capital Factory network which includes one year of office hours with the Capital Factory Partners, one year of free, unlimited coworking at Capital Factory downtown, and a special kick-off meeting with several of the Capital Factory Partners.

“We’re super happy for the ShearShare team! Outstanding founders, Courtney and Tye Caldwell, are creating an entirely new industry and are a company to watch,” continued James. “We’re excited to see their continued growth and we are confident that Team ShearShare is going to take 2018 by storm.”