Squire Technologies, a Black-owned application that lets users schedule barbershop services, announced a new funding haul of $60 million.
The new round of funding has brought the valuation of Squire to $750 million. According to Squire, the Series D round of funding totaled $60 million and was led by Tiger Global.
Squire is a full-scale barbershop management system for barbershop owners and customers.
The platform allows customers to schedule and manage their appointments easily and allows barbers and barbershops to accept payments through Google or Apple Pay and manage schedules. Squire also allows barbers to increase their clientele while reducing the time customers have to sit in the barbershop waiting for their turn.Squire takes both a subscription fee and a percentage of each successful haircut made through the platform.
Squire president Dave Salvant and CEO Songe LaRon told Fortune that rising vaccination rates and a return to higher occupancy levels in barbershops has benefitted the platform as customers have returned to their pre-COVID lives, including routine haircuts, salon visits, manicures, and pedicures.
“We’ve started seeing more shops coming back online that didn’t close down and their customers coming back with pent-up demand,” LaRon said.
During the beginning of the pandemic, revenue in the platform plummeted as Americans were forced indoors and to cancel hair and beauty appointments. However, as reopenings began, barber shops started digitizing their services and Squire saw their fortunes turn around. Now, Squire has 175 employees, and its platform serves 2,000 partners in the U.S. and Canada and has plans to expand to the U.K.
“We’re excited to further our commitment to SQUIRE, and with Dave and Songe, as they continue to build the tools and systems that are necessary in this industry,” John Curtius, partner at Tiger Global, said. “As businesses begin to reopen, SQUIRE is at the forefront of forward-thinking solutions that advance both the shop owner and client experience.”