Vagaro Reaches Unicorn Status
The biz solution co. is now worth $1B with funding from FTV Capital.
Vagaro, a cloud-based business management platform for beauty, fitness, and wellness businesses, has announced that it raised a new round of funding, valuing the company at $1 billion. The company has now reached the coveted “Unicorn Status” and recently expanded into Canada, Australia, and the UK.
The terms of the investment, led by FTV Capital, haven’t been disclosed, but FTV Capital had previously invested in Vagaro in 2018. Vagaro will use the funding to continue developing business tools to book appointments, manage inventory, and rent and payroll processing. The company, which has added credit card processing in Canada, Australia, and the UK, plans to expand its presence in those countries and the US while also moving towards other international markets in the upcoming year.
Vagaro says that despite the pandemic, it has assisted its clients in having sales growth of over 105% in the last year and that clients are selling roughly 15% more than before Covid-19 disrupted the market.
FTV Capital says it was impressed with how the company managed the challenges of the pandemic, offering solutions to its clients and thriving by adding a record number of new clients.
“We are thrilled with Vagaro’s success over the last three years, as the company has continued to capture market share by putting customers first and delivering innovative, affordable products that help business owners foster sustainable growth,” said Robert Anderson, partner at FTV Capital. “Fred and his team have done an outstanding job of executing on their vision, and with enormous potential to serve the $10.5 billion health and wellness market still ahead, we are excited to continue working together as we begin this important next phase of growth.”
The all-in-one business solution platform quickly helped clients like fitness studios to transition from in-class bookings to livestreaming over 313,000 classes. Fred Helou, founder and CEO of Vagaro, says that the company’s tech solutions helped business operations hit goals in an efficient manner.
“This was especially true in 2020, as our platform played a major role in the health and safety of our customers during the Covid-19 pandemic where we were able to provide a function that managed health and safety documentation, as well as several other features that allowed them to do business safely,” Helou said.
As the company sets its sights on the future, Helou says FTV’s funding will enable Vagaro to continue its mission.
“We are very proud to reach the unicorn status. FTV’s support will help us continue our mission to be an all-in-one solution for small businesses in the beauty, fitness and wellness industries. We’re excited for every business in these industries to have a chance to experience our best-in-class product and customer service,” Helou says.
