Imagine selling your business for a whopping $255M (🤯👏) after being initially laughed at by investors.
That's exactly what Alli Webb did with Drybar.
How she did it & 5 lessons YOU can apply to your business today 👇
A quick overview:
In 2004, Alli paused her career as a professional hair stylist to be a stay-at-home mom.
In 2008, she started offering professional blow-outs to fellow moms in her neighborhood.
In 2010, she co-founded Drybar after her blow-out business started taking off.
By 2020, she sold her hair products line for $255M.
By 2021, WellBiz Brands acquired Drybar's franchise business.
OK now let's take it back to 2008...
After spending 15 years as a hairstylist & 5 years raising her sons, entrepreneurship was calling!
Her idea? Offer women a professional blowout for $45 in the comfort of their own homes.
She quickly realized there was a lot of demand for just blowouts.
By getting customer feedback, she validated her business idea for Drybar.
Her business started to take off 🚀
She scaled from 1 location to 10, then 20, then 50, and so on.
Fast forward to 2021:
- Scaled to 100+ Drybar locations
- Sold the hair product line for $255M
- Sold the franchise biz to WellBiz Brands
... here are 5 lessons you can apply to YOUR biz today 👇
1) Have Founder-Market Fit 💇🏼♀️
Before starting Drybar, Alli was a professional hairstylist. This helped her in 3 ways:
- She got to speak to her ideal customer daily
- She learned about their pain points with hair
- She validated that there was a market for blowouts
2) Innovate On Something That Already Exists
Hair salons have been around forever. Alli decided to focus on 1 part of the experience & make it the absolute best.
Many entrepreneurs think they must invent a new category or develop something extremely innovative.
A better approach? Make slight improvements to existing products or services.
3) Become Known For Something
Alli Webb was determined to become known for "the perfect blowout".
Drybar didn't want to be like any other hair salon. She differentiated herself by offering only blowouts. No cuts, no coloring services, just blowouts.
This helped Alli's business stand out in a crowded market.
4) When To Bootstrap vs. Work With Investors
Bootstrapping the business early on helped the Drybar team get it "right" in fewer salons.
It turns out that having investors laugh at the idea was a blessing in disguise!
Once they scaled to a few salons, other investors wanted in.
At that stage, Alli needed capital for expansion. It was the perfect time to switch from bootstrapping to working with investors.
And the investors who laughed at the idea? They missed out on a huge opportunity.
5) Offer A+ Customer Service
When you arrive at Drybar, you instantly feel pampered and relaxed.
The receptionist checks you in with a smile.
You get to watch nostalgic movies during your service.
The space feels light, airy, and trendy.
Customer service is often an afterthought. Alli strategically chose to make it a differentiator.
To recap....
5 lessons YOU can apply to your business today 👇
1) Have Founder-Market Fit 💇🏼♀️
2) Innovate On Something That Already Exists
3) Become Known For Something
4) When To Bootstrap vs. Work With Investors
5) Offer A+ Customer Service
Get personalized advice from Alli on:
➡️ Fundraising in the beauty space
➡️ How to build a franchise business
➡️ Getting your products into retail
➡️ Scaling to 100+ locations
Want to get feedback on your business idea? You can now book Alli Webb on Intro.
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