Fresha reveals how beauty tycoon Huda Kattan had the vision to invest in its world leading booking platform for hair, beauty and wellness businesses.
As the world’s No.1 and fastest growing subscription-free salon software for hair, barbering, beauty, spa and wellness, Fresha’s exponential growth is being accelerated through a series of capital investments, the development of leading-edge technology, and the introduction of innovative features tailored to the needs of its partners in the beauty industry, and consumers.
Fresha and Huda Kattan – a powerful partnership in the global beauty industry
With 60,000 partners and 200,000 professionals in 120 countries now managing their businesses with Fresha, and with over 450 million appointments already processed, Fresha has revealed how it joined forces with Huda Kattan – founder of self-made cosmetics empire Huda Beauty and chairwoman of HB Investments – to create one of the most powerful partnerships in the global beauty industry.
As one of the world’s most successful beauty entrepreneurs, Huda has built a multi-billion-dollar cosmetics brand by sharing her passion for beauty on Instagram, amassing an fanbase of over 50M loyal followers. Recognising the huge potential for Fresha as salons and spas increasingly move their businesses online, Huda commented: “I’ve witnessed the positive impact Fresha has for beauty entrepreneurs first-hand. The company is a force for good in the rapidly expanding community of beauty professionals around the world. By making top business software accessible without any subscription fees, Fresha lets professionals focus on what they do best – offering great experiences for their customers.”
Fresha website and app – driving business growth
With consumers using the Fresha website and app to discover hair, beauty and wellness businesses in their area, tens of millions of appointments are being booked and paid for online every month. As an end-to-end software solution for businesses and consumers, Fresha is driving growth for its partners by providing their clients with a seamless online booking and payment experience, and attracting new clients via Fresha marketplace. Now, Fresha is also providing an intuitive e-commerce solution for its partners, and a positive online shopping experience for consumers with the launch of Fresha Store.
Fresha Founder and CEO William Zeqiri says. “There are plenty of exciting opportunities for Fresha to work in close partnership with Huda Kattan and her team, particularly in the ecommerce space. The beauty industry is on the verge of a major transition to online, and we are leading the way with free software for salons, barbershops and spas around the world. Our online bookings and automated marketing tools, with mobile apps and direct integrations to Instagram, Facebook and Google are bringing local businesses much closer to where customers increasingly are; online”.
Fresha Co-Founder Nick Miller agrees adding: “Huda’s wealth of industry experience and passion for beauty, along with her inspirational story of entrepreneurship make her the perfect fit for Fresha. We’re thrilled to be working with Huda and her team on new ways to leverage technology and unlock real value for beauty professionals and customers around the globe.”
The Future Is Fresha
With New York-based growth equity firm General Atlantic – backers of tech giants such as Facebook, Snapchat and Airbnb – raising $182 million to date and valuing Fresha at over $640 million, Huda Kattan participated through HB Investments, the private investment office of the founders of Huda Beauty. With Huda Kattan as Chairwoman, her sister and President Mona Kattan said: “Fresha is a win-win solution for both customers and service-based businesses. It’s supercharging businesses by allowing them to manage, track and grow in the fastest way possible, all subscription-free. For customers, it’s a simple and easy platform to discover and book services. The potential is limitless.”
Karan Wats, CEO of HB Investments adds: “Fresha is doing an incredible job and it’s building a phenomenal business. General Atlantic’s investment will accelerate the company’s growth and cement its industry-leading position.”