[Startup Interview] Neeraj Gupta, Founder, Salonist, Singapore

Neeraj Gupta the founder of Singapore-based startup Salonist explains the inspiration behind setting up the business, the model, the target clientele and future plans for the startup.

Introduce your company             

Salonist is an online Salon appointment booking software for the beauty and wellness industries used by over by over 10000 clients. It was launched in 2017 to manage small- and medium salon business operations with its powerful features. It helps salon and spa owners to manage their day-to-day sales, point-of-sale, customer records, appointment bookings, inventory, and financial reporting effortlessly.

Who are the founders and what are their professional background?                      

Salonist was founded by Neeraj Gupta. He holds a bachelor's degree in information technology.

His friend runs a salon in Paragon Mall Orchard Road Singapore. He was always in tension whenever they met for lunch or dinner because his business was going down and the number of clients kept declining. He later met with another salon owner friend who was also facing the same issue. As a result, he decided to provide his friend and other SMEs a solution to manage their salon operations. That marked the birth of The Salonist.

How is the Salonist financed?

Salonist is financed through boot-strapping        

Why did you start Salonist? What opportunities did you see?

I started this journey when I realized the pain points of beauty business owners. Most of the owners are grappling with retaining clients due to a number of avoidable issues.

What problems does Salonist seek to solve?     

With Salonist you can manage the customer records, tracking of data and appointments seamlessly.

Who are your customers?

Barber Shops, Hair Salons, Nail Salons, Massage Therapy, Spas among others.     

What is your growth strategy? 

We market our software through digital marketing, online paid campaigns, social media, and via referral

In which markets are you looking to establish your presence?  

Currently we have over 10000 customers in more than 60 countries and we are approaching salon owners in other countries as well.

What are your plans for the coming 12 months?              

Approach more customers in different countries and hire more staff to grow our business.

www.salonist.io

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