Rock Pamper Scissors has won £1.2m in investment to develop the hairdressser booking app of the same name. The app enables users to find and book a haircut, filtering by real-time local availability, or drawing inspiration from the image galleries that stylists post.
The funding for the business, founded by Just Eat’s former CMO Mat Braddy, comes from venture capital groups 500 Startups and Seedcamps, with angel investors including New Look founder Tom Singh.
Singh said: “Over the past few years I’ve had many fashion apps presented to me, but Rock Pamper Scissors stands out. It clearly disrupts an outdated way in which bookings for haircuts can be made, by facilitating choice and with complete ease. In my opinion, it’s only a matter of time before calling for hair appointments will be a thing of the past – why would you when an app like this enables informed, fast and easy bookings?”
The money will be used to develop use of the iOS and Android app among stylists and customers in London: Rock Pamper Scissors was first tested in Leeds and Manchester in 2015.
Braddy said: ““Whilst building Just Eat it really puzzled me that no-one had built an excellent app for haircut booking. We believe less than 1% of haircuts are currently booked online – that’s insane. By focusing our brand and thinking on the millennial consumers, Uber’s children, who require instant access to services right now, we believe we have come up with a compelling approach which will finally solve this dilemma.
“Our vision is to boost confidence. Confidence in booking a skilled stylist, confidence in online as the best channel to do this with, and personal confidence for the client by getting the best cut.”
Matt Lerner, UK Partner for US-based venture fund 500 Startups, said: “We really believe the team here have a fresh approach which will unlock the market. The team impressed us with their enthusiasm for solving the problems of the talent, namely the stylist, and their deep knowledge of building both marketplaces and challenger brands.”
