Get Groomed presents a clear, data-driven case for an on-demand male grooming marketplace in London. The deck, dated 2019, highlights a successful first year with over 1,000 registered customers and 600+ services provided. The founders, Giuliano Dore and Sabrina Vijaykumar, leverage their technical and business backgrounds to build a platform with a low customer acquisition cost of £4 and a lifetime value of £32. The pitch focuses on the transition from a 'side gig' to a full-scale operation, seeking £250,000 to achieve full London coverage and develop a dedicated mobile app. While the revenu…
Key takeaways
- The company achieved a customer acquisition cost (CAC) of £4 against a lifetime value (LTV) of £32 in its first year (Slide 5).
- Revenue streams are diversified across individual B2C bookings (20% margin) and B2B corporate events (50-70% profit) (Slide 18).
- The platform serviced over 600 bookings and 25+ pop-up events within its first year of operation (Slide 5).
- The founders are seeking £250,000 in pre-seed funding to transition the business from a side project to a full-time venture (Slide 16).
- Marketing is the largest planned expense, accounting for 36% of the requested funding (Slide 17).
- The deck identifies a specific market gap: a lack of mobile beauty services tailored to men compared to the established women's market (Slide 3).
- Get Groomed reports 25% of customers are repeat users, indicating early signs of retention (Slide 5).
- The 18-month forecast targets a monthly revenue increase from approximately £2,000 to over £22,000 by June 2020 (Slide 10).
Company Overview and Mission
Slide 1: Title Slide
The cover slide introduces Get Groomed with the tagline "your style, your place, your time." It features a high-quality photograph of a barber providing a haircut in what appears to be a home or office setting, immediately communicating the core service. A physical flyer for the service is also visible in the foreground, emphasizing the brand's real-world presence.
Slide 2: About Get Groomed
This slide defines the company as a "male beauty & tech platform" connecting customers with professional barbers for services at home, office, or hotels. It provides essential administrative data: the URL (www.gogetgroomed.co.uk), location (London, UK), founders (Giuliano Dore & Sabrina Vijaykumar), and a start date of October 2017. The imagery continues the lifestyle theme with a top-down view of a workspace, coffee, and a tablet displaying the platform.
The Market Opportunity
Slide 3: Customer Demand & Selling Proposition
The founders identify a specific "Gap in the market," noting that while mobile beauty services for women (nails, makeup, etc.) are plentiful, there are few options for men. The target audience is defined as the "busy working professional man." Key selling points include professional, vetted barbers, zero-hassle cleanup, and a policy where customers are only charged after the service is completed. The slide also mentions interest from corporate partners for staff benefits.
Slide 4: Our Services
Revenue is categorized into three streams: Individual beauty services (B2C), Pop-up events (B2B2C, specifically mentioning co-working spaces like WeWork), and Corporate offers (B2B, for events like Movember or Christmas parties). Service pricing is stated to be between £25 and £55, covering haircuts, beard trims, wet shaves, and facials.
Traction and Performance Metrics
Slide 5: Company Numbers for the First Year
This is a data-heavy slide providing a snapshot of the first 12 months. Key figures include 1,000+ registered customers, 20 signed barbers, 600+ services provided, and 25+ pop-up events. Most importantly for investors, it lists a Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) of £4 and a Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) of £32 . The slide also notes that 25% of customers are repeat users and they have reached a revenue mark of £2,000 (presumably total or monthly, though the phrasing "reached a mark of £2000" is slightly ambiguous).
Slide 6: Our Progress
Four charts visualize growth from late 2017 through late 2018. The "Sales" and "Successful payments" charts show a clear upward trend, with sales peaking near the 3,000 mark (units not specified, but likely total revenue or volume) in December 2018. The "Number of ratings" chart shows steady growth in feedback, and a "Google SEO performance" chart tracks daily clicks, showing volatility but a general baseline of 20-40 clicks per day.
Team and Competition
Slide 7: The Team
The team consists of two founders and three supporting members. Sabrina Vijaykumar (CEO) is listed as a Business Analyst and Technical Product Manager with experience at Hotels.com and TalkTalk. Giuliano Dore (CTO) is a software engineer with experience at GSK and Coca-Cola. The team is rounded out by two interns (Camille Viala and Sebastien Dieu) and a volunteer (Lakshmi Prahba). The slide highlights that both founders were working as contractors during the initial phase.
Slide 8: The Competition
A comparison matrix pits Get Groomed against "Local salon," "Trim-IT," and "Gumtree Barber." Get Groomed gives itself "A" grades in Scalability, Reach, Cost, and Offering, but a "B" in Tech. This honest self-assessment of their technology serves as a lead-in for their funding request to build a mobile app. Trim-IT is identified as the most direct competitor, receiving "B" grades across all categories.
Future Strategy and Financials
Slide 9: Our 18 Months Timeline
The roadmap spans from April 2019 to June 2020. Key milestones include launching mobile apps for Android and iOS (Apr 19), reaching 100 signed barbers (Oct 19), and achieving "Greater London Area coverage" by April 2020. The timeline also sets revenue targets, growing from £3k in June 2019 to £22k in June 2020.
Slide 10: 18 Months Forecast
A bar chart illustrates the projected monthly revenue growth. The forecast starts at approximately £2,000 in February 2019 and projects a steady climb to just under £25,000 by June 2020. A dotted trend line suggests an exponential growth curve.
Slide 11: They Trust Us
This slide functions as a social proof gallery, displaying logos of partners and corporate clients. Notable names include WeWork, Warner Music Group, TransferWise, Dr. Martens, and Groupon . This validates the B2B and pop-up event strategy mentioned earlier in the deck.
Slide 12: Market Research
The deck cites that the male beauty market was projected to reach $60.7 billion by 2020. A more localized stat claims 10 million male adults in England have at least one long-term condition (LTC) requiring grooming, estimating an £800 million per year market. It also uses "Blow Ltd." as a case study for the women's market, noting they raised £12.3M, proving the viability of the on-demand model.
Social Impact and Achievements
Slide 13: Our Non-Profits Initiatives
The company highlights its community work with Brixton Soup Kitchen and WLM. They provide free quarterly events and reduced prices for charities. The stated reasons are to help vulnerable people gain confidence for interviews and to give back to the community.
Slide 14: Our Social Impact
Get Groomed attempts to quantify their social impact, stating a current rate of 6.4 free services per 100 paid customers. They set a goal to reach 11.5% by Q2 2020. This slide is unique for a pre-seed deck, showing a commitment to "impactful social improvements" alongside cash flow.
Slide 15: 2018 Achievements
A summary of the previous year's wins: a £5k grant from the Tower Hamlet Startup Ready Program, the "Best Emerging Barber Brand" award, and the establishment of partnerships with barbering schools like Total Barber.
The Ask
Slide 16: Our Pre-Seed Funding
The company explicitly states its challenges: managing the startup as a "side gig" is becoming difficult, and investment is needed to secure the top market position. The ask is £250,000 . The funds are intended for full London coverage, mobile app development, and scaling the barber supply/demand balance.
Slide 17: The Costs for the Next 18 Months
A pie chart breaks down the use of funds: Marketing (36%) , Salary (28%), Mobile App (22%), Recruitment (8%), Infrastructure (4%), and Other (2%). This shows a heavy focus on growth and product development.
Slide 18: Our 18 Months Strategy
The final slide details the operational strategy. It notes that B2B corporate offers have higher profit margins (50-70%) but are seasonal, while B2C home bookings (20% margin) are growing steadily. The plan is to use high-margin B2B revenue to subsidize the growth of the B2C side. Two pie charts show the expected shift in revenue mix between "low season" (55% B2B) and "high season" (75% B2B).
What Works / What is Missing
Unit Economics: Stating a £4 CAC and £32 LTV (Slide 5) provides a very clear argument for the business's efficiency. · B2B Strategy: The inclusion of high-margin corporate events (Slide 18) shows a sophisticated understanding of how to balance cash flow in a marketplace business. · Social Proof: The logo slide (Slide 11) is impressive for a pre-seed company, featuring major global brands.
Detailed Unit Economics: While CAC and LTV are provided, there is no breakdown of the gross margin per haircut after paying the barber and covering travel costs. · Barber Retention: The deck mentions signing 20 barbers, but does not discuss churn or how they keep barbers from taking clients off-platform (disintermediation). · Exit Strategy: There is no mention of potential acquirers or long-term outcomes for investors.
Founder Takeaways
Focus on the Gap: The founders successfully argued that the male market was underserved compared to the female market. If you are entering a crowded space, find the specific demographic that is being ignored. Be Honest About Tech: By grading their own tech as a "B" (Slide 8), the founders created a logical reason for their funding request. If your product is currently a MVP or a manual process, admit it and show how the money fixes it. Leverage B2B for B2C Growth: The strategy of using high-margin corporate contracts to fund expensive B2C customer acquisition is a smart way to manage a marketplace's "chicken and egg" problem. Quantify Everything: Even their social impact was quantified (Slide 14). Investors appreciate founders who think in terms of ratios and percentages rather than just vague goals.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Get Groomed's primary business model?
- Get Groomed operates as a marketplace platform connecting professional barbers with male customers. They generate revenue through three main channels: individual beauty services (home/office/hotel bookings), pop-up events for co-working spaces like WeWork, and corporate offers for employee benefits or events. Slide 18 notes that B2C bookings provide a steady 20% margin, while B2B offers allow for significantly higher profit margins between 50% and 70%.
- How much funding is the company seeking and for what purpose?
- According to Slide 16, the company is seeking £250,000 in pre-seed funding. The primary drivers for this raise are to transition the founders from part-time to full-time management, secure the 'no. 1 position' in London, develop a dedicated mobile app to improve user experience, and scale the supply of barbers to meet growing booking demand.
- What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) shared in the deck?
- Slide 5 outlines the first-year metrics: 1,000+ registered customers, 20 signed barbers, 600+ services provided, and coverage of 196 London postal districts. Financial KPIs include an average revenue per customer of £31.50, a CAC of £4, and an LTV of £32. They also highlight a 25% repeat customer rate.
- Who are the competitors identified by Get Groomed?
- Slide 8 compares Get Groomed against three main competitors: local salons, Trim-IT (a mobile barber van service), and 'Gumtree Barbers' (independent freelancers). The deck claims superiority in scalability and reach, while acknowledging that their 'Tech' was a grade 'B' compared to their 'A' grades in other categories, justifying the need for app development funding.
- What is the company's social impact strategy?
- Slides 13 and 14 detail their 'non-profits initiatives.' They partner with Brixton Soup Kitchen for free quarterly events and provide reduced pricing for charities like WLM. The deck quantifies this as a 'Social Impact' metric, stating that 6.4 free services are provided for every 100 paid customers, with a goal to increase this to 11.5% by Q2 2020.
