# Glambook Financial Model

Two-sided marketplace and SaaS platform connecting independent beauty professionals with clients - "Uber for the beauty industry" [DECK slide 1]

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/glambook
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/glambook.xlsx
- Category: Marketplace
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Seed
- Funding: $2.5M
- Founded: 2022
- Geography: UK primary (glambook.co.uk); present in 38 countries; top markets UK, Italy, France, Spain, Germany [DECK slide 9]
- Customer: B2B

## About the company

Glambook connects independent beauty professionals with clients while providing professionals with scheduling, CRM, and booking tools. The two-app product spans hair, nails, makeup, tattooing, barbering, lashes, and other beauty services, helping salon-employed professionals build independent practices.

The platform reported 20,000 professionals, 100,000 bookings, and activity in 38 countries. Pros can pay commission of 10–20% on bookings acquired through the platform or subscribe for £20 per month to avoid commission and receive additional benefits.

The model combines supply-led SaaS and marketplace revenue. Active professionals, client bookings, average booking value, and commission-plan mix produce GMV and take-rate revenue, while paid conversion and monthly subscription price build MRR. Professional acquisition, booking frequency, service mix, and retention test the unit economics of the network.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

- Two apps: one for beauty professionals (CRM / schedule / booking management), one for clients (discovery and booking)
- Positioned as "personal CRM system with a stream of incoming leads" for pros
- Targets independent beauty professionals (hair, nails, makeup, tattoo/piercing, barbers, lashes)
- Funnel logic: attract salon-employed pros to moonlight on Glambook, then convert them to full-time independents as earnings grow
- Available on App Store

## Market

- UK: ~45,000 hair and beauty businesses; ~288,000 beauticians, hairdressers, and barbers as of 2020
- EU + UK combined: estimated up to 2 million beauty specialists
- Target market share: up to 30% of EU+UK market (~600,000 pros); benchmarked against Styleseat (US), which claims 350,000 pros out of ~1.5M total
- Self-employment trend: 60% of UK hairdressers/barbers were self-employed in 2020, up from 54% in 2019; majority of all workers projected to freelance by 2027
- ESG angle: global ESG assets cited at $40T today, projected >$53T by 2025 - used as tailwind narrative, not a direct TAM

## Revenue model

Two monetisation tracks, applied to the supply side (beauty pros):

| Track | Mechanic | Price |
| -- | -- | -- |
| Pay-per-booking (freemium) | Commission on each new booking via platform | 10–20% of booking value |
| Subscription (SaaS) | Monthly flat fee; 0% commission + additional benefits | £20/month |

- No client-side fee mentioned
- Acquisition channels: paid + viral social media; partnerships with beauty schools; proprietary lead-gen at fixed £0.50 cost per pro contact in any country

## Traction & metrics

- 20,000 professionals on platform
- +10,000 pros added in the last few months (implies ~doubling)
- 200% professional growth rate cited over recent months
- 100,000 bookings made on the platform
- "First sale of subscriptions" - revenue is early/nascent
- Present in 38 countries

## Unit economics

- Pro acquisition cost (supply side): £0.50 per contact via proprietary channel; total blended CAC not stated
- Commission rate: 10–20% of each booking
- Subscription price: £20/month per pro

## Competition / moat

- Deck states the beauty industry is "very fragmented" and existing solutions target B2B (salons), not independent pros
- No direct competitor names cited; indirect reference to Styleseat (US) as a comparable supply-aggregation model
- Moat claims: proprietary low-cost pro acquisition channel (£0.50/contact); network effects implied by marketplace structure; team's insider domain expertise (CPO is a practicing beauty professional)

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

**Team**:
- Alex Tomchenko - CEO & Founder; London-based; 12+ years in marketing/sales/business development; prior digital agency founder (2008)
- Anastasia Tomchenko - CPO & Co-Founder; 12+ years as makeup artist and hairstylist; beauty industry domain expert
- Sergey Akhapkin - CTO; 10+ years server-side and web development, scalable/fault-tolerant systems

**Funding history**:
- $150K founder capital at start
- €500K raised in 2021
- $2.5M Seed round raised (timing not specified - appears current as of deck date)

**Post-money valuation**: €12M (x3+ vs. last round)

**Funding ask**: Not explicitly stated in deck (no use-of-funds slide)

**12–18 month target**: Grow from 20,000 to 100,000 professionals

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## Recommended financial model

**Archetype + why**: Marketplace + SaaS hybrid (supply-side driven).
Two revenue lines must be modelled separately: (1) subscription MRR from paying pros, and (2) GMV-based take-rate revenue from commission-paying pros. The supply side (pro count) is the primary growth driver - demand (clients + bookings) is derivative. This is closer to a Styleseat / Mindbody / Fresha archetype than a pure SaaS play.

**Forecast horizon & granularity**: Monthly, 3 years (36 months). Monthly is necessary to model the subscription cohort build and the freemium-to-paid conversion funnel properly.

**Key drivers & assumptions**:

Supply side (professionals):
- Starting active pros: 20,000
- Monthly new pro adds: ~3,000–5,000/month implied by "+10,000 in last few months"; use 3,500/month base
- Pro churn rate (monthly): 3–5%; beauty freelancers are sticky once earning but early platform churn is high
- Subscription conversion rate (% of pros on paid plan): 10–15% at steady state; deck says subscriptions have "just started"
- Subscription price: £20/month

Demand side (bookings / GMV):
- Bookings per active pro per month: ~5–8 bookings/month; beauty pros typically book 20–30 sessions/week but early platform fill rate will be low
- Average booking value (ABV): £35–50 based on UK beauty market norms; no deck data
- Commission rate (on non-subscription pros): 10–20%; model at 15% blended
- Paying vs. freemium mix: 85% on commission track initially, shifting toward 50/50 over 3 years as subscription scales

Cost / CAC:
- Pro acquisition cost: £0.50/contact via proprietary channel; assume 50% contact-to-sign rate → effective CAC ~£1/pro
- Blended CAC (inc. social/partnership): £3–5/pro until proprietary channel scales
- Gross margin: 70–80% (software/marketplace; no physical COGS); hosting/payment processing ~5–10% of revenue

**Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex)**:
- Base: 3,500 new pros/month, 12% subscription conversion, 15% take-rate, £40 ABV, 6 bookings/pro/month
- Bull: 6,000 new pros/month (viral + school partnerships fire), 20% subscription conversion, ABV £50
- Bear: 1,500 new pros/month (paid acquisition underperforms), 5% subscription conversion, high churn (8%/month)

**Required sheets / outputs**:
1. Assumptions dashboard (all and inputs in one place)
2. Supply funnel - monthly pro adds, churned pros, active pros by track (freemium vs. subscribed)
3. Demand / GMV model - bookings = active pros × bookings/pro; GMV = bookings × ABV
4. Revenue build - subscription MRR + commission revenue; total net revenue
5. CAC & marketing spend - pro adds × blended CAC; LTV/CAC ratio
6. P&L (simplified) - Revenue, gross profit, S&M, G&A, R&D, EBITDA
7. Cash & runway - starting from $2.5M Seed close; monthly burn; months of runway
8. KPI summary - pros (total, active, subscribed), bookings, GMV, MRR, take-rate revenue, blended ARPU
9. Scenario toggle - Base / Bull / Bear

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Glambook financial model free?

Yes. The Glambook model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.