Boulevard raises $80M to power self-care boom driven by Botox and GLP-1 surge

The beauty industry is currently experiencing a remarkable transformation, with a wide array of services now available to consumers. Beyond traditional hair and nail treatments, offerings include advanced procedures such as Botox, fillers, and permanent laser hair removal, as well as weight management solutions through GLP-1 medications. Amidst this growth, Boulevard, a company specializing in scheduling and payment software for the self-care sector, has successfully raised $80 million in its Series D funding round. This new investment elevates the company’s valuation to nearly $800 million, a significant increase from the $595 million valuation recorded three years ago. The funding round was spearheaded by JMI Equity, with notable contributions from existing investors like Index Ventures and VMG Partners. Founded in 2016 by Matt Danna and Sean Stavropoulos, Boulevard initially aimed to streamline the online booking process for hairstyling appointments. The founders were perplexed by salons' reluctance to adopt online scheduling, only to find that salons preferred to manage appointments via phone to better optimize stylists' time. To address this, Boulevard developed a machine learning-based booking system that factors in various constraints, such as individual client needs and their history of punctuality. Starting with hair salons, the company has since expanded its offerings to massage and nail salons. In the past three years, Boulevard's revenue has surged by over 500%, largely due to an emerging clientele in the MedSpa sector. These businesses, which blend traditional spa services with medical procedures, offer a range of non-surgical treatments, including Botox and GLP-1 medications like Ozempic for weight loss. Danna, Boulevard’s CEO, noted his initial surprise at the interest from MedSpa owners in the company’s software, as they typically used electronic medical records (EMRs) for insurance billing. However, since MedSpas generally operate on a cash-pay basis, adapting Boulevard's software for their needs proved to be a seamless process. The company achieved HIPAA compliance and incorporated features tailored for MedSpas, such as visual charts for precise injection mapping. Now three years since these adaptations, Boulevard claims it powers about 15% of all MedSpas in the U.S. "The lines between beauty and medical services are increasingly blurring," Danna remarked, highlighting the trend of hair salons also providing MedSpa treatments. Boulevard has also expanded its services to include an online payment system, a feature that emerged from their observations regarding appointment no-shows. "We discovered that making online bookings too easy could lead to missed appointments," Danna explained. To combat this, the company began capturing credit card information to secure bookings, effectively addressing the issue of no-shows. While they initially did not plan to charge these cards, customer demand for transactions led to this development. This year, Boulevard anticipates processing around $5 billion in payments. Despite its impressive growth, Boulevard faces competition from other players in the market, including Zenoti, which was valued at $1 billion in 2020, as well as Fresha and Booksy, among others.