Spotlight: Need beauty on demand? Glamo glams you up at home

Ever had a moment when you just needed that special glamorous touch? Maybe it’s hair, maybe it’s make-up for that special event, you just need to feel like a movie star. You’re in luck, because Rishielle Giscombe has an app for that.

The Jamaican-born startup founder launched her beauty on-demand marketplace startup, Glamo, in 2018. “With Glamo, clients now don’t have to leave the comfort of their location to get these services done. Glamo brings the salon to them,” said Giscombe (pictured above), Glamo’s CEO. Glamo Glamo’s app, now available on the App Store and Google Play, now services South Florida and Orlando – with plans to expand. Glamo also recently won second place in an Endeavor Pitch Competition.

We spoke to Giscombe about her inspiration and what people can expect from Glamo now and in the future.

What was your inspiration to start Glamo?

What inspired me to build this platform was my mom. My mom and I migrated to America  [from Kingston, Jamaica] back in 2011 with no other option but to adapt and start over life in a new country. My mom and I found it very challenging to get basic services done in New York. I remember us taking public transportation in the freezing cold just to go to the salon. Once we got there, we had to wait hours just for our services to be completed. In 2014 my mom passed away, and wWith the constant memory of her in New York, I decided to relocate to Florida at the age of 22. Being in Florida I then realized that getting beauty services done could be just as challenging for clients in this area.

With my natural talent of installing hair extensions, I then started to provide on-demand beauty service to busy 9-5 females in the South Florida area. Within 2 weeks, I had 11 clients by personally handing paper flyers in front of a local beauty supply store. The following week that 11 clients became 30 new clients recommended by previous clients that tested the services and loved what I offered. I then got up to 200 new clients in the space of 6 months. So, I then decided to create an agency to get more stylists to support the demand, and then I really wanted to deliver the Glamo experience to a wider audience in multiple cities, so I decided to create an app.

Describe your services and the customer experience.

Glamo is a beauty on-demand marketplace that provides clients with their own personal stylist in the comfort of their own location within minutes of booking. Not only does it save time for clients, but it gives beauty professionals the opportunity to showcase their work and be their own boss. We do all the marketing for stylists through our app. Beauty professionals now have that key platform to help scale up their business and brand themselves as their own entity. Beauty professionals now get the chance to set their own prices, and work when and wherever they want. Glamo’s aim is to disrupt the beauty industry for both clients and stylists.

Glamo gives all customers the opportunity to select from over 150 services that fall under the categories of hair extensions, braids, natural hair care, haircut, makeup, and nails. We provided clients with well vetted beauty professionals.

Not only are we working with direct clients, but we have also partnered up with hotel chains in each city we launch in.

What is your business model?

We are not looking to employ beauty freelancers but to have them utilize Glamo as a platform to market themselves and build their own mobile store front. Stylist can now set their own schedule, price per services, time, and the distance they want to travel. The beta version is currently in the App Store to download. We have two apps, one is for the clients (Glamo) and one is for the beauty professionals (Glamo Pro).

Glamo has six ways of making money, but the main ways are through optional monthly subscriptions for stylist that use the Glamo platform. We also deduct a commission from each stylist and Glamo currently charges a standard $5 booking fee per transaction from clients.

Tell me about your team.

I’m truly proud of my team, currently 8 people, that is helping me execute this vision.  Dana Zahreddine and her team control the development of the product, building an easy-to-use app for users to love. Alexia Palmer and her team control the onboarding off stylists and the partnerships we have with hotels, cruises, nursing homes and hospitals nationwide.

What’s next for Glamo?

The next step for Glamo is to finish up our beta launch that already have over 2,000 stylists subscribed.  The service is available in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm and Orlando. We will be launching in 12 major cities in the United States once beta testing is completed

Glamo aims to innovate the beauty industry and become the #1 app for beauty on demand with thousands of beauty professionals in every city.

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Aurora Dominguez