A new Chicago startup has an answer for at-home haircuts that doesn’t involve taking the scissors into your own hands.
Beau officially began rolling out its at-home, on-demand haircuts for men last week. Customers choose a date and time for an appointment on Beau’s web platform, describe or upload a photo of the cut they want, and Beau sends a text to confirm a visit with one of its stylists. Cuts cost $28 before tip and can be booked seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Kevin Yun, who founded Chicago web and mobile design bootcamp Designation, and his former University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign classmate, Manu Edakara, started working on the product eight months ago and recently began testing with friends and family. Yun remains on the board at Designation but is no longer involved in day-to-day operations, he said.
Yun said he and Edakara wanted a way to offer affordable, at-home cuts in Chicago. Competitors in other markets include New York’s Shortcut, which offers men’s cuts beginning at $40, and Los Angeles’ Hairdoo.
Men’s haircuts in Chicago averaged $32 during a six-month period in 2013 and 2014, according to data from payment company Square.
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“Our pricing is comparable, if not a lot better, than what you could get at a salon,” Yun said. “We wanted to cut out the brick-and-mortar expenses.”
Yun said Beau accepts stylists with cosmetology or barbers’ licenses. The company runs background checks, performs phone interviews and scours resumes for stylists with more than a year of experience. Stylists earn $25 on each cut, plus 100 percent of any tip earned.
Beau provides tarps and branded T-shirts for its stylists. Stylists are required to bring other supplies, including capes for customers, and vacuums so they can tidy up after a cut.
The startup could expand to women’s cuts in the future, but for now it’s working to perfect its original service.
“That’s an experience we want to make sure we nail down before going to anything else,” Yun said.
Twitter @megancgraham