Fresha Scores $100 Million Series C For B2B Marketplace

Beauty and wellness software platform Fresha has closed a $100 million Series C funding round, which will go toward boosting its services, including a B2B marketplace, according to a press release.

Salons, spas and barbershops can manage their B2B operations using Fresha’s subscription-free business software, the release stated. The software allows them to book appointments, process payments and manage customer records, which can cut down on some of the common problems those organizations run into.

There’s also automation offered for marketing, staffing, inventory and accounting, according to the release.

Fresha also offers Fresha Plus, which comes with other features. And rather than using a regular subscription model, the company instead takes fees on the use of features for card payment processing and online bookings, the release stated.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition across the globe to online bookings and integrated card payments, now seen as essential to run any modern salon or spa,” Fresha Founder and CEO William Zeqiri said in the release. “In May 2021, Fresha saw a 30-fold increase in the volume of card payments processed on the platform compared to a year earlier.”

The backers of the Series C round included leader General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, along with participation from Huda Kattan of HB Investments and the founder of Huda Beauty, as well as Michael Zeisser, managing partner FMZ Ventures and former chairman of Investments at Alibaba Group, and Jonathan Green of Lugard Road Capital.

Partech, Target Global and FJ Labs, which are existing investors, also took part.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) firms have seen more investments amid the pandemic as more companies allow remote and digital work, necessitating the implementation of new services, PYMNTS reported.

But there have been challenges with the growth as companies have had a harder time keeping services functioning smoothly while the demand is rising.