EatNow founders Matt Dyer and Nathan Airey have launched Bookwell, the “Menulog for beauty and wellness”, with $2.6 million seed funding.
Piloted since late last year, the new booking site aims “to address an untapped gap in the $10 billion health, beauty and wellness market in Australia by allowing beauty and wellness service providers to reach new customers and fill empty appointments”.
Launching Bookwell yesterday, Dyer said the company already has 750 salons and spas in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide listed on the site.
“Bookwell has already shown 20 percent month-on-month growth in its pilot stage and this is expected to exponentially grow following the launch.”
Founded in 2010, EatNow merged with Menulog in 2015 to form Menulog Group. The Group was then sold to JustEat in 2015 for $855 million.
Following this “success in startups and on-demand marketplaces”, the duo raised a $2.6 million investment from Adam Schwab, CEO of the Lux Group (the owner of 15 websites including BrandsExclusive, Luxury Escapes, Living Social, DailyDo and Cudo) and private investors, to take Bookwell into its initial build stage.
Dyer said the two men were “excited to be entering another billion dollar market that’s untapped in Australia”.
“I had always thought there was an opportunity in the health, beauty and wellness market as it is extremely fragmented and can be hard for customers to find and book a service they are after,” he said.
“Over the past decade start-ups have been disrupting the hospitality industry by creating new tech to connect with customers, quickly.
“Bookwell is one of the first in its category to do the same for the beauty and wellness sector in Australia.
“Salons and therapists spend thousands each year on marketing to fill empty appointments and to drive new customer acquisitions.
“Bookwell is the first one-stop platform with venues, reviews and different services for customers that will instantly boost profits across categories including hair, tanning, massage, nails and waxing.”
Dyer said the company was using “a similar business model to the hugely successful EatNow” as it “easily translates to the beauty market”.
“Our main focus over the next six months will be to grow our network both geographically and by way of supplier listings,” he said.
“With most salons only open certain hours to take bookings and customers frustrated calling different venues to book treatments, we look forward to becoming the market leader in providing a quick and easy way to book beauty and wellness appointments all over Australia.”
Bookwell has been operating “in pilot mode for a little over a year” but is now fully operational with a “completely new look”.
“During the last year we have been getting venues onto the site, learning about the industry and improving the software,” said Dyer.
He said that the main advantages for salons to join the new service are: increased revenue (access to new clients and more bookings), calendar software, 24/7 online bookings, fewer no shows (automated SMS and email reminders), client management system and “seamless” online payments.
For more information visit www.bookwell.com.au