Insight
Webb: Scaling large businesses requires specialist operators, not early founders
“To grow and scale to the size that we have, that takes people who understand that world and that, and how to do that. And that wasn't like my strongest suit.”
Insight
Webb: Drybar Succeeded by Focusing on Emotional Impact Over Just Hair
“Frankly, that's why Drybar has been so successful. I mean, yes, we're doing great blowouts, and your hair looks amazing, but it's about the way you feel when you have great hair, or the way you feel when you put on an outfit that makes you feel good, or if you…”
Insight
Webb: Founders can win by fixing poorly executed existing service categories
“There may be something that you love that is just not executed well, or branded well, or run well, that you could probably take that same idea and make it your own.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Drybar expanded to 67 locations organically without a formal business plan
“It wasn't a premeditated, like, we didn't have a business plan, it wasn't like, this is our goal, and this is our trajectory, like, there was none of that. It was all this very organic, and we're on to something, so we're going to figure it out and keep growin…”
Assertion Contradicted
Webb says Drybar faced zero direct competition when it launched
“No, there was no competition. There were hair salons.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Drybar scaled to over 60 locations without a formal business plan
“It wasn't a premeditated, like, we didn't have a business plan. It wasn't like, this is our goal, and this is our trajectory. Like, there was none of that. It was all this very organic, and we're on to something, so we're going to figure it out and keep growin…”
Insight
Drybar capitalized on the missing middle between luxury and discount salons
“God, there really is two bad choices out there, and that's it. And so that's when I think the idea started percolating for me, and I was like, huh, you know, there's no place, like, in the middle”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Webb tested her mobile blow-dry concept on an LA moms Yahoo group
“So I posted on this mommy group called Peach Head, where it was like a Yahoo group, and it was this resource for moms. It was like 5000 moms in LA, and they all went to this site. So I posted on there one day, when I had this idea popped in my head, I said, I'…”
Insight
Drybar capitalized on a gap between luxury salons and discount chains
“There really is two bad choices out there, and that's it. And so that's when I think the idea started percolating for me, and I was like, huh, you know, there's no place, like, in the middle”
Disclosure
Drybar gave its original architect equity instead of cash for design work
“And Josh was like, sure, and we offered him some equity to get involved, and that was, again, I don't even know if I would have thought of an architect.”
Insight
Drybar intentionally hides mirrors to create a dramatic post-blowout reveal
“So we the mirrors are behind the stations, and that's very intentional, that when the client is done, the stylist spins her around for the big reveal, and that totally came from my blowout business.”
Assertion Supported
By 2017, Drybar operated 67 locations across the United States
“67. Well, 68 as of tomorrow.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Drybar scaled to employ approximately 3,000 stylists and 80 corporate staff
“Well, there's about 3000 stylists, and about, I don't know, maybe 70, 80 people in our support center, so it's pretty massive now”
Disclosure
Drybar traded equity to architect Josh Heitler to design first salon
“When I had this idea to have a salon, he went to Josh and said, do you want to build a hair salon for my sister? And Josh was like, sure, and we offered him some equity to get involved”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
A Daily Candy feature fully booked Drybar before opening day
“And so everybody started booking appointments before we even open. And so that very first day we opened to a very, very full shop.”
Assertion Partly supported
Drybar reinvested first-year revenue to open second salon within six months
“Well, even within that first year, we turned everything back into the business, so not really, you know, I mean, we were barely taking any money for ourselves, and within six months, we opened our second store, and it just kept going and going.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Drybar grew to employ 3,000 stylists and 80 corporate support staff
“Well, there's about 3000 stylists, and about, I don't know, maybe 70, 80 people in our support center, so it's pretty massive now”
Disclosure
Webb's mobile blow-dry precursor yielded zero profit after gas and travel
“Yes, I was in traffic, and between gas and whatever, I don't think I actually made any money. But it really wasn't about the money.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Webb's brother held the largest financial stake in Drybar's launch
“My brother was probably the most nervous because he had the biggest stake in it financially.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Drybar modeled its first salon's viability at 30 to 40 daily blowouts
“And at that point, we had figured out if we can do, like, 30 blowouts a day, 30, 40 blowouts, like, that'd be a great business”
Assertion Supported
A Daily Candy feature fueled Drybar's launch days before its opening
“We got Daily Candy to write a story about Drybar coming. That must have ran, like, three or four days before we opened.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Drybar reinvested early revenue to open a second store within six months
“Well, even within that first year, we turned everything back into the business, so not really, you know, I mean, we were barely taking any money for ourselves, and within six months, we opened our second store, and it just kept going and going.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Franchising allowed Drybar to scale faster than relying on company-owned stores
“It was great, and it really did help spread our name and, you know, much quicker than we could have if we didn't do franchising, and then we're raising money at the same time.”
