Drybar founder Alli Webb discusses the marketing and press coverage preceding the launch of Drybar's very first salon in Brentwood, California.
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…”