This is a First Look: It's the first time any news outlet or blog has covered this startup. You can read more First Looks here. (We do this a lot.)
Chris Fevry is a senior at Bentley University who can't stand waiting forever for a mediocre haircut.
"We're using mobile technology to improve the haircutting experience."
"I was curious about the barbering Industry while studying abroad in Colombia, because I had difficulty finding reputable local barbers," he told me. "Then, while interning at Google, I had a very difficult experience finding a barber. It took two hours, two Uber rides, and nearly $60 dollars for me to finally get my haircut. When it was all said and done, I was just relieved that the searching was over – instead of being happy with the haircut."
That was the motivation behind his new company, MyBarber, a mobile app that can help users find highly rated local barbers and book appointments as well as have a barber come to them, at their home, office, hotel or elsewhere.
The company is launching a 30-day Indiegogo campaign January 11 in hopes of raising $10,000, which will be put toward increasing their user base and bringing more reputable barbers onto the platform. The plan is to launch an official Beta in early February.
Update: The campaign is live, and can be seen here.
"We are launching in Boston because of the large population of professionals who could benefit from MyBarber," said Fevry. "Like Uber, our approach is to focus on the user's personal experience. We want to build reliability and trust, so that our users don't just visit any local barbershop, or accept just any barber they might find."
The concept of on-demand haircuts isn't a new one. There's Shortcut and Savanna (founded by a Harvard Business School grad), both of which have been called the "Uber for barbers." And there's Mobile Cuts Boston, operating in Quincy and Braintree. Those focus on barbers coming to you. That, said Fevry, is an important part of what MyBarber will do, but not all.
"Our focus is a bit different than many who appear to be competitors," he said. "Rather than providing haircuts, we're using mobile technology to improve the haircutting experience. We believe there's room for mobile barbers, along with brick and mortar barbershops, but our users will agree that our service is very much needed."
No word quite yet on how much an on-demand haircut will cost, or what the hours will be, but all sights, for now, are set on the Indiegogo campaign.
Image provided.
