A Chicago startup built by Northwestern University students that matches people with licensed tattoo artists is getting some buzz and a little funding this week at SXSW, the annual 10-day media, music and tech conference in Austin, Texas.
Slate, which just launched in January, won second place and $10,000 at Pitch Texas, a startup pitch competition co-hosted by SXSW and the University of Texas at Austin. Slate also won the competition’s people’s choice award. Besides Slate, two other Northwestern startups, LifeWeb and Hubly, participated in the competition.
Slate has built a database of licensed tattoo artists in Chicago, categorizing them by style, said the startup's Co-Founder and CEO Alex Eng, who is also an MBA candidate at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Right now, consumers can schedule a consultation with Slate and receive personalized recommendations on artists that can bring their tattoo concept to life. But in the future, Eng said Slate will operate more like a marketplace, where consumers can browse tattoo artists on their own.
The tattoo industry, a $1.6 billion market, is fairly fragmented, Eng said, making it difficult for consumers to find and connect with artists. But that's where Slate comes in. The company helps connect consumers with the right tattoo artists while also allowing tattoo artists to be discovered more easily, Eng said.
“As you think about where we are today in 2019, the trend is that more and more people are getting tattooed,” Eng said. "The idea behind Slate is to bring some of the best digital practices for how consumers make purchases today and apply that to this huge growing industry."
Eng, who has 19 tattoos himself, said he’s been deeply ingrained in the tattoo industry and its culture for the last 10 years.
“I’ve done a lot of homework online for years, seeking out the who’s who of the tattoo industry, looking at thousands of tattoos,” he said.
To make money, Slate charges consumers for consultations, and down the line, will charge them a booking fee when they make and put down deposits for appointments with artists listed on the platform.
The startup currently employs four other people besides Eng, which include his co-founders Jack Bugas and Sheridan Clayborne, who are also students at Northwestern.
Eng said once the number of users in Chicago grows, Slate will expand to other popular tattoo markets, such as Austin, Portland, Miami and Las Vegas. Until then, Slate is using its new funding to finish building its platform, which Eng hopes will help digitize the tattoo industry.
“Long gone are the days of just walking into the local tattoo shop, pointing to the wall and choosing a design,” Eng said.
