OUR VISION: #BeautyWithoutBorders
ShearShare is about access over ownership, community over competition.
The idea behind ShearShare started several years ago when Tye and Courtney Caldwell expanded their 16-year-old salon, Salon74 by Tye. With the expansion came the opportunity to fill brand-new salon suites with new stylists. Now, the industry norm is for new beauty and barber school graduates to complete their education, get licensed, and then find a home salon where they sign a 12-month, 18-month, 3-year contract. Even with their award-winning salon accolades, Tye was finding it difficult to generate interest from long-term beauty professionals.
Fast forward a couple of months, and something interesting began to happen in parallel: out-of-state and local stylists started calling, asking to lease a room for 1-2 days so that they could service their local clientele. Tye didn’t exactly jump on the idea, because that is not the average behavior when it comes to salon management. But after Courtney encouraged him to go for it, he hosted a few traveling hairstylists and saw that it was good. 😀 This scenario played over and over again until one day, Tye said, “I think I have something!” Together with Courtney’s tech background, they came up with the idea behind the app . . . and that’s when ShearShare was born!
Tye has been in the beauty industry for almost 25 years, and he is a sought-after business mentor and beauty coach. He hears the good and the bad of starting out as a beauty professional and helps to encourage new graduates and industry veterans to keep pushing forward. One of his biggest frustrations, though, is knowing that 80% of cosmetologists drop out of the industry after 5 short years. ShearShare allows stylists and barbers to operate in their passion when it’s convenient for their customers and them. Financial strain is no longer an excuse for not building your beauty business because we’ve essentially erased that barrier to entry.
As far as the company name, Tye and Courtney dreamt that up while on a Delta flight to San Francisco. They wanted something that was (1) totally unique, (2) represented the beauty industry, and (3) communicated the sharing economy. The Caldwells went round and round about what they would name their app if they ever created one. Most of the names were met with laughter, others at least made it onto the paper. But then . . . voila! ShearShare! The next time you see Tye and Courtney, ask which names hit the cutting room floor. Some of their choices will have you in tears. LOL!
Today, Tye and Courtney Caldwell are tech visionaries whose goal is to disrupt the $265 billion beauty industry. Serving on the Advisory Boards of recognized cosmetology schools, the Caldwells have the opportunity to talk face-to-face with the next generation of salon and barbershop entrepreneurs, which confirms the need for ShearShare. Together, they are American businessmen, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs whose aim is to help beauty professionals–salon owners, barbershop owners or independent cosmetologists and barbers–build efficient, passion-filled businesses.
