Portfolio company spotlight

Backing verticalized SaaS: Our investment in Salonkee Salonkee: Facilitating the digitalisation of hair, beauty and wellness salons through a one-stop-shop proposition

Vertical SaaS is on the rise and is considered to be one of the main trends in 2021, as more and more software is being created to target the needs of specific verticals or niches. Vertical SaaS targets companies in specific industries to provide exactly what they need — in a customizable way — to succeed. These solutions enable businesses to obtain industry-specific customer intelligence, to use analytics in order to assess and address processes and performance. Additionally, verticalized SaaS are designed to meet industry requirements and thereby provide a higher degree of business value for company operations and performance.

At the same time, the hair, beauty and wellness market is undergoing a digital transformation, accelerated as a result of COVID-19 as well as new European legislation. To this regard, in July 2021 we invested in Salonkee, a startup founded in Luxembourg in 2017. Salonkee was built with the goal to become the indispensable partner for hair, beauty and wellness salons across Europe by facilitating every step of the workflow of salon owners through its all-in-one software platform. To date, Salonkee has managed more than 5 million appointments across over 1,200 salons. The company aims to grow to over 10,000 partner salons within the next two years.

Since its inception, the company was built with an international mindset. Quickly expanding from their small home turf market, Salonkee has achieved leadership in both Luxembourg and Belgium and is swiftly gaining traction in the Swiss market. In the next two years, the company aims to expand to Germany and the Netherlands. Salonkee’s ambitions are as international as the composition of its new investors joining the company: Newion from the Netherlands, Fortino Capital from Belgium, Verve from Switzerland and some experienced business angels from Germany, making it one of Luxembourg’s most internationally funded startups to date.

Our experience investing in B2B SaaS companies allowed us to quickly recognize Salonkee’s great potential, considering its traction and fast growth in the past few years, whereby it has become the solution of choice for hair, beauty & wellness salons across Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland. We are excited to support the Salonkee team in their journey to become the leading all-in-one salon management platform in Western Europe.