Heyday raised $20 million in Series B funding to fuel national expansion through a franchise model.

WHO: Founded in 2015 by Adam Ross and Michael Pollak, Heyday is a groundbreaking skincare disruptor that has filled a void in the marketplace. The fast-growing skincare company is on a mission to provide expert skincare that empowers everyone to be their best self. Through a fleet of industry-leading physical stores, Heyday has made the facial experience more accessible and helps consumers achieve their skincare goals with the knowledge and care of talented estheticians. Heyday is changing how we take care of our skin, redefining the future of the skincare industry for the modern consumer.

WHY: The fundraise will allow Heyday to further scale and cement its position as the trusted brand in skincare, with expansion through franchise of its high-touch physical experience and innovation in delivering personalized skincare.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “This strategic funding will enable us to accelerate our growth and deliver on our vision of delivering highly personalized skincare solutions,” says Adam Ross, CEO & co-founder of Heyday. “We are proud of the industry-leading in-store facial experience we have built and excited to expand across the U.S. while innovating digital experiences to meet consumers’ daily skincare needs in a differentiated, expert way.” The company has also hired Maureen Sullivan as President, previously President & COO at Rent The Runway, to lead Heyday’s expansion. “Skincare is already a daily routine, yet consumers have little confidence in their skincare routines, what products to use, and how to achieve the results based on their skin type or concerns,” Sullivan says. “We’re excited to democratize access to expert-led, personalized skincare services both in-shop and online in a way that no one else can. Skincare is an industry that for years has not been putting the customer first, so we’re setting out to change that.”

“What we realized was skincare is one industry that hasn’t transformed or changed customer behavior,” Ross told Crunchbase News. “Customers want to buy products, but have a lack of confidence in what to use. We saw what Warby was doing with glasses, and SoulCycle with cycling, and saw an opportunity to be a fantastic brand, staffed with estheticians that gives us unique attributes to become a trusted skincare platform.”

“By expanding Heyday’s physical footprint to hundreds of stores in the next five years, paired with unique expert-led services available virtually, Heyday is poised to become the most trusted company in skincare,” says Chris Kenny, Managing Partner at Level 5 Capital Partners (L5). “We are thrilled for Heyday to join our portfolio and for the opportunity to support its franchise expansion.”

“Its unit model resonated with frequency and volume, and the way it is delivered allows for a big change,” Kenny continued. “Heyday showed it can do very well, so we will work on how to make sure to translate that experience nationally.”

“Most importantly with this growth, we are able to create opportunities for the 250,000-plus estheticians across the country providing professional growth and development pathways both in the treatment room and online,” said Michael Pollak, Chief Experience Officer and co-founder of Heyday.

DETAILS:

• Heyday raised $20 million in Series B funding.
• Level 5 Capital Partners led the round with participation by existing investors Lerer Hippeau and Fifth Wall Ventures.
• Level 5 will become a Heyday anchor franchisee with a commitment to invest in 40 units over the next five years as part of the investment, working closely with Sean Bock, Heyday’s new Chief Development Officer, who was responsible for overseeing the franchise lead growth at Drybar.
• Prior to the lockdown, the company was running at $25 million in annual recurring revenue with more than 70% of revenue coming from returning clients and word-of-mouth referrals.
• The company currently has 10 locations in the US—six in New York, one in Philadelphia, and three in Los Angeles.
• Heyday’s expansion will meet the consumer both on and offline and will be inclusive of physical store expansion through a new franchise system while simultaneously digitizing its best-in-class experiences and services.
• The company also hired Maureen Sullivan as President to lead its expansion. Sullivan was previously President and COO at Rent The Runway.
• This new round of capital brings Heyday’s total funding to date to $33.2 million according to Crunchbase.
• Heyday closed a Series A funding by raising $8 million in capital in November 2018. The round was led by Fifth Wall Ventures, including participation from existing investors such as Lerer Hippeau and Brainchild Funding, in addition to welcoming new investors M3 Ventures and CircleUp.
• In 2017 Heyday raised $3 million in seed funding led by New York’s Lerer Hippeau Ventures.