Funding round led by Point72 Private Investments enables company to accelerate platform development and drive expansion into new self-care verticals
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Boulevard (www.joinblvd.com), provider of the client experience platform purpose-built for appointment-based, self-care businesses, today announced that it has raised $70 million in Series C funding led by Point72 Private Investments, with participation from Toba Capital, Index Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, BoxGroup, and VMG Partners. The funding enables Boulevard to significantly increase its investment in engineering and development, accelerate the delivery of new platform capabilities, and drive expansion into new self-care verticals. In conjunction with the investment, Eddie Kang, who leads growth-stage investment activities for Point72 Private Investments, joins Boulevard’s board of directors.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to work with Eddie and the team at Point72 Private Investments,” said Matt Danna, co-founder and CEO, Boulevard. “With today’s news, we’ve not only raised capital that will enable us to grow our product and engineering teams, enhance our platform, and fuel multi-dimensional expansion into new segments and verticals, but we’ve also added a partner that deeply understands our industry and our business. It’s a great day for Boulevard, our team members, and most importantly, our customers.”
The funding comes at a time when self-care is evolving into an increasingly critical component of health and wellness in the post-pandemic world. As self-care continues to become more deeply entrenched as an essential part of daily life, the personal care and beauty market — which includes hair salons, nail salons, barbershops, face and skin care, and other beauty services — is expected to exceed $1.4 trillion by 2025, while the spa sector is also expected to exceed $150 billion in the same timeframe1.
Boulevard achieved record growth in 2021, more than tripling the size of its customer base and posting a 188 percent year-over-year increase in annual recurring revenue. The company also added full payment facilitation capabilities to the powerful appointment scheduling and messaging functionality for which it’s known. Boulevard now processes more than $1 billion in payments annually, and more than 25,000 professionals in 2,000 salons and spas across the nation rely on its platform to deliver personable, enjoyable experiences to their clients through online appointment scheduling, messaging, and payments that are simple, elegant, and reliable.
“As the self-care industry continues to grow, so too will the role technology plays in creating the seamless experiences that keep clients coming back,” said Eddie Kang, partner, Point72 Private Investments. “Not only has Boulevard designed an elegant and visionary platform that fills a pressing need in a fast-growing industry, but they’ve also built a thoughtful, customer-centric culture validated through world-class retention. We’re excited to support the Boulevard team as they continue to grow.”
The new round of funding comes as Boulevard continues to garner significant industry and workplace recognition. Earlier this year, the company was named to the inaugural SMBTech 50 list recognizing high-growth startups that serve small and medium-sized businesses, and it was also named one of dot.LA’s hottest startups of 2022.
Boulevard was also recently named one of America’s Best Startup Employers for 2022 by Forbes, ranking 33rd on the prestigious listing of the 500 best startup employers in the U.S., and it was honored by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work® as one of the 2022 Best Workplaces for Millennials. With its commitment to a fully remote workforce, Boulevard has more than doubled the size of its team in the past 12 months.
About Boulevard
Boulevard offers the first and only client experience platform purpose-built for appointment-based, self-care businesses. Boulevard empowers business owners and professionals alike to deliver personable, enjoyable experiences to their clients through online appointment scheduling, messaging, and payments that are simple, elegant, and reliable. Founded in 2016, Boulevard has earned the trust of thousands of salons and spas across the nation by delivering the world-class technology and genuine, human, personable service they deserve. To learn more, visit joinblvd.com.
About Point72 Private Investments
Point72 Private Investments is an institutional private investing platform that includes Point72 Ventures, a multi-stage venture capital strategy led by a diverse set of domain experts, and Point72 Hyperscale, a private equity strategy that uses applied artificial intelligence to build and modernize market-leading companies. Point72 Private Investments, Point72 Ventures and Point72 Hyperscale are affiliates of Point72 Asset Management, the global asset manager founded by Steven A. Cohen. For more information, visit p72.vc and p72hyperscale.com.
1 The Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond Covid, December 2021
Contacts
Company Contact:
Scott Desiere
Boulevard
sdesiere@blvd.co
619-952-3758
Media Contacts:
Lauren Tascan
Fluid Group (for Boulevard)
lauren@fluidprgroup.com
Tiffany Galvin-Cohen
Point72
tiffany.galvin-cohen@point72.com
203-890-2052
