Stylofie

Stylofie, operated by Soulmo Solutions Pvt Ltd, was an online marketplace for the beauty and wellness sector, founded in August 2015 by Prateek Agarwal, Saurav Dey, and Balaji Srinivasan. The founders, graduates of Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, identified a gap in the market for a standardized, online platform for discovering and booking salon and spa services. Prateek Agarwal, a chartered accountant, brought experience from companies like Videocon and Bharti Airtel, while Saurav Dey had a background in technology consulting and business process management with firms such as Genpact and Accenture. The venture was conceived to address consumer pain points like the difficulty in finding new spas, lack of transparent pricing, and long waiting times.

The company operated as a curated online marketplace, connecting consumers with salons and spas primarily in the Gurgaon and Delhi areas. Through its website and mobile apps for both Android and iOS, Stylofie enabled users to discover nearby salons, compare prices, read reviews, and book appointments. This model aimed to solve problems for both customers, who were often hesitant to try new outlets due to a lack of information, and for salon owners, who faced issues with staff remaining idle on weekdays. Stylofie's business model focused on generating revenue from day one, with a monetization plan that attracted investors. The platform offered pre-negotiated discounts ranging from 10-50% to users who booked through its service, aiming to increase capacity utilization for its partner merchants.

Stylofie secured $250,000 in a seed funding round in November 2015 from the Hong Kong-based Swastika Company Ltd. This capital was earmarked for strengthening its technology and expanding its operational footprint into Delhi. The company showed promising early traction, with over 100 premium salons listed and a month-on-month customer growth of over 100% shortly after launch. In February 2016, it received an additional angel investment of an undisclosed amount from Jaideep Mehta, Managing Director for IDC, South Asia, who also joined the company's board. A significant milestone was the acquisition of personal care app Hyve in January 2016, which facilitated its expansion into Bangalore. Ultimately, in January 2017, Stylofie was acquired by Little Internet, an online-to-offline deals marketplace backed by Paytm and SAIF Partners. The acquisition was a mixed cash-and-equity deal. Following the transaction, co-founder Saurav Dey and the 11-member team joined Little to head its wellness business, while Prateek Agarwal and Balaji Srinivasan exited to pursue other ventures.

Keywords: Stylofie, beauty marketplace, wellness booking, salon discovery, spa deals, online appointment booking, Soulmo Solutions, Prateek Agarwal, Saurav Dey, Balaji Srinivasan, Gurgaon startup, Little Internet acquisition, Swastika Company funding, Indian beauty tech, salon aggregation, spa marketplace, mobile beauty service, Hyve acquisition, Jaideep Mehta investment, online-to-offline deals