Vanitee

Vanitee operated as an online and app-based marketplace in Singapore, specializing in on-demand beauty and wellness services. Founded in 2014 by a team of entrepreneurs including Douglas Gan, Kuik Xiao Shi, Choy Peng Kong, and Meters Ang, the company aimed to connect freelance beauty professionals with customers. The founders, particularly Douglas Gan and Choy Peng Kong, brought prior experience from the tech industry, having previously built and sold a location-based service app called ShowNearby. This background in mobile technology informed their approach to building a platform for the beauty sector.

The company's platform facilitated the booking of services such as manicures, makeup, hairstyling, and facials, which could be rendered at a salon or at the client's preferred location like home or office. For consumers, Vanitee offered a convenient way to discover, book, and pay for treatments through its mobile app, available on both Android and iOS. For beauty professionals, especially independent artists, Vanitee provided a suite of business management tools. These included customer relationship management (CRM), real-time scheduling, online marketing, and payment processing, effectively empowering them to manage and grow their business directly from their mobile devices.

Vanitee's business model focused on creating a marketplace that catered to both individual customers and beauty artists. Initially, the platform concentrated on connecting users with independent, freelance beauticians, setting itself apart from competitors that primarily listed established salons. To ensure quality, the company implemented a 27-step verification process for all artists on its platform. Over time, Vanitee expanded its strategy to include salons. A key move in this direction was the acquisition of Mefitted, a Singapore-based beauty salon directory, in June 2016. This acquisition was intended to integrate Mefitted's extensive B2B solutions and relationships with over 120 salon brands, thereby strengthening Vanitee's offerings for the broader salon market.

The company successfully raised a total of approximately $4.95 million over two funding rounds in 2015. The first round in September 2015 secured S$2 million (US$1.4 million) from investors including Luxasia Group, a major regional beauty distributor, and angel investor Robert Yap, the chairman of YCH Group. A subsequent and larger round in December 2015 raised S$5 million (US$3.5 million) from backers such as serial entrepreneur Ivan Lee, founder of ThaiExpress, and Japanese cosmetics portal @cosme. These funds were earmarked for user growth, platform improvement, and planned expansion into Malaysia, although the company later decided to consolidate its focus on the Singapore market. Vanitee was reported as dead-pooled and was acquired on August 1, 2019.

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