When Dave Salvant, Co-Founder & President of Squire Technologies, and Songe LaRon founded tech startup Squire in 2016, they wanted to help barbershops achieve greater success by streamlining operations. What they didn’t anticipate was a global pandemic hitting a few years after launching that would immobilize their customer-base for months on end.

Now, after seeing their net revenue drop to “zero” in March 2020 when barbershops across the country were forced to close, the Black-owned tech company has tripled its valuation from $85 million to $250 million with the help of investors in its latest round of funding.

A backend management tool, the Squire app allows barbershop owners to manage bookings, implement loyalty programs, offer a menu of services and accept contactless and cashless payments, a feature which is extremely popular in the current coronavirus climate. The company makes a profit by charging a monthly fee for its services, which ranges from $30 to $250 per month based on the barbershop’s size and needs.

Dave Salvant is the Co-Founder & President of Squire Technologies. Squire Technologies is Y Combinator back company that focuses on providing software systems to barbershops. Prior to starting Squire, Dave worked at AXA, where he assisted in the launch and sales strategy of various financial products that has now amassed over $9 billion in sales. Dave was a consortium fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Business school and is a graduate of the University at Albany.

Host: Brittany Sharpton