When serial entrepreneur Francisco Gimenez asked for 250,000 pounds or about $333,000 in exchange for 1% equity of Yuv, his hair color technology company, on “Dragon’s Den,” the British version of “Shark Tank,” the investors initially laughed in his face, but then offers began rolling in.
In the largest deal in the BBC’s program’s 20-year run, Gimenez ended up accepting offers from Steven Bartlett and Sara Davies for a combined investment of 500,000 pounds or around $666,000 for 2% equity, valuing Yuv at 25 million pounds or roughly $33 million, during an episode that aired Oct. 16. The other investors or “dragons,” Emma Grede, Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden threw in offers, too. Jones’ was for $330,000 in exchange for 1% of the business and 3% advisory shares.
“There have been plenty of people who walked out empty handed, and it was still really positive for their business, so then I decided, what’s the worst that could happen?” Gimenez tells Beauty Independent. “It was great to get the validation and the interest from most of the dragons on the show, but, in addition to the interest, to be taking on a deal of this magnitude.”
The draw of Yuv is, in part, its early traction and Gimenez’s background. He sold at-home eSalon, an at-home hair color customization concept launched in 2010, to Henkel in 2019 for 200 million pounds or roughly $255 million. On “Dragon’s Den,” Gimenez disclosed that Yuv generated 1 million pounds or around $1.3 million in its first year and 6 million pounds or almost $8 million the year after.
Following the “Dragon’s Den” appearance, Yuv’s waiting list of salons quadrupled to over 2,000. Currently out of stock, it expects to be back in stock in 30 days. Yuv plans to increase publicity surrounding its “Dragon’s Den” appearance and anticipates that will stoke further interest.
The company launched in 2023 with a smart, cartridge-based system that mixes and dispenses custom hair color formulas at salons. It charges salons 49 pounds or roughly $61 per month for the Keurig-like machine that’s connected to an app storing their hair color recipes. It comes with 200 pounds or about $248 worth of hair color cartridges to start and salons pay subsequent hair color as needed.
Permanent or demipermanent hair color is 10.80 pounds or roughly $13 for 60 grams, and semipermanent hair color is 8.40 pounds or roughly $10 for 60 grams. Yuv’s cartridges are refillable, and the company sends salons labels to return empties. A salon with four to five hairdressers typically uses between 800 to 1,000 pounds in color per month or roughly $1,066 to $1,332. Yuv has an operating margin of 55%.
“You want to make the equipment as affordable as possible so it becomes a no-brainer,” Gimenez told Beauty Independent back in 2023. “We didn’t want to put a high price point. Putting a high price point for leasing or subscribing to the equipment, that will deter a lot of your consumers, especially freelancers. They will consider, ‘Oh yeah, I love the idea, but, if I have to pay too much for the equipment, it defeats the purpose of saving money.’”
The investment Yuv received on “Dragon’s Den” is part of a SAFE bridge round between the company’s seed and series A rounds. Gimenez declined to discuss how much Yuv has raised in total funding. In 2023, he informed Beauty Independent that Yuv had raised more than $5 million, with prominent backing from Hourglass founder Carisa Janes.
The “Dragon’s Den” investment will be tapped as working capital and put toward ordering inventory, growing Yuv’s team, consisting of 19 employees, and expanding operations internationally. Product and customer service improvement is an ongoing effort. Gimenez says, “Anything that involves technology, you always want to hear from your clients and have a cycle where you make things better.”
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