How a Cold Email to a VC Helped Salon Software Startup Mangomint Raise $35M

In 2017, Daniel Lang, Dan Poineau, and Sandra Huber joined forces to found Mangomint, a startup creating software for salons and spas.

Lang said they realized that software vendors were trying to build their own booking platforms, according to OpenTable. “We fundamentally didn’t believe that was the right approach to beauty and wellness,” Lang told TechCrunch. The founders envisioned an all-in-one software that would book appointments and then automate ongoing text communications that could do everything from reminders about appointments to sending skincare instructions before a skincare treatment.

The company works primarily with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that employ five or more technicians, such as beauticians or nail technicians. The software helps automate tasks ranging from booking clients to sending promotional emails. While these are small, individual businesses, Mangomint’s target market is large, expected to grow to $185 billion by 2030, according to Astute Analytica.

Lang said the company has been seeing annual recurring revenue and customer growth of over 100% for several years now, “with no signs of slowing down,” though the company did not provide specifics. Lang said Mangomint has processed more than $1 billion in transactions, and notable customers include Ouidad, OSEA, Shop Good and Surya Spa.

On Friday, the company announced a $35 million Series B round led by Altos Ventures, with participation from Jason Lemkin’s SaaStr Fund. The company had just two Series A investors, including OpenView Venture Partners, which returned for the round, and a small check from an angel investor.

Lang says he first met Altos at the annual SaaStr conference in 2021 and has been a part of the SaaStr community for years. He initially connected with Lemkin via cold email a few years ago. “Jason has been talking for years about how founders can reach out to pretty much any VC by sending a cold email, as long as the cold email itself is really, really good,” Lang said. “I did exactly that, and he responded within a few hours.”

They then moved on to a telephone conversation and after 20 minutes Lemkin said he wanted to invest as much as he could in Mangomint.

“We see tremendous potential for the next wave of vertical software companies to unlock significant value for small and medium-sized businesses in the coming years,” Tae Yoon, partner at Altos Ventures, told TechCrunch of the company’s investment in Mangomint. “We’re excited to partner with Mangomint (who) are bringing innovative and beautiful solutions to the salon and spa community.”

Competitors include GlossGenius, Varago, MindBody and Boulevard.

The company hopes to use the fresh capital to hire more talent, such as engineers and support managers, and build more automation-based features. As part of the round, it also announced the launch of a feature that helps automatically send things like customized SMS messages, internal notifications, and reminders to customers to help engage and retain customers.

“We believe we can innovate completely new marketing and communication tools for salons that will help them generate more profit,” Lang said.