“Beauty is empowering.”
This is the mantra that Priya Dandawate, Monica Czarny, and Danny Pham – winners of 2014’s AngelHack Seattle – live by. The three wanted to empower the customer through a highly personalized and convenient beauty experience, so they created an intelligent online platform called Vera.
Vera is a beauty-matchmaking app that takes the hassle out of beauty by doing the hustling for you. It acts as an online receptionist: you log in, list your availability and what you value in a stylist, then let Vera dig into its database to match you with a professional. No holds, no advance scheduling, no changing out of your PJ’s. The stylist comes to you.
Priya, the mastermind behind Vera, had the entrepreneurial itch since her high school days, but had yet to find the right idea or inspiration that would set her on that path. She worked as a receptionist at several different hair salons while studying computer science engineering at the University of Illinois, and after using TaskRabbit, she asked: why couldn’t customers also get stylists quickly, reliably, and easily?
Priya, along with Monica, her best friend and partner in crime at Microsoft, pitched the idea to the crowd at AngelHack Seattle’s hackathon, where she received widespread support and admiration for the project. Danny, now Vera’s CTO, was also in the crowd. He was raised by his mother while she was still attending beauty school, and was immediately inspired by the project. Danny decided to join forces with the girls to turn this incredible idea into a full-fledged, working app.
Fast forward six months: Vera has secured its first Seattle client, and has grown a community of followers who anxiously await the app’s official launch. The co-founders foresee a bright future for Vera, and want to spread the app to all metropolitan cities in the United States. Right now, however, they are focused on developing a strong clientele in Seattle. So if you’re a beauty expert, professional stylist, or just need a makeover – join Vera’s beautiful future today.
You can also watch them blow the crowd away at Global Demo Day on October 30th, at the University of San Francisco’s Presentation Theater. Use the promo code “BackToGDD” for a free ticket – which also includes access to our annual Startup Bash, the hottest party in Silicon Valley!
