The challenge
Vagaro’s determination to provide a comprehensive platform where salon and spa professionals can conveniently manage and grow their business demanded the integration of a funding service that aligned with their customer’s goals: embedded finance journey, seamless onboarding, streamlined applications, built-in pre-approvals, manageable payments, and visibility and control of funding.
To achieve this, Vagaro wanted to partner with an embedded finance provider that aligned with its strategy – from supporting businesses of a certain size to offering a white-label funding service. Failure to find a partner that could meet these requirements would leave their customers exposed to a rigorous application process with a third party – a time-consuming task that often results in funding being denied by legacy lenders that take a narrow view of SMEs’ creditworthiness.
The solution
During the vendor selection process, Liberis stood out to Vagaro for several compelling reasons:
- They understand and are willing to work with vendors that fit Vagaro’s typical client profile.
- They have a strong track record of approval rates underpinned by a powerful credit assessment functionality that’s based on performance and sales.
- They could embed the Liberis Create business finance platform into Vagaro’s customer journey with a single API, for an optimised lending journey.
- They can manage the funding process seamlessly from start to finish using effortless finance options that elevate the customer experience.
- Once approved, the borrower simply pays a fixed fee based on their future sales, making payments more manageable.
“While we were researching options for embedded finance providers, Liberis became our top choice for several reasons.”
Fred Helou
Vagaro
The result
Working with Liberis to embed revenue-based financing into their service as Vagaro Capital, they are helping SMEs – across the UK, the US and Canada – grow by providing seamless access to cash when needed, via a familiar platform. This flexibility and convenience in the funding journey allowed them to provide over $4 million in finance to over 200 merchants within the first month of launching.
The future
Vagaro CEO, Fred Helou explained their commitment to building on this success: “We are dedicated to further enhancing Vagaro Capital’s flexibility which will, in turn, empower even more businesses with timely access to revenue-based financing. This includes extending our reach to embrace additional international markets, providing global opportunities for prosperity.”