Drybar

Drybar

Founded	Brentwood, California (2008)
Founders	Alli Webb, Michael Landau, Cameron Webb
Number of locations	69
Website	thedrybar.com

Drybar is a California-based chain of salons that solely provide hair styling service, also known as "blowouts", founded in 2008

In 2008, Alli Webb began a side business called Straight At Home. She quickly outgrew her one-woman operation and realized there was a huge hole in the market for just blowouts. Along with her brother Michael Landau, former Vice President of Brand Marketing at Yahoo!, and her husband, Cameron Webb, former Creative Director at the pretigious ad agency Secret Weapon Marketing, Alli co-founded what would become Drybar with a salon in Brentwood, California in 2010. The following year, along with the help of friends, they were able to raise $2.5 million in order to expand the business. Once their business had been expanded, Drybar looked to add to their investors as well as their board of trustees. After an extensive search, they added Castanea Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, to their list of investors. Additionally, Paul Pressler, former CEO of GAP and President of Disney, became an investor and Board member. Janet Gurwitch, the founder and former CEO of Laura Mercier Cosmetics, also became an investor and Board member at Drybar.

Drybar's motto is "No cuts. No color. Just blowouts."

Everything at Drybar is designed with the “bar vernacular” in mind. The cashiers are aptly called “bartenders” and hairstyles are named after cocktails such as the Cosmo, Mai Tai, or Manhattan. The idea behind this came from Webb who believed that “women [should want] to come in and have fun” and "what's more fun than going to your local bar?" Webb’s vision is present in the designs brought to life by Josh Heitler. Instead of the typical salon set up, clients at Drybar “sit facing a U-shaped or single-stretch bar, with their backs to the mirrors,” which brings to mind sitting at a bar rather than being at a salon.

Aesthetically, all Drybars look roughly the same, due mainly in part to Josh Heitler. Heitler, the principal of a boutique architectural firm and now partner in the company, came up with the design elements and look of Drybar. The reasoning behind the name Drybar, is evident in the design.