Pretty Fly Helps Time-pressed Individuals Book Spur-of-the-Moment Personal Care
Pretty Fly is a mobile and web-based application that helps busy people book appointments for top-rated salons and spas. Time-pressed individuals can book services at the last minute from establishments that are vetted and trusted. Those last-minute appointment requests help fill un-booked appointments.
This is a company founded by an incredibly busy businesswoman, Erika Karl, who is also the co-founder of Boom Creative, a digital marketing agency with clients all over the United States. Karl was a chemist and a fashion blogger before she went into marketing.
Creating a Solution for a Market She Knows
“I never knew when the day would end when traveling for work,” said Erika Karl, CEO of Pretty Fly. “Usually the hours were late, but sometimes we finished up at three. With a few hours to spare, I would have loved to take advantage of a nail salon, facial, or massage.”
A couple of hours self-care on the go would have been nice, but Karl didn’t have an appointment, and didn’t know where to go or which salons or spas were high-quality. The same thing, she realized also happened when she was working from home.
Karl joined up with a software developer–with their day jobs, working nights and weekends–to pursue her idea. “I went to Rev1’s Customer Learning Lab, and they saw something in our idea, and we learned a lot,” Karl said. She says there were multiple “aha” moments for her and the other entrepreneurs in the Learning Lab.
“The first thing was information on structuring the business to make money. In terms of our projections, we learned how to do that more accurately. What was new to me were the lessons of TAM, SAM, and SOM. To have the handholding and direction was incredibly useful,” she said.
Pretty Fly is about finding time, versus getting a last-minute deal. “This is not about the deal of the day,” Karl said. “The benefit is found time that people can use to book self-care on the fly and from a trusted, top-rated place. We are a genuine partner to salons and spas and to those people who find themselves with an hour or two to sneak out and get a little self-care. That’s what differentiates Pretty Fly from scheduling or discounted services apps.”
Next Steps
Pretty Fly is in the market validation and information-gathering stage. “We are in the first stages of building out our minimum viable product,” Karl said. “We are identifying spas and salons for our beta and learning about what our potential customers want. We believe that Pretty Fly can be useful to both women and men.”
The company hopes to launch a beta within the next six or so months, in time for the holidays. Karl is realistic about the challenges and the work.
“Building a business is a jungle gym, it’s not a vertical climb,” she said.
