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theCut develops a comprehensive mobile platform designed to streamline operations within the barbering industry. This integrated solution provides barbers and shop owners with tools for appointment scheduling, secure payment processing, and overall business management. For clients, the application facilitates barber discovery, easy booking, and convenient in-app payments, centralizing the entire barbershop experience.
The company was co-founded in 2016 by high school friends Obi Omile Jr. and Kush Patel. Their shared insight originated from a personal need to modernize the traditional barbershop model, recognizing inefficiencies in booking, payments, and client management. This direct understanding of the industry's pain points laid the foundation for their technological solution.
The platform serves a dual customer base: independent barbers and barbershop owners seeking to optimize their businesses, and clients looking for a seamless way to book and manage their grooming appointments. theCut's vision is to advance the barbershop experience by integrating technology, fostering a more connected and efficient ecosystem for all participants within the grooming sector.
theCut has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round.
theCut has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
theCut is a mobile marketplace platform that connects barbers with clients, modernizing the barbershop experience through booking, payments, scheduling, and reviews.[1][2][3][4] It serves barbers (independent professionals and shop owners) and clients in the personal grooming industry, solving pain points like long wait times, no-show appointments, cash reliance, and inefficient discovery of skilled barbers via a two-sided marketplace.[1][3][4] Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Dover, Delaware (with early roots in Virginia), theCut has raised under $5 million across seed rounds, including a $4.5 million round, and powers business operations with tools like Stripe-integrated payments and in-person checkouts.[1][2][3]
The platform enables barbers to manage profiles, services, bookings, and payouts while clients search, book, pay, tip, and review—driving growth with 1.4 million searches surpassing Google's volume in the sector.[1][2][4]
theCut was founded in 2016 by high school best friends Obi Omile Jr. (CEO & Co-Founder) and Kush Patel (CTO), stemming from personal frustrations with bad haircuts, endless waits in barbershops, and the lack of convenient ways to find skilled barbers matching specific needs.[2][3][4] Starting with a prototype hacked together using savings and an Instagram page, they launched a beta version soon after, iterating based on early user feedback from barbers and clients.[4]
Early traction came from organic growth during COVID-19, expanding to 10 employees and securing seed funding, including a notable $4.5 million round highlighted in Black Enterprise.[2] Pivotal moments include partnering with Stripe for unified payments and positioning as a comprehensive grooming platform beyond mere booking.[3]
theCut rides the gig economy and marketplace digitization wave in holdout industries like personal services, where barbershops still rely on cash, pen-and-paper, and word-of-mouth—modernizing a $multi-billion U.S. grooming sector fragmented by location and reputation gaps.[1][3][4] Timing aligns with post-COVID demand for contactless booking and mobile payments, plus rising mobile adoption among urban demographics seeking convenience amid labor shortages for skilled trades.[2][3]
Market forces favoring it include Stripe's fintech infrastructure enabling scalability, competition from generalist platforms creating niche opportunities, and cultural shifts toward men's grooming apps. theCut influences the ecosystem by uniting barbers nationwide, fostering scholarships, and petitioning for industry standards—potentially expanding to global markets and broader style tools.[1][3][5]
theCut is poised to dominate U.S. barber tech with global expansion via enhanced payments and AI-driven matching, capitalizing on grooming market growth amid e-commerce penetration in services.[3][5] Trends like embedded finance, creator economies for barbers (e.g., via portfolios), and AR try-ons will shape its path, evolving from booking app to full grooming platform.[4][5]
Its influence could grow by setting standards for trade-specific marketplaces, empowering independents, and scaling revenue through premium features—tying back to its origins in fixing everyday haircut hassles into a thriving, barber-first empire.[1][2]
theCut has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in September 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2021 | $5M Seed | — | Leadout Capital, Pear VC, BEN Davenport, Charlie Cheever, Ellen PAO | Announced |
theCut has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
theCut's investors include Leadout Capital, Pear VC, Ben Davenport, Charlie Cheever, Ellen Pao.
