This DC startup brings you a salon, on demand

Tracey Garcia and Amanda Moran are fiercely protective of their company’s brand. A year and a half after founding -StyleMeBar-, the duo repeatedly refers to the company as “our baby.”
“We eat, sleep and breath it,” they tell Technical.ly, again and again.
To be fair, brand is a really important part of what Garcia and Moran do. -StyleMeBar- is a tech-enabled salon service (makeup, hair, the works) that brings beauty to you, where you are, on demand. And when a stylist shows up on your doorstep, ready to do your makeup, you want to look good. No misplaced lashes, no bad haircuts.
So unlike competitors in the space, -SMB- doesn’t just let any stylist sign up to use the platform. The company currently has around 27 freelance stylists, all of whom were personally selected by Garcia or Moran. Stylists go through a multi-step application process and have to agree not to work for any competitors (traditional salon work is not considered a competitor). That’s quality control.

-SMB- is also bootstrapped, not, Garcia told Technical.ly, for lack of investor interest. Rather, the team is concerned about “giving away” control of their company. Garcia said they’re not closed off to the idea of outside investment, but it would have to be the right fit.

Moran and Garcia originally met at a hair salon. At the time Garcia was working at Fox News (she did the on-air makeup), and she brought Moran on to work with her as they became closer friends. Years later the duo “decided we needed to do something different,” and went out on their own.

Together with Garcia’s husband Joe, who Garcia calls the “brains” behind the tech component of -SMB-, they launched the company. Joe created both a client-facing app and a stylist-facing app — clients book treatments and pay through theirs, while stylists use the app to manage appointments, check in and out of jobs and record their hours.

In the first year of -SMB- the team booked 72 weddings — this summer they’ve got over 140. But the -SMB- stylists don’t just do work for big, important days. They also do hair and makeup appointments for politicians, musicians, TV personalities and just about anyone else, Garcia said. “It’s all about convenience,” she added.

For the moment -SMB- serves a 60-mile radius from the White House, but Garcia and Moran are clear that they’ve got plans for expansion. They declined to comment on any specifics, however.

Asked what she likes most about running a company Garcia answers immediately: “The freedom.” The freedom to work for herself, the freedom to create a valuable service and, yes, the freedom to be fiercely protective.