Great Hair Means Good Business for Drybar's Alli Webb

Written by Shala Hainer Wednesday, January 18 2012

Snapshot: Alli Webb, founder, Drybar
At Drybar, they keep it simple: no color, no cutting, just blowouts for $35. Alli Webb capitalized on women's desire for that fresh-from-the-salon look without the expense of a cut, when she launched Drybar in 2010. The venture started as a home business and Drybar, named one of the “Best New 100 Ideas of 2010” by Entrepreneur Magazine, now has several franchise locations across the country, including New York City; Atlanta; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and several in California and Texas.

Prior to Drybar, Webb began a fashion career with Nicole Miller, opening boutiques in Florida. She left fashion to learn the hairstyling industry from Toni and Guy and the late John Sahag in New York City. She also enjoyed a foray into public relations working with top clients such as Keith Urban, Faith Hill and Paul McCartney. She lives in Newport Beach with her husband Cameron – who's the creative mind behind Drybar's branding and identity -- and two young children.

Womenetics: Tell us a little about how you came to launch Drybar.
Alli Webb: I wanted to spend more time with my kids, but I also needed time with adults, to get out of the house and to make extra money… I thought it up one afternoon sitting around with my best friend. I said I could go to people's houses and blow out their hair. I posted it on mom's groups and blogs and sites for stay-at-home moms. I was charging $40 and it was a great thing for me. Honestly, that's all I thought it was going to be. Then it started getting so busy, and I was having to say no to people.

I found that as a busy stay-at-home mom with a job, when I wanted to get my hair blown out, there were only two choices in the market: the high-end hair salons and the discount chains. I even asked my clients, “Where do you go when I can't do your hair?” They would begrudgingly tell me whatever discount chain they used. They needed something like Drybar…

My brother, who is my business partner, was watching all this from the sidelines. He saw the success I was having with my mobile business, and I told him I wanted to actually open a space. We opened Brentwood (California), and it exploded.

Womenetics: What can people expect when they go into a Drybar?
Webb: Guests are in Drybar for less than an hour for a little escape and a getaway. So you come in and you're greeted by our very warm, friendly staff. People come in for the experience -- you sit at a bar rather than how you would in a normal hair salon. I learned from my mobile business that it's really a social experience… So we set up the shop like an actual bar, where you're watching a chick flick on the big flat-screen TV, and there's someone behind the bar getting you a drink or just chatting with you.

The experience at Drybar is what makes it so special. We're often called a hair salon, and we always say that we don't feel like just a regular salon… It's a different experience… It's fun; it's relaxing. And it's really girly. You walk out looking and feeling great.

Womenetics: How did you know a non-traditional concept -- only blow-drying, with no cuts or color -- would be successful?
Webb: There was no place in the market that was doing this. I knew women loved it as much as I do, and obviously I had a little head start because of my mobile business. It prepared me to say, “OK, I think I'm on to something. I think this is going to work.” For sure, it was a risk. I definitely had people around me who said, “You're doing what?” I felt really strongly and passionately about it.

For us, the name of the game was volume, and we had to have a certain amount of volume for this business to work. We did a lot of marketing and had a publicist right off the bat. It was a lot of word of mouth and sharing the information with other moms that I knew. Back then, it was just supposed to be Brentwood, which didn't seem that crazy. But the demand was there and more – it was so much more than we had anticipated.

Womenetics: Your business is growing exponentially, opening Drybars across the country. How do you manage the rapid growth?
Webb: We hired some really good people. We just brought in a president, Karen Kelley. We realized we needed to put the infrastructure in place to move as quickly as we are. Again, the demand was so strong that we felt like we had to do that. We hired Karen and a lot more people, and we’re expanding our internal organization so we can continue to grow. She's been very instrumental in putting systems in place. Michael (Landau, Webb’s brother, Drybar CEO) and I started this business, and I have a clear vision of how I want things, but we need people who've done this before - rolled out big companies - to help us.

Womenetics: What has been your biggest challenge with founding and managing Drybar?
Webb:I think a lot of it has to do with being a mom and having two kids at home – I have a 4 and 7-year-old at home – so it's been a constant struggle and balance between being a good mom and running a business, keeping my vision and the quality and standards I have for the business. Part of that (the solution) is bringing in people who can help carry out that vision. Hands down, the biggest challenge is just balancing it all – life and the workplace. I don't know if you'd call me mother of the year, but I'm trying! I feel guilty when I'm at work and feel guilty when I'm at home because everyone needs me.

Womenetics: How did you develop the concept of a bar theme, with cocktails and creative hairstyles named after drinks?
Webb: It all kind of came together pretty organically once we decided we wanted it to feel like a bar; the ideas just kept flowing. My husband, who's the creative director, would sit around with my brother and me, and we would just talk about all these different things we could do. We have our little coasters that are like coasters at a bar, and we have bar tabs for memberships.

Womenetics: What are your plans to continue growing the Drybar franchise? Any plans to spread outside the United States?
Webb: Not at the moment. We are exploring a lot of different locations. Right now, we have 12 – soon to be 13 – locations, and we'll be opening 12 to 15 more in the next year and about 20 the following year. There's a lot of expansion in the works.

Womenetics: Do you ever feel pressured to have perfect hair as the owner of a trendy blow-dry shop?
Webb: You bet. I'm very obsessed with my hair anyway, and even before this business, I felt that in a strange way. But definitely now -- when I meet people they probably expect me to have amazing hair, having founded a blow-dry bar. I try to live up to that. It's definitely a perk being able to get blow outs anytime.

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Based near Atlanta, Shala Hainer has been writing and copyediting since 1995. Beginning her career at newspapers such as the Marietta Daily Journal and the Atlanta Business Chronicle, she most recently wrote and edited articles for several nonprofit organizations before purchasing a flower shop in 2006. She earned a bachelor’s in communications from Jacksonville State University.