After 54 hours of brainstorming, building and pitching, Beauty Box was crowned the winner of Startup Weekend in Lahore this past Sunday. Sahr Said, the CEO of Beauty Box, impressed the event’s judges, which included Saad Zaeem, CEO of Caramel Tech Studios and Ahmed Shuja, the Founder of Obscure UX, with her pitch for a beauty products and services platform, for customers to rate, rank and book their visits. Shahi Sawari, the Uber for rickshaws took second, while MentMe a social media platform for those offering and those seeking mentorship took third.
Sahr Said, the CEO & Founder of Beauty Box.
We learned that the primary reason for the Beauty Box win was the value proposition and the customer insight. According to the CEO, when women are looking to find a new parlor or searching service prices, they will spend hours calling friends, calling parlors, searching various blogs and Facebook pages.
“This,” she says, “wastes time, is inconvenient and painful.”
And apparently, booking appointments is another pain point being addressed.
“There is no booking service available online, and bookings need to be done over the phone. Most receptionists at salons are too busy multitasking, so lots of back and fourth results, wasting more time.”
The winning idea has been offered a slot with LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship and will be finalized an investment or incubation partner soon.
