One Melbourne entrepreneur came up with a clever solution that makes it easier to connect hair stylists, barbers and apprentices with their customers.

Dan Namonyo was working in finance when he had a lightbulb moment.

He came up with an idea for an app with a two-fold benefit: firstly, to help hairdressers manage and grow their customer bases more efficiently, and secondly, to help consumers match with barbers and hairdressers according to their personal needs.

“When matching clients to stylists, we enable the service provider to know their clients a lot better before they even have met them,” Namonyo tells Kochie’s Business Builders.

And so, Bam by Zuri was born.

For hair stylists, the big data-driven system will help to improve client retention, average spend and referrals. For consumers, Bam will save the user time and money by finding the professional right for their hair, whether it’s a straight cut, braiding, or a specialist colour. And if you’ve ever spoken to someone who’s returned from the hairdresser feeling ‘misunderstood’ – you’ll know the value of the perfect connection.

The idea: Changing the hair game

Dan set up Bam to help hair stylists and barbers connect with their customers. Image: Supplied.

Running his business Zuri Innovations since August 2017, Namonyo has been working on getting Bam to market with his eyes set on launching in 2022.

Namonyo is excited about this final step, and his confidence partly comes from knowing he has prepared well – and a bit of trial and error.

“We’ve had about four failed attempts,” the Melbourne-based entrepreneur says. “This happened where we’ve gone to a software developer with our idea, and each time their interpretation and understanding was limited. So, we decided instead to find a designer first, who to date has been outstanding and really understands our vision and business needs.”

Namonyo knew he needed to put the right contracts in place to secure the relationship – and the one between himself and co-founders.

“Zuri has three other founders and one advisor. Justin, Josh and Jason are my fellow founders and are in charge of marketing, product and operations respectively,” Namonyo explains. “Our advisor is Evan, who provides us with all his industry experience over the years as a professional barber.”

The app will cater for all hair needs. Image: Supplied.

Startup setup: Taking the pain out of the legals

Having also been a manager for a food delivery service, Namonyo knew there were some important business aspects that needed attention. That’s when he turned to Lawpath, Australia’s leading online legal software platform for small businesses.

Every week, Lawpath helps hundreds of businesses of all sizes with their needs via legal services done differently – and delivered less expensively than traditional services – offering comprehensive legal software businesses can use themselves.

Lawpath has assisted more than 200,000 businesses in Australia, providing a more cost-effective, technology-powered approach to quick – and important – legal advice.

Namonyo can’t speak highly enough about the value of access to expert advice for startup companies like his.

“Lawpath was a saviour earlier this year when it was time to formalise things with the company,” Namonyo says. “Previously, I was the sole shareholder, but since bringing on three other founders and preparing to take on external investment, I needed professional assistance with a lot of the paperwork and general advice.

“I was initially surprised that Lawpath were providing access to everything we needed at the annual cost of what others were charging one set of documents.”

The very competitive cost aside, the Zuri founder was mostly impressed with the services and software access that Lawpath offered.

“Peace of mind was the biggest thing in using Lawpath – creating our terms and conditions, IP assignment, shareholder agreements and contractor agreements, all massively reduced our spending since we were not charged every time we spoke with a lawyer,” Namonyo says.

“Lawpath’s software dashboard is really easy to become familiar with. Knowing we can ask for help if we get stuck removes the anxiety of thinking about can we afford this with our current burn rate.”

Namonyo estimates that using Lawpath has saved the company thousands of dollars.

“It is definitely more efficient knowing you can easily search for almost any document you might need on the Lawpath database. In terms of money saved, it’s easily over $10,000 and that’s just for what we required for our initial setup,” he says. “I’m sure we will save thousands more in the future.”

The plan: Riding the cutting-edge of technology

Now that BAM! will soon be going live, Namonyo is excited, but anticipates it will reach major milestones once it becomes available to the whole market next year. And it won’t end there.

“Augmented reality is a big part of our end game,” Namonyo says. “The technology for video rendering is getting a lot better, and it plugs in perfectly with what BAM! is trying to do for the industry, so eventually whether it’s in a salon mirror, a mirror in your home or on your mobile, we plan on incorporating AR into the tools BAM! provides both clients and merchants.

“In terms of our mission, we want to facilitate the growth and empowerment of service providers, whilst vastly improving every facet of the clients’ experience.”

Find out more about Bam here.

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This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Lawpath.

Disclaimer: Information in this article should not be considered legal advice. Consult a lawyer via Lawpath to get certainty about your legal obligations.