The Future of Beauty with Glamsquad founder Giovanni Vaccaro
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What inspired Giovanni Vaccaro to create Glam Squad and how did his early career shape the idea?
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I'm joined by Giovanni, the founder of Glam Squad. I love Glam Squad, and it was so amazing to learn more about this from Giovanni, hearing about the early days, the scrappy start, the future expansion, the tech integrations that they're looking into, how they give back, partnerships, and so Much more. He has some really good advice for founders, especially on getting lean at the beginning and figuring out your product market fit. And if you have a moment to leave the podcast a rating, review, and follow the show, it really helps the podcast grow and helps us to continue to get amazing guests like Giovanni.
Yeah. So let's get into it. If you haven't heard of Glam Squad or haven't used it, it is a game changer. Changer. A professional stylist for either your hair, like a blowout, nail artist, makeup artist, will come to you, whether you're at a hotel, at a home, in an apartment, at essentially whatever time works for you. 8 p.m. on a Friday night, 6 a.m. on a Monday morning. I know I've been there when I want to get my hair done, but no salons near me or that I know or that I trust are available at the The times that I need. And if they are, it's raining that day and it's a 20-minute walk away and it just doesn't work. Glam Squad is completely fixing that. I have only had such incredible experiences with them.
And if you've ever seen an influencer or celebrity getting their hair and makeup done at home before a big event, but it looks inaccessible, Glam Squad is making that for everyone. And Glam Squad is giving Podcast listeners, a special code. You can get $20 off your first appointment with code in all caps, fashion, and founders. Hi Giovanni.
Hi Victoria.
I'm so excited to have you on the podcast.
I'm thrilled to be here.
You have such an amazing background in the beauty industry. So I can't wait to dive into it, get all your insights. And if we can start with a bit of your background and how you got to the place of founding Glam Squad.
Yeah. So I am somebody who loves making people feel great, building their confidence. I knew that at a really early age. It's probably sixteen years old when I was like, I think I want to be a hairstylist. And I had I have no sisters. I'm one of three boys. But I would practice on my mom's hair every once in a while. And I just had this feeling that transforming people's energy was something that like I wanted to tap into. And So I went straight to the top salon in the country after going to cosmetology school. And that salon was called Frederick Ficai at the time. So for all of my millennials and Gen Xers, you guys know Fikai in New York. And I quickly realized how just from cutting somebody's hair and changing their style or giving them a beautiful blowout can really make somebody feel different about themselves.
And I was so attracted to that. While I was at Fikai, I learned pretty quickly how having a hospitality mindset and helping people through high-end luxury quality services and the discipline that's required to be an artist was just ingrained in that business and in that culture. And so I just fell in love with it instantly. And I was there for 10 years of my career, but I always knew that I was, I wanted something more. I wanted something. I wanted to build something from the ground up. And my identity was always being a hairstylist, but I knew that there was something bigger and deeper for me. This was right around the time of like 2013. So pattern recognition is something that I think your viewers, probably a lot of founders, can relate to is what's the problem that I'm solving?
And am I hearing about this more and more? So it's 2013. I got clients coming in all the time who are saying to me, Oh, my hair looks amazing. If only you can do this for me at my house tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. before work. And so it's like, well, the problem there is people need their time back. They don't want to go to the salon. They want to be able to have the salon come to them, but they don't have that option.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Giovanni Vaccaro to create Glam Squad and how did his early career shape the idea?
0:05–6:05
2
What problem was Glam Squad solving for busy clients and salon‑bound professionals?
6:05–11:49
3
How did Glam Squad’s “salon‑to‑you” model evolve from a single‑city launch to 15+ cities?
11:49–17:49
4
What role does hospitality and trust play in building the Glam Squad professional community?
17:49–23:59
5
How is technology (AI, matching algorithms, and the tech stack) improving the client‑pro experience?
23:59–29:16
6
What core advice does Giovanni give to founders about focus, product‑market fit, and scaling?
29:16–34:13
7
Where does Giovanni see the beauty industry heading, especially at the intersection of beauty and wellness?
34:13–39:24
8
What quick‑fire insights does Giovanni share about beauty misconceptions and his favorite resources?
39:24–44:36
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Fashion & Founders The Podcast
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