Garrett Vargas couldn’t shake the entrepreneurial itch.
Vargas previously co-founded and was CTO at LegUp, a Seattle-based child care enrollment startup that sold in 2022. He then and moved over to Microsoft as an engineering manager.
But at the same time, he wanted to remain involved in running a business.
“I was looking for something that wouldn’t be a full-time role, but not completely passive,” Vargas said. “And I was looking for something in the health and wellness space, not only because it is different than tech but also because I believe it’s a growing, fairly resilient industry.”
Vargas and his wife Sandra Vargas, a group product manager at Microsoft, are now franchisees with Heyday, a skincare company with 40 locations across the U.S. Their first location is celebrating a grand opening in Kirkland, Wash., on June 21.
Vargas said he considered a few different franchise paths before connecting with Heyday. He was attracted to the startup vibe at the time, when Heyday had just 10 corporate-owned locations. As an early franchisee, he was able to get his pick of territories, choosing Kirkland. He also has development rights for Bellevue and Seattle’s University District.
“I like the emphasis they put on employee development, because I really didn’t want an ‘exploitative’ franchise,” Vargas said. Unlike many spas, he said Heyday estheticians are employees of the company and get ongoing training and development when they aren’t performing facials.
The beauty market is growing, spurred in part by the rise of wellness, and is attracting attention from various entrepreneurs and investors. The skincare market is expected to top $186 billion this year, according to Statista.
Launched in 2015, Heyday began its franchise efforts in 2018. The company raised $20 million in a series B round in 2021 and added $12 million to that in 2022 to fuel expansion.
We caught up with Vargas for a quick Q&A about his latest venture (edited for length and clarity):
Q: What are the similarities/differences between this and running LegUp?
Vargas: I’ve really enjoyed the entrepreneurial skills I’ve been able to continue to flex with Heyday. While the franchisor provides the product and much of the marketing material, I still have key operational considerations including staffing and financial tracking. It’s not the same intensity as LegUp was for sure, but it still very much involves building a company from the ground up. One interesting observation — at LegUp I built a full childcare enrollment CRM system and while I wasn’t involved with the technical buildout at Heyday, I’m amazed at the similarities in terms of the pieces they have on the backend to make everything work. Different tech but all the same pieces — scheduling, landing pages, customer CRM, etc. Almost makes me wish we had sold our tech stack to Heyday instead!
‘It’s not the same intensity as LegUp was for sure, but it still very much involves building a company from the ground up.’
— Garrett Vargas
Q: How does Heyday use technology to its advantage?
Vargas: Heyday uses technology to track the customer experience — their skin type, products they buy, and enhancements they prefer to deliver on this personalization promise. These preferences show at all customer checkpoints — from the esthetician to the front desk to follow-up e-mails.
Q: How does the business model work, and how you make money?
Vargas: Heyday offers a membership that allows customers to get a monthly facial at a $31 discount, while bringing in predictable revenue for the shop. But what’s exciting about Heyday’s membership compared to other places is that we only require a two-month minimum commitment and allow you several options if you can’t come in each month — from gifting your facial to a friend to using the value towards product instead.
Q. What separates Heyday from competitors?
Vargas: We offer a truly personalized facial experience. We don’t make the customer choose from a menu of pre-packaged options, rather we offer one 50-minute facial product and let our expert estheticians assess and discuss skin care options with the client.
Q: What are the micro or macro tailwinds that you’re excited about, that could boost Heyday and your franchises?
Vargas: One of the exciting things to me is that with all the socio-economic turmoil, people are taking the time to prioritize self-care. The spa industry has seen revenue bounce back to pre-pandemic levels and there’s no sign of that slowing down.
