(L-R) GoWabi Co-Founders Vadim Eremeev, Samir Cherro, and Wipawee Wongsirisak
During one of his trips to Bangkok, Samir Cherro had trouble finding good hairdressers. It ignited a spark in him.
“This experience led me to think about creating a platform to help people like me easily find and book appointments with quality service providers,” says Cherro.
GoWabi was launched in 2016 by Cherro (CEO), Vadim Eremeev (CTO), and Wipawee Wongsirisak (Chief Commercial Officer). Cherro previously headed Lazada Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand, while Eremeev worked at Deal.com.sg (acquired by Catcha Group). Wongsirisak earlier held the account management and sales role at Zalora.
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Soon after launching the platform called GoWabi, the trio noticed many female users were booking barbers through it. Initially, this surprised them since its barbers were not used to servicing female customers.
It led them to realise that there was a more significant problem in the health and wellness services market and that they needed to expand the offerings to address it. So they added more offerings to the platform.
“We also saw similar successful models in the West. Adapting these models to Southeast Asia would help us tap into the region’s growing demand for digital services. This realisation helped us focus on building a platform that would enable users to quickly discover, compare, and book a wide range of health and wellness services, including haircuts, massages, and beauty treatments,” Cherro explains.
In a nutshell, GoWabi is a SaaS platform and a marketplace that connects beauty, health, and wellness providers with potential customers. The app enables providers to easily list and promote their services, manage their calendars, and gather online reviews — all while offering a comprehensive CRM and POS solution.
“Our USP is that we allow our partners to manage their business from one platform, including a calendar management system for real-time availability, a CRM system to store customer info and history, and a POS system to manage sales and accounting,” Cherro shares.
At the same time, users can discover, read reviews, view prices, and book services through its app and earn cashback through the loyalty programme.
The startup also offers marketing support to its partners through its marketplace and GoWabi Ads. In addition, its integration with third-party platforms, such as Google Maps and LINE Messenger, and online shopping platforms, such as Lazada and Shopee, allows its partners to increase their visibility and easily manage bookings from multiple channels.
“Our e-voucher and redemption systems minimise the risk of no-shows and fraud for both shops and customers,” Cherro says further. For users, the B2C GoWabi app provides over half a million verified reviews with photos and upvotes, along with discounts and cashback on each transaction. “In summary, our unique suite of tools, integration with multiple channels, and comprehensive e-voucher and redemption systems make GoWabi stand out in the market.”
The opportunity for Gowabi is substantial, with over 30,000 beauty, health and wellness providers in Thailand alone. The market size in Southeast Asia is estimated at around US$16.3 billion, with a projected annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent. Indonesia and Vietnam have about 35,000 service providers.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenging time for GoWabi, he admits. “The pandemic significantly impacted our business, as it did for many others in the industry. Due to government regulations and safety concerns, most of our service providers had to be closed down, temporarily affecting our revenue.”
However, the company quickly adapted and implemented new strategies to manage the situation. To support its partners, it presold e-vouchers and provided short-term loans to help them with their cash flow.
“Additionally, we turned our empty clinics into COVID-19 test centres with drive-through services at more affordable rates. We also partnered with hospitals to sell vaccines,” he shares. “Post-pandemic, we have seen significant growth in the market as people are now more focused on their health and wellness.”
GoWabi’s main rivals in Thailand are ClassPass, which primarily focuses on the fitness category, and Klook, a travel platform that also provides health and beauty services. Globally, Booksy, Fresha, and Vagaro are the key players.
“We plan to expand to other markets in Southeast Asia,” he says. Before the pandemic, the company had expanded to Indonesia, but unfortunately, it had to close down operations due to the pandemic. “However, with our recent funding, we are now in the process of expanding again and plan to explore other markets in Southeast Asia.”
In October 2022, the startup raised US$5 million in a Series A investment round led by PTT OR. The money is being used to develop its SaaS solution further and expand its reach in Thailand and the regions.
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It is now expanding its SaaS and marketplace combination in Thailand and Southeast Asia. GoWabi has also ventured into home services, such as home massages.
Additionally, it recently launched a membership programme called ‘Spa Pass’, which allows users to purchase a 5-day spa pass and select any shop that has joined the program to receive a service every day.
“Our ultimate goal is to become the go-to platform for all health and wellness services in Southeast Asia,” Cherro concludes.
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