Hi, my name is Galen Loram – I’m fairly new to tribe, but had heard about it from a couple of friends, and thought I would poke my nose around. I’ve read a number of the postings here on the board, and thought I would add my own.
The company I am working on is a start-up, Inq Art. Our mission is to create an upscale chain of tattooing and piercing studios, catering to upper-middle class women who are 18-40 years old. In this $1-3B industry, women now account for 60% tattoos and 80% of piercings and have been the fastest growing demographic for years. 36% of this group of women already have tattoos, another 20% want them. Yet they are largely neglected by the current tattooing and piercing parlors that still cater to the clients of ten to fifteen years ago – bikers, sailors and punks.
Why, you might ask, does there need to be a chain of tattooing and piercing studios? After all, there are currently approximately 15,000 tattoo and piercing studios around the United States; surely some of them must have figured out how to serve the customer? Why are the women that we aim to serve so unhappy with the current batch of tattoo parlors? Far from fitting their needs and self-image, the current offerings are seedy at best and dangerous at worst. Walking into one of these parlors, a woman is faced with burly men who are tattooed and pierced from head to toe, heavy metal in the background, and the prospect of being tattooed in the lobby in full view of passers-by. We’re looking to bridge the gap between customer and service provider by opening a chain of upscale tattooing and piercing studios, complete with private rooms, registered nurses to provide piercings, chic décor, and tattoo artists who are both true artists and respectful to the customers.
Right now we are looking for Angel-level investment in order to open our first studio. To give a quick idea of where we are, we raised the seed level investment, and are looking for $750,000 to get the first studio off the ground, probably from a syndicate of angels. We have both an executive summary which we are happy to freely distribute and a full business plan for those seriously interested. We are located in Los Angeles, and have our first tattoo artist on board, as well as two full time folks, and a couple of mentor figures on the Board of Directors with substantial business experience. If you are curious to see the executive summary, don’t hesitate to drop me a message, either on tribe or at galen@inqart.com.
Thank you for taking the time to give this a read!
Galen
The company I am working on is a start-up, Inq Art. Our mission is to create an upscale chain of tattooing and piercing studios, catering to upper-middle class women who are 18-40 years old. In this $1-3B industry, women now account for 60% tattoos and 80% of piercings and have been the fastest growing demographic for years. 36% of this group of women already have tattoos, another 20% want them. Yet they are largely neglected by the current tattooing and piercing parlors that still cater to the clients of ten to fifteen years ago – bikers, sailors and punks.
Why, you might ask, does there need to be a chain of tattooing and piercing studios? After all, there are currently approximately 15,000 tattoo and piercing studios around the United States; surely some of them must have figured out how to serve the customer? Why are the women that we aim to serve so unhappy with the current batch of tattoo parlors? Far from fitting their needs and self-image, the current offerings are seedy at best and dangerous at worst. Walking into one of these parlors, a woman is faced with burly men who are tattooed and pierced from head to toe, heavy metal in the background, and the prospect of being tattooed in the lobby in full view of passers-by. We’re looking to bridge the gap between customer and service provider by opening a chain of upscale tattooing and piercing studios, complete with private rooms, registered nurses to provide piercings, chic décor, and tattoo artists who are both true artists and respectful to the customers.
Right now we are looking for Angel-level investment in order to open our first studio. To give a quick idea of where we are, we raised the seed level investment, and are looking for $750,000 to get the first studio off the ground, probably from a syndicate of angels. We have both an executive summary which we are happy to freely distribute and a full business plan for those seriously interested. We are located in Los Angeles, and have our first tattoo artist on board, as well as two full time folks, and a couple of mentor figures on the Board of Directors with substantial business experience. If you are curious to see the executive summary, don’t hesitate to drop me a message, either on tribe or at galen@inqart.com.
Thank you for taking the time to give this a read!
Galen
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Los Angeles
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Re: Inq, a Chain of Upscale Tattooing and Piercing Studios
Mon, February 12, 2007 - 1:37 AM
A) You're on to something, because tat's are only growing in popularity.
B) You better be able to back up a request for $750K. I know a little about this business, and I can't imagine what you'd do with that much money unless you were going to use that money to open a whole bunch of those things.
C) No one is in their right mind, unless they know you is going to give you that much money.
D) Hell, you'd be smarter asking for less, and then using your income to open the rest yourself. Tattoos are a cash business, and it'd be reasonably easy to simply ask for less, and thus give away less and then open more and keep a far, far larger %.
