Pulse June 2019 | Page 35

soothe provides flexible, on-demand treatments for busy clients. soothe “i am so proud of the thousands of massage therapists who are paying their rent and feeding their families on their extra income from Zeel,” said hamadeh. “We are working state by state to properly build a new way for people to work, in their own way and on their own time. We hope that soon, the regulatory environment will catch up to the new realities of work. “Wellness is a revolution, not just an industry, and we are proud and excited to be part of a trend that is helping people live longer, feel better and focus on the things that really matter. Stay tuned, as 2019 is an exciting time for us.” Soothe, launched in 2014, is an app- based massage provider that was also born from the pains of a loved one. Growing up, Soothe founder merlin Kauffman gained a unique perspective from watching the incredible work his mother did in the health and wellness industry as a home-based provider. as he grew older, he began to realize that she was underpaid and underutilized, oftentimes waiting around for a client who may or may not show up. mixed with his passion for travel and frustration at not being able to get a massage at any time of the day or night after a long flight, he decided to start Soothe, which allows consumers greater convenience in obtaining a spa-quality massage when and where they want. “Soothe offers Swedish, Sports, Deep Tissue and Pre-natal massage in the privacy of one’s home, office or hotel. These offerings vary from slow, gentle, relaxing strokes to targeted deep tissue muscle therapy. Soothe also offers assisted stretching during sports massage sessions.” Bishop says the company plans to launch in Germany in mid-2019 and that they’re particularly excited about growing Soothe at Work, which is a corporate chair massage and assisted stretching program that helps lower stress levels, increases focus and boosts morale and productivity in employees. “We really want the customer’s experience with Soothe to be phenomenal, which is why we have such a rigorous on-boarding process. The vast majority of our therapists have been hand-vetted by a massage expert and must demonstrate profes- sionalism and an excellent intake before being accepted onto our network. We grew from eight to over 70 markets in 36 months, and the Soothe team accomplished this with great with enthusiasm.” squeeze “We’re all avid massage goers and view the landscape as having two limited options,” said Squeeze cEo/co- founder Brittney Driscoll. “on one end, discount chains offer affordable pricing, but a subpar customer experience while high-end hotels and spas offer an amazing, but financially unattainable experience for a regular monthly or weekly massage. There just wasn’t anything out there that delivered on the experience we were looking for.” Squeeze was created out of personal necessity and is the brain- child of michael Landau & alli Webb, co-founders of Drybar. This new spa concept eliminates cumbersome trans- actions electronically, giving guests the ability to come in, receive their treatment and leave without any inter- ruptions. “many of the key aspects of the concept solve for the clunkiness that exists across the industry—having to call individual locations for appoint- ments, waiting in long checkout lines or dealing with clunky transactional processes and awkward in-person (COnTInUED On PAGE 36) jUnE ■ PULSE 2019 33