blowout+go™ and Uber: Bringing a stylist to your home in minutes

Introducing bgX by blowout&go™—using Uber to bring hairstylists to your home in minutes

We all understand the concept of the on-demand economy. We want a ride, now. We click a button on our smartphone. The car arrives. Such is the technology that Uber has created worldwide. But entrepreneur Paria Ghorashi saw another opportunity when using Uber for Business (the premium business product from the well-known app) to create an on-demand hair stylist app.

Ghorashi has worked extensively in the fashion industry as a fashion designer, buyer and brand developer across Scandinavia and the Middle East for brands such as Armani, Calvin Klein, Floyd by Smith and Cerruti 1881. “I was always looking at ways that could make the industry more efficient” Ghorashi explains, “one of the biggest challenges the fashion industry faces, is getting hairstylists to the shows on time. We used Uber a lot as it was on-demand and reliable.”

But it was only when speaking to Ali Rafi, previously Commercial Director for Team Lotus and Caterham Formula 1 team, that the idea of bgX was first born. “We were discussing the challenges in the industry.” Rafi explains, “Having seen Formula 1 in action for years, where cars had to be fixed in a matter of seconds, I knew there was a way to be more efficient. What if there was a way to have a stylist arrive within 25 minutes of being ordered, and to save time by having hair and makeup done together if needed?”   

And that is exactly what bgX offers today. bgX is the tech platform of Dubai-based beauty company blowout&go™, the number one mobile premium hair and makeup provider in the UAE. Established in 2015, the handpicked professional team travels directly to the customer and delivers salon-quality styling wherever they may be.

bgX is the first company worldwide to integrate Uber’s functionality into a premium service. It delivers a localized on-demand service connecting customers to exclusive hair salons in real-time, merging smart tech and beauty. As an example, if you’re based in London and wake up in need of a blow dry before work, you can open the bgX app on your phone, select the service you’re looking for and be automatically connected to an available stylist at an exclusive salon close to your house. The app books the appointment and transports the stylist straight to your door—it doesn’t get more on-demand than that!

bgX uses the Uber API to automatically place ride requests for stylists who have had a booking assigned to them. The ride will take them from their salon to the customer, with no manual intervention required. The same API is used upon the completion of the appointment to request a ride back to their salon. The entire process is seamless to the salon and stylist and it can be tracked on the stylist’s blowout&go™ mobile app using the Uber API.

According to bgX, Uber for Business is integral to the success of their platform. The centralised billing of Uber for Business simplifies and increases efficiencies of the bgX business flow. Rides can only be booked to or from the salon location and centralised billing is generated through Uber for Business, which removes the need for stylists to pay for their own journeys and expense it back at a later date.

bgX has launched in London, Paris and Dubai and plans to launch in the US later in the year. Thereafter, they plan on expanding globally to provide users with on-demand hair stylists at the click of a button. For more information on bgX, visit their website here.

Uber for Business enables companies to manage affordable rides for employees or guests through a central dashboard that keeps track of Uber trips and fares. Features include account management; expensing with ease by tagging expense codes and notes; custom ride policies and reporting with customisable trip reports. Learn more here.