Squire, born in New York, grew up surrounded by WNY

The tech company, which created booking software for hairdressers and shop owners to run their businesses with cashless payment transactions, has raised $165 million from investors since its founding in 2015 and now has about 180 employees.

And the company founded in New York by two young men tired of their corporate jobs is still going strong in the western New York community.

Squire is headquartered in New York and its app is distributed in the US, UK and Canada, but the company has the largest workforce in Buffalo, in one of its three physical offices. The third is in Austin, Texas.

The company made a splash locally in 2017, when it won the $650,000 second prize in the 43North competition. Three years later, it reported having about 30 employees in its Buffalo office. That number has dropped to 12 by 2024, but Squire still sees that as important for a remote and geographically dispersed team.

Squire is an example of That’s what the state hoped for when it launched 43North a decade ago, to encourage entrepreneurship in the region and boost the startup community here.

“We continue to support the local ecosystem, recruit for positions that exist here, and a lot of our longest-serving employees are from Buffalo. We feel very connected,” said Songe LaRon, Squire’s co-founder, during a visit to Buffalo in June for a national event hosted by Endeavor Western New York.

The company was founded in 2015 by LaRon and his friend Dave Salvant. Neither of them were happy with the direction they were taking. LaRon was a corporate lawyer and Salvant worked in corporate finance, both working in New York.

They decided to start a business together and focused on hair salons, an important sector that they felt was underserved by technology.

Although they weren’t hairdressers themselves, it was an industry they both knew through what LaRon describes as the ritual that almost every American participates in every few weeks or months: getting a haircut.

“We both wanted to do something more fulfilling and meaningful,” LaRon said. “And like so many others, we both grew up in hair salons and we were like so many people who go to the salon and come out feeling like they made a million dollars. We knew there was something very special about this industry and we thought there was an opportunity here. It’s something we believe in.”

A few years later, the results of the 43North competition in Buffalo convinced them to quit their full-time jobs and dive headfirst into the industry.

The company, sometimes called OpenTable for hair salons, tripled its headcount in the past four years and became a leading software provider for hair salons and barbershops. It raised $165 million from investors over six years before winding down its fundraising efforts and focusing on scaling, LaRon said. And in 2020, Squire was selected to join the Endeavor global network, opening the door to more growth opportunities.

“I always thought it was going to be a massive, multi-billion dollar business, and we’re not there yet, but we’re on the right track,” LaRon said. “And when we won 43North, that was proof and gave me even more belief.”

So how has Buffalo contributed to this growth? For one, the community and startup ecosystem have stepped up to the plate in favor of companies like his, LaRon said. Squire also has a lot of clients in Western New York hair salons.

LaRon said hairstylists share the city’s feeling of being overlooked and underappreciated, which drives them to work even harder at their craft. That sense of having something to prove extends throughout the business, he added.

Buffalo employees work in sales, customer success and technology at 43North’s space in the Seneca One tower.

“The city is very eager to support entrepreneurs and innovation and it’s a smaller market than some other markets, but because of that, you can get a lot more attention and support,” LaRon said. “Since we won 43North, I think our industry has resonated with the culture that I see in Buffalo.”

Western New York has been so beneficial to the company that LaRon decided to further engage with the region and the startup ecosystem by joining Endeavor WNY as a board member.

Endeavor WNY supports early-stage and high-growth startups in Buffalo, Rochester and the Upstate region. LaRon became the first Endeavor WNY entrepreneur to be appointed to the nonprofit’s board of directors.

“Having our first Endeavor entrepreneur step up and say that we’ve had a major impact on him, his business and his team is a real validation of what we’ve done and what we’ll continue to do with Songe and many others,” said Alan Rosenhoch, CEO of Endeavor WNY.

Four years ago, LaRon and Salvant became the sixth and seventh entrepreneurs, respectively, selected by Endeavor WNY to join the global network, and only the third local business to achieve this distinction at the time.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, LaRon said he began to get more involved with Endeavor and attend its national and international events. This helped LaRon better understand the breadth of what Endeavor can offer to help businesses grow. Building these meaningful relationships has also been the best way to grow as a CEO, he said.

“It helps to connect with entrepreneurs who are a few years or more ahead of you and know the rules of the game and can tell you things you don’t even think about and questions you should be asking,” LaRon said.

A key part of Endeavor’s business model is investing time and resources in entrepreneurs and then seeing them pass it on to the next generation of startup founders who grow their businesses. LaRon embraces this philosophy.

“When Alan brought up the idea of ​​me potentially joining the board, I was intrigued,” LaRon said. “I had never served on a board like this, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more and get closer to the organization, while also helping give back to the community.”