Scaling a beauty business
Hi, I’m Arbilina Nissan – entrepreneur, founder, and consultant, with a passion for building impactful businesses and driving innovation. My journey started far from the beauty or tech industries. I spent years in music, media, and events management, later pursuing an MSc while working across both corporate and charity sectors. These diverse experiences ignited my love for creativity and problem-solving. But it wasn’t until I saw the beauty industry lagging behind in outdated models that I realised where I could make a real impact.
In 2014, on-demand industries were evolving at an incredible pace, but beauty seemed stuck in the past. Booking a treatment still meant rigid appointment times and inconvenient salons, and there was no on-demand service that was both high-quality and accessible. As a busy woman myself, I became frustrated with the lack of flexibility when booking beauty services. More concerning, though, were the working conditions for stylists. They endured long hours with minimal flexibility, low pay, and poor working environments, often exposed to toxic fumes. It was clear that the industry was struggling to meet the needs of both consumers and the professionals delivering the services.
This frustration sparked an idea: a business that could meet modern women’s needs and improve work conditions for professionals in the industry. I wanted to create a service offering on-demand beauty treatments – easy to book, efficient, and reliable. But more importantly, I wanted to build a business that would provide stylists with better working conditions, more control over their schedules, and pay that reflected the value of their work.
Fast forward a year, and I decided to make it happen. I spent six months researching the market, talking to women about how they booked, paid for, and experienced beauty treatments. With a validated idea and business plan in hand, I teamed up with a friend and moved back to Sweden to start the venture. It wasn’t glamorous – we lived the scrappy entrepreneurial life, knocked on doors, and convinced over 300 stylists to join our platform. Along the way, we brought in two tech co-founders who helped build what would become Dashl: “Beauty Services Anytime, Anyplace.”
Being a female founder in a female-centric industry came with its own set of challenges – especially when the landscape was dominated by male founders and male VCs. Investors would often undermine our research, dismiss our data, and bring their wives or hairstylists to meetings as if their opinions were more valuable. But we didn’t let that stop us. We hustled, bootstrapped, and built something incredible. We secured key partnerships with the likes of Spotify, major banks, and hotels, offering on-demand beauty services that shook up the industry. Our persistence and determination proved that innovation and vision could redefine the beauty service landscape. We were committed to delivering high-quality treatments at a fair price, ensuring that all our stylists were trained to provide consistent service. It wasn’t just about beauty – it was about efficiency, reliability, and quality, ensuring customers always got the best service, no matter when or where they booked.
But our journey wasn’t without its challenges. As the first to market, we had to tackle the tough job of changing consumer behaviour. The on-demand model was expensive, and while stylists set their prices, demand couldn’t always meet supply. We soon realised scaling the model was trickier than we thought. We spoke to over 100 investors and faced countless rejections. It was hard, but we didn’t quit. We kept pushing and eventually secured the funding to take our vision to the next level.
That’s when we made the game-changing pivot. We shifted focus from the on demand platform business model to creating physical beauty spaces. In 2018, H&M approached us to open our first beauty bar in their flagship store. This partnership exploded, and we quickly opened several more locations in flagship stores across Swedish cities. Other major retailers soon followed suit, asking us to bring our beauty bars into their stores.
This retailer partnership became a win-win. We could meet demand more reliably, build our brand in-store, and offer shoppers on-the-go treatments. By driving footfall, increasing customer loyalty, and boosting basket size, we delivered real value to retailers. The beauty bars became key hubs, offering on-demand treatments while providing a non-toxic, high-quality service that set us apart from competitors. This model let us scale effectively and enhance the overall customer experience, all while growing our business and solidifying our position in the market.
In 2019, after the success of our beauty bars, H&M became an investor, and we expanded into Germany, Holland, and beyond. We raised £6M from angels, private equity, and VCs, launched a vegan beauty line, and teamed up with brands like NA-KD and Zalando. But then, 2020 hit – and with it, the pandemic. While our beauty bars were thriving, we had to adapt fast. The market dynamics had shifted, and with restrictions in place, we couldn’t operate as we had before. We quickly pivoted, rethinking how we could continue serving our customers in this new world.
Despite the challenges, we didn’t back down. We kept innovating, digitised our beauty academy, introduced a subscription model, and launched a beauty line endorsed by influencers and celebrities. This created a new, scalable revenue stream.
It wasn’t an easy road, but it was one that allowed me to apply everything I’d learned to transform an industry for the better. By 2024, Dashl had expanded across Europe with a beauty line spanning nails, brows, lashes, and colour cosmetics, all backed by a thriving community of stylists and customers. We’d built our own e-commerce platform, reaching even more customers, and partnered with major European retailers like H&M, Zalando, and Flaconi.
Now, I’m using everything I’ve learned to help other entrepreneurs and businesses through The CFD – a consultancy where I can roll up my sleeves, share my expertise, and help others turn their visions into reality. My journey has taught me one thing for sure: even the wildest ideas can turn into something extraordinary when you trust your instincts, adapt to challenges, and stay focused on creating real value for others.
