Glamly didn't start in an office. It started at our kitchen table, on an ordinary weeknight, while my partner's friends vented about their working lives over a glass of wine.
They're all beauty professionals — lash techs, nail techs, a hairdresser — all self-employed, all talented, all working incredibly hard. And all of them were quietly furious about the same thing.
That was the moment it clicked. These weren't people who needed a better marketplace. They needed to get off the marketplace.
The problem with "free" booking platforms
Most of the well-known booking tools market themselves as free, or close to it. And for a solo beauty professional just starting out, that sounds great. Sign up, list your services, take bookings.
But here's what happens as your business grows: the fees start climbing. You get pushed towards tier packages to unlock the features you actually need — automated reminders, deposits, client notes. Things that should just come as standard. And suddenly that “free” platform is costing you £50, £80, even £100+ a month.
Worse still, many of the biggest platforms are marketplaces at heart. Your profile sits alongside every other professional in your area. Your clients can browse, compare, and book someone cheaper — sometimes before they've even confirmed with you. You spent years building those relationships. The platform profits from them.
One of our friends put it bluntly that evening: “I built my client list. Why is someone else owning it?”
What they actually needed
As the conversation went on, the list got longer. It wasn't just about cost — it was about control. They wanted:
- A professional booking page that was theirs — not a shared marketplace
- Automatic reminders so clients actually show up
- The ability to take deposits without jumping through hoops
- A proper client list with notes — allergies, preferences, history — that they owned
- Something that worked for mobile appointments, not just a fixed salon chair
- A single tool that didn't nickle-and-dime them for every feature
None of this felt radical. It felt like the bare minimum that any professional deserved. And yet, sitting at that table, we couldn't point to a single tool that actually did all of it — without the marketplace model, without the punishing tiers, without the sense that the platform was working against you.
From kitchen table to live product: 90 days
That conversation was in January. By April, Glamly was live.
Three months of building, testing, and going back to those same friends to ask: “Does this actually solve it? Is this actually simpler?” They were our testers, our critics, and — we hope — our first believers.
We focused on getting the foundations right: a booking page that looks professional and takes two minutes to set up, deposits that work out of the box, reminders that go out automatically, and a client list that belongs to you — full stop. No marketplace. No competitors listed next to you. No upsells to unlock basic features.
One flat price. Everything included. Your clients, yours.
Why we're starting with a founders price
We're brand new. We know that. And we know that trust has to be earned, not assumed.
So right now, we're offering a founders price of £12 per month — locked in forever — for the first professionals who try Glamly and help us shape it. When those spots are gone, the price goes to £20/month. Either way, it's a fraction of what most platforms charge once you factor in their tier upgrades.
There's also a 30-day free trial. No credit card required. If Glamly isn't right for you, you walk away having lost nothing.
This is just the beginning
We built Glamly because we believed solo beauty professionals deserved better tools — not tools that treat them as inventory in someone else's marketplace.
There's a lot more to come. Multi-staff support, deeper analytics, more ways to fill your calendar automatically. But we wanted to launch with something solid and simple, rather than ship a half-finished product bloated with features nobody asked for.
If you're a barber, nail tech, lash artist, hairdresser, beauty therapist, or holistic therapist running your own business — Glamly was built for you. Specifically for you. Not for a franchise. Not for a salon chain. For the person doing it themselves, building something they're proud of.
We'd love you to try it.