25 percent of the Western World who’ve been inked have had second, third, or fourth thoughts about that permanent body art. Perhaps a love long gone, perhaps a banging night out with mates, either way, it’s there to stay.
While the business of being inked reaches into the billions in the US alone ($1.6 billion), conversely, according to Market Research Future, worldwide, the tattoo removal industry is expected the reach a figure of almost $4.8 billion by 2023.
While the process of tattoo removal, most often done with lasers, shouldn’t be any more painful than the process of receiving the ink in the first place, Ray studio's thinking is that there should be a far better experience than currently on tap.
To address this growing market of “regretters”, Paris-based Ray studios has created an experience combined with exclusive technology, and now raised $3 million in pre-seed funding in order to scale operations outside of Paris, first adding additional cities across France, then Europe, then Latam and North America. In total, the startup aims to open 200 studios within the next five years.
“Tattoo removal used to be just about removing an unwanted tattoo... we make it a one-of-a-kind experience. We create a unique & digitally augmented environment making our customer’s ink removal journey special,” explained Ray studios CEO and founder David Rodriguez.
Far from some dark backroom, or stayed medical clinic office, Ray studios welcomes customers to what could be conceived as a media lounge, with available audio and video options galore, all designed to distract from the actual procedure at hand.
Beneath the bells and whistles, Ray studios is employing hydraulic acoustic wave technology in its "Le Ray Spark" device and claims it, “reduces the number of needed treatment sessions as well as the downtime between sessions, altogether reducing the total treatment journey to months, not years.”
And what would the cool doctor be without a zero paper policy? Meeting the expectations of their target market, Ray studios, of course, has an online booking platform, provides before and after photos and all digital treatment records, and post-procedure communications, all aimed at providing a top-notch experience.
Ray studio’s $3 million pre-seed round was provided by investors on both sides of the Atlantic and includes Kima Ventures, Airbnb alumni syndicate AirAngels, Gaingels, Nickleby Capital, and True. A host of health tech angel investors including Chris Muhr, Yury Yakubchyk, and Matthieu Pozza invested alongside 20+ additional undisclosed individuals.
Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash
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