Three Strange Meetings - Part Three

One day, I received a message on Telegram with the subject of a potential collaboration.
The message read:
“Hello, Evgeny, my name is Vladimir. My partner and I are looking for a solution (or thinking of developing one ourselves) for booking sports facilities. We really liked your solution. Would you have time for a call to share your experience and discuss a potential collaboration?”


We set up a call, and I explained that I had plans to expand my project not only for beauty coworking spaces but also for sports facilities, fitness clubs, coworking spaces for startups, and more.
Once again, I felt that familiar sense of hope — could it be that in the third attempt, everything would finally work out?

These guys were based in the U.S., and they managed a network of sports facilities that they rented out on an hourly basis. The operational model was quite similar to the beauty coworking model — integrating smart devices to streamline operations, payments, and bookings. Everything seemed to match perfectly, with similar problems to solve. A little tweaking, and everything would work.


We spoke almost every day, going over the details. It seemed like everything was falling into place, and we just needed to finalize the terms of our cooperation. As in previous discussions, I asked what terms they had in mind and what percentage they would be comfortable with. It turned out the person wanted either 50% or more and was willing to invest $100,000.

After realizing that we couldn't meet on those terms, our calls came to an end. From what I gathered, they were planning to build their own product from scratch. During one of the calls, when I presented my project, there was someone on the call who specialized in developing SaaS systems for businesses. He asked some very strange questions, like "Do you have this? Do you have that?" and "It doesn't work like this in the U.S.," etc. It was clear that my product needed to be adapted to the niche, but these were not major issues. However, he made it clear that the call was only to discredit my project and pitch their own services. The potential partner trusted this person more, and since he was already in the U.S. while I was still waiting for a startup visa, it seemed like their plan was to go in their own direction.

For updates on other successful (or not-so-successful) negotiations, follow my blog ",Beshare" where we are building a global startup that will become a unicorn!
See you in the next post!
16 March / 2024
Evgenii Kuznetsov
CEO Founder & Product Manager
Three Very Strange Meetings Part one
Over the past two years, I had three strange meetings with people who, at the time, seemed like ideal potential business partners.
Three Strange Meetings - Part Two
One day, I had the idea to Google who from Russia had opened beauty coworking spaces in the U.S. I came across an article about a woman who had opened a beauty coworking space in the heart of New York City.
Testing Our Product: The Early Days and the Challenges We Faced
In the early stages of testing our product, we relied on existing automation tools available in the market. We created a simple one-page website and integrated a booking system that was already out there.
Creating a Podcast Studio to Promote Our Product
I had a long-held dream of creating my own podcast studio and a space for interviews and other creative video products. While searching for locations to set up autonomous beauty studios, I stumbled upon an amazing space. It was located in the center, with its own separate entrance, soundproof, and had no windows—ideal for barber studios, but absolutely unsuitable for them.
Creating Fully Autonomous Beauty Studios for Hairdressers with 24/7 Access
We decided to create and test a business model that no one had previously explored—fully autonomous beauty spaces for hairdressers with 24/7 access. The idea was to eliminate human oversight and allow professionals to rent and pay for space through an app, as well as manage or cancel bookings in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Creating the First Working Version of the App
The first launch of our app occurred after five months of intensive development. For the app’s development, we chose Flutter for the front-end and Django for the backend. The most time-consuming part of the development process was setting up the payment system and integrating Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The Struggles of Branding: How Many Times the Name Changed
We all know that the name of a brand and an app is crucial. In this article, I’ll share how many times the name of our app has changed. When I first started the project, the idea was to automate beauty coworking spaces, and I hadn’t yet envisioned expanding the project further. So, I came up with a simple and concise name—Barber Click.
The beginning of our startup
Creating Fully Autonomous Beauty Studios for Hairdressers with 24/7 Access