Great Many is on to great things.
The hair growth clinic and platform on Wednesday revealed a $3.6 million pre-seed, its CPG line of growth-focused hair care products and a telehealth platform. The raise, which was oversubscribed by $400,000, was led by Brand Project with participation from Midnight Venture Partners and Tonic Ventures. In addition, angel investors included several aligned founders, known for building brick-and-mortar businesses, including Lukas Keindl of BondVet; Andy Grover of Tend Dental; Elizabeth Cutler of SoulCycle and Peoplehood, and Megan Maupin of Atolla Skincare.
Great Many cofounders Steve Klebanow and Michael Pollak.
Courtesy of Great Many
Great Many was founded by Heyday cofounder Michael Pollak and former Estée Lauder executive Steve Klebanow. Its first flagship studio, which offers a slew of hair growth services based on an in-depth scalp health assessment with a clinician, opened in June in NoHo in New York City. Both Pollak and Klebanow, who is also the cofounder of Haar & Co Barbershop, recognized the ongoing trend of scalp health and saw an opportunity to tap into the category the way fast facial bars have with skin care.
“Hair growth and scalp care has been an incredible trend, and it reminds me of where skin care was 10 [to] 12 years ago,” Pollak said. “Hair growth and scalp care is the next area of focus in that Venn diagram of wellness and health.”
While hair growth has seen a boom over the past several years with the likes of Nutrafol and Virtue, the Great Many team set out to do more and squash the narrative that one product is all it takes, hence the studio’s products and services including its hero platelet rich plasma, or PRP.
“Often it’s a combination of things that actually get the results in hair,” Pollak said. “That’s an under told story that customers need to hear, but most brands are busy selling their own products.
“Everybody gets a really thorough consultation with a medical professional, where the medical professional is talking about your medical history, your goals, looking at your scalp. We’ve got this cool camera that actually gets down to the follicle, where we can actually see what’s going on. Then the clinician basically builds you a personalized plan of everything you need to get growing,” said Klebanow, adding that this could include prescriptions, supplements and PRP.
In addition, the team has taken a very gender neutral approach to the space and its messaging, as hair loss has typically been a conversation revolving around men. So far it’s working, as the business is seeing a nice split between men and women.
Great Many NoHo clinic entrance.
Courtesy of Great Many
“Our New York City location is our flagship, but we have plans to expand our studios nationwide, call it 15 key cities over the next couple years,” Klebanow said.
In an effort to expand its reach, the company is also rolling out its telehealth arm, where guests nationwide will be able to access a similar experience, and a line of products to bring the hair growth conversation home.
“We want to be able to offer all of the digital experiences, which are the ability to identify that you have an opportunity for growth, articulate your goals and your medical background, and then, if medically appropriate, be prescribed a medication that can help you get growing,” Klebanow said. “We are also offering unique compounding, so prescriptions that you can’t necessarily get at a CVS or Walgreens.”
Pollak noted that the telehealth business will help inform what areas Great Many should open clinics in.
Great Many product line.
Que Duong
Additionally, the team is rolling out its unmedicated product line in-store and online, which includes the GreaterThan Shampoo, $34; GreaterThan Conditioner, $34; RootSupport Densifying Serum, $48, and RootReset Scalp Treatment, $48.
“All four products are powered by our growth factor formula, which is a combination of six ingredients that help both activate growth, optimize the scalp and defend against loss,” Pollak said. “The goal is, over time, to bring out other products that would fit in the general hair health and scalp health realm.”
While Great Many is just getting started, the ultimate goal is to offer the same level of support for hair loss that skin care has seen over the years.
“People feel very helpless and alone when [hair loss] starts happening. You don’t know who to go to. Skin care, it feels like it’s so saturated….There’s so many places to go to try different things,” Pollak said, pointing to facial bars, med spas, doctors and beauty retailers. “Hair still remains this big mystery with a lot of deep skepticism too.…That’s why that medical rooting in our brand is so important.”
