“The most important lesson I've learned from starting my own business is making sure to surround myself with people I really trust and I can live with. Ask for help in those areas that you're not so great and find someone who is.” ― Alli Webb
Alli Webb founded Drybar in 2010 after spending 15 years as a professional stylist. She attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and began her career in fashion in New York City in the early ‘90s working for designer Nicole Miller. In 1996, Alli left fashion retailing to pursue her true passion – hairstyling.
After training at the Toni & Guy Academy, Alli sharpened her skills as an assistant to celebrity stylist John Sahag, famous for his signature dry-cut technique. Having struggled with her own extremely curly hair, Alli was always in search of a great blowout but was often disappointed with the two available options – an overpriced blowout at a traditional salon or a less-than-desirable experience at a discount chain.
After leaving the professional hair workforce in 2005 to start a family, she decided to find a way to continue pursuing the creative side of hairstyling at a new-mom pace. Alli began offering weekly in-home blowout services for friends, but her little side business quickly grew into more than a part-time gig. The business exploded strictly by referrals from loyal clients, which led Webb to the decision to expand her mobile operation to a physical location. The first Drybar opened in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2010 and was an overnight sensation.
Drybar has since expanded to 41 locations throughout Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Washington, DC. Alli remains active in the business as the chief creative officer at Drybar, overseeing the hiring and training of more than 2,200 stylists across the country and leading the development of Drybar’s line of styling products and tools. However, that all comes second to the raising of her two little boys, Grant (10) and Kit (7), in Tustin, California, where she lives with her husband Cameron, beloved long-haired Chihuahua Cooper and Goldendoodle Captain.
Drybar is a brand new “blow dry bar” concept created around a very simple idea: No cuts. No color. Just blowouts for only $40.
Alli’s Achievements:
2014 CEW Achiever Award, Fortune’s “40 under 40”, Marie Claire’s “16 Most Fascinating Women”, Cosmopolitan’s “2013 Power List” and Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business”.
Articles:
Forbes: Drybar: How One Woman And A Hair Dryer Became A $20 Million
CNN: Drybar: The $50 million business built on hot air
The Wall Street Journal: Hair Chain Drybar Finds Niche in Affordable Luxury