E-Laborative Technologies

What E-Laborative Technologies does

E-Laborative Technologies Ltd. is a private, family-owned SaaS company founded in 2002 in Santa Rosa, California, that builds an integrated suite of web platforms for the professional beauty industry — manufacturers, distributors, publishers, franchise chains, salons, and spas. The company's product set includes SalonBuilder (an all-in-one CMS and booking platform with 100+ templates and 25,000+ stock images), BeautySeeker (a salon/spa locator with hundreds of thousands of curated listings and millions of monthly page views), SalonEmployment (industry job board, active since 2003), GlobalEliteSalon (loyalty program management), and WellaEd (white-label education and e-learning platform originally built for Wella and extended to other Coty Inc. brands). The architecture runs on Microsoft.NET and SQL Server, is hosted on RackSpace managed infrastructure, exposes a REST API, and integrates with FirstData/Cybersource for payments, Twilio/Tropo for voice and SMS, and Google Maps/MapQuest/U.S. Census data for map analytics supporting 100K+ data points and 30+ foreign currencies.

The company makes money through seat-based SaaS subscriptions (sold on annual or multi-year terms with automatic renewal, subject to a 50% early-termination fee on remaining licensing), one-time setup and customization fees outlined in Statements of Work, and time-and-materials or fixed-quote professional services. Distribution is hybrid: a direct enterprise sales motion for marquee accounts (Coty, P&G, ULTA, JCPenney, Sally, Cosmoprof, Paul Mitchell, Wella, BehindTheChair), complemented by self-serve/SMB onboarding through SalonBuilder's free trial and white-label/OEM delivery of branded platforms such as WellaEd. The leadership team is unchanged from the founding three principals (Mike Cooper, President; Ryan Cooper, VP Development / CTO; Jeff Reichenthal, Co-founder), with CTO Ryan Cooper having added a Professional Certificate in Data Science from HarvardX in 2020.

Name

E-Laborative Technologies

Legal name

E-Laborative Technologies Ltd.

Website

https://elaborative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

E-Laborative Technologies is a private, bootstrapped SaaS company founded in 2002 that builds integrated web platforms — CMS, booking, e-commerce, education automation, loyalty, and analytics — exclusively for the professional beauty industry's manufacturers, distributors, and salons.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Salon Management Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAOALAK

Salon & Spa Management / Operations

Education/Vocational, Technical & Trade Education/Beauty, Cosmetology & Personal Care Training

SECONDARYEDAGAEAC

Corporate & Workforce eLearning Modules

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Digital Learning Content & eLearning Modules

SECONDARYCRAFAHAH

Beauty & Salon Professional Supply Marketplaces

Consumer Products & Retail/E-commerce & Marketplaces/Wholesale/B2B E-commerce Marketplaces

SECONDARYCRAOAEAL

Beauty Tools, Accessories & Devices Distribution

Consumer Products & Retail/Wholesale, Distribution & Category Management/Beauty & Personal Care Distribution

SECONDARYCRAFADAC

Beauty & Personal Care Online Retailers

Consumer Products & Retail/E-commerce & Marketplaces/Online Retailers (Inventory-led)

Keywords

• Salon management software
• Beauty industry software
• Education booking systems
• Loyalty program management
• Business intelligence software

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Rosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription Licensing: Core revenue stream from subscription-based access to the ELAB Service platform. Subscriptions are sold per seat on a monthly, annual, or multi-year basis with automatic renewal. Customers select modules and user levels. Resource limitations include domain limits (additional domain licenses purchasable) and disk space limits (50GB standard, additional purchasable). Early termination requires payment of 50% of remaining SaaS licensing amount.
2. Professional Services: Custom development, consulting, customizations, and one-off professional services beyond the scope of agreed Statements of Work. Provided on time and materials or fixed quote basis. Enhancements, modifications, or customizations to ELAB technology remain owned by ELAB.
3. Setup and Customization Fees: One-time fees for initial SaaS setup and customization, outlined in Statement of Work documents. Technical support, hosting, and maintenance included in monthly SaaS licensing fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

E-Laborative Technologies provides the ELAB Service, a multi-tenant SaaS platform tailored to the professional beauty industry that combines customer workforce management, website creation and management, content management, website hosting, and e-commerce. The platform is delivered through several branded products, including SalonBuilder (CMS/website platform for salons and spas), WellaEd (online e-learning and in-person event platform for hair and nail care professionals), BeautySeeker (salon and spa locator with hundreds of thousands of listings), SalonEmployment (industry job board), and GlobalEliteSalon (loyalty program system). The company also builds custom enterprise systems such as the Coty Resource Mapping Solution and supports white-label deployments for major beauty brands.

Product overview

E-Laborative Technologies offers a unified SaaS platform called the E-Laborative Tools Suite, combining customer workforce management, website creation and management, content management, website hosting, and e-commerce capabilities. The platform includes interconnected products: SalonBuilder serves as the core content management and website platform for salons; SalonEmployment handles recruiting; BeautySeeker provides locator/search functionality; GlobalEliteSalon powers loyalty programs; WellaEd (formerly WellaBooking) manages education and e-learning; Beauty Solutions provides distributor e-commerce; and specialized systems handle digital ticketing, sales reporting, and map analytics. The architecture supports both hosted solutions and build-and-deliver deployment options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SalonBuilder: The beauty industry's leading source for all-in-one web sites for salons and spas, featuring over 100 website templates, real-time appointment booking, gift certificates, e-marketing systems, voice and text confirmations, credit card processing, and client relationship management.
• SalonEmployment
• BeautySeeker
• GlobalEliteSalon
• Wella NA Education
• Coty Inc. Resource Mapping Solution

Products and services

• SalonBuilder All-in-one content management and website platform for salons and spas, featuring over 100 website templates, real-time appointment booking, gift certificate sales, e-marketing systems, voice and text confirmations, credit card processing, and client relationship management capabilities. Offered on a free trial basis for individual salon owners to self-evaluate and subscribe.
• SalonEmployment Job board connecting job seekers with salons, spas and beauty businesses, providing tools for employers, recruiters and job seekers to list jobs, search by region, and connect securely with thousands of job seeker profiles.
• BeautySeeker
• WellaEd Online e-learning and in-person event sales platform for hair and nail care professionals, with role-based access for locations, sales consultants, educators, managers, coordinators and admins. Includes educator scheduling, capability matching, digital invoicing, expense management, multi-country/multi-language/multi-currency support, Salon Star profiles, downloadable certificates, and multi-part Journeys education program.
• GlobalEliteSalon Complete loyalty program catalog and fulfillment system providing sophisticated business intelligence for points calculations, level movement, points expiration, bonuses, incentives, and personalized offers based on geography and account level criteria.
• ELAB Service (SaaS Platform) The core ELAB Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, made available on a subscription basis through ELAB's proprietary platform. Includes access to core modules and added modules for workflow management, customer experience management, website creation and management, content management, website hosting, e-commerce, and other features. Sold on a per-seat basis with monthly, annual, or multi-year terms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 99% uptime maintained for 15 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fresha: Fresha is a free SaaS platform for beauty and wellness businesses with online booking, payments, and a consumer marketplace. Its freemium model and marketplace dynamics directly compete with ELAB's SalonBuilder and BeautySeeker offerings.
• StyleSeat: StyleSeat is a beauty services marketplace and booking platform connecting consumers with salon and spa professionals. It is the closest analog to ELAB's BeautySeeker marketplace and operates in adjacent SMB SaaS software.
• Mindbody (Glow / ClassPass): Mindbody is one of the largest SaaS management platforms for salons, spas, and fitness studios with booking, payments, and marketing automation. Its scale and recent move into enterprise wellness makes it a direct competitor to SalonBuilder and education automation modules.
• Vagaro: Vagaro is a SaaS platform for salons, spas, and fitness studios offering appointment booking, payments, marketing, and client management. It directly competes with ELAB's SalonBuilder in the SMB salon market and increasingly targets enterprise distributors and chains.
• Phorest Salon Software: Phorest is a salon and spa management platform with strong client retention, marketing, and education features serving thousands of salons globally. Its education and client engagement modules overlap with ELAB's WellaEd and GlobalEliteSalon offerings.
• Salon Iris: Salon Iris offers salon and day spa management software with scheduling, POS, and marketing features. As a long-standing salon software provider, it competes with SalonBuilder for the SMB and mid-market salon segment.
• Boulevard: Boulevard provides appointment scheduling, checkout, and client management software for premium salons and spas. It competes with ELAB's SalonBuilder in the upper-end salon market, particularly with multi-location chains.
• GlossGenius: GlossGenius is a modern booking, payments, and client management platform built specifically for beauty professionals. While focused on individual stylists and small salons, it competes for the long-tail customer base of SalonBuilder.
• SalonTarget (by SalonQuest): SalonTarget provides salon and spa management software with appointment booking, inventory, and client management. It competes in the same vertical-SaaS niche as SalonBuilder, particularly for multi-location salon chains.

Broad incumbents

• HubSpot: HubSpot is a broad CRM and marketing automation platform with CMS, email, and ecommerce capabilities that can substitute for some of ELAB's CMS, marketing, and ecommerce modules for enterprise customers seeking to consolidate vendors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/elaborative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elaborative-technologies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about E-Laborative Technologies