Guru Tattoo
Guru Tattoo is a privately held San Diego tattoo studio operating two storefronts (Pacific Beach and Little Italy) with 23 resident artists delivering custom tattoos across 18 styles to individual consumer clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Guru Tattoo does
Guru Tattoo is a privately held custom tattoo studio founded in 2003 by Aaron Della Vedova in San Diego, California. The company operates two physical storefronts: the original Pacific Beach location at 1122 Garnet Avenue and a second Little Italy location at 2504 State Street, collectively employing 23 resident artists with over 100,000 hours of combined experience. The studio offers custom tattoo services across 18 styles (including Micro-Realism, Japanese, American Traditional, Neo Traditional, Fine Line, Blackwork, and Watercolor), supplemented by a rotating international guest artist program and a differentiated anesthesia tattooing option. Revenue is generated through transaction-based tattoo services priced by artist, style, size, and complexity, with walk-in and appointment bookings via the company website. Adjacent revenue streams include an online merchandise shop and the sister company Evolve Tattoo Removal, housed at the Little Italy location. The company also produces the Chats & Tatts podcast for community engagement. Guru Tattoo distributes demand through Instagram, the podcast, in-shop events, the company blog, and direct booking, operating purely as a direct-to-consumer retail business with all revenue tied to two San Diego locations.
Guru Tattoo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Guru Tattoo
- Legal name
- Guru Tattoo
- Website
- https://gurutattoo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Guru Tattoo is a privately held San Diego tattoo studio operating two storefronts (Pacific Beach and Little Italy) with 23 resident artists delivering custom tattoos across 18 styles to individual consumer clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Guru Tattoo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Guru Tattoo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Tattoo Services: One-time tattoo services performed by resident and guest artists. Services are transaction-based, with prices varying by artist, style complexity, and tattoo size. Both appointment and walk-in bookings available.
- Merchandise Sales: Sale of official Guru Tattoo branded merchandise through their online shop.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Guru Tattoo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Guru Tattoo is a dual-location custom tattoo studio operating two retail shops in San Diego, California (Pacific Beach and Little Italy). The core service is custom tattoo design and application delivered by 23 resident artists and rotating international guest artists across 18 tattoo styles, available via appointment and walk-in. The company additionally sells branded merchandise online and offers an anesthesia tattooing option for pain-managed sessions.
Product overview
Guru Tattoo is a dual-location tattoo studio offering custom tattoo services with a collective mastery of over 100,000 hours. The core offering is tattoo services provided by 23 resident artists across Pacific Beach and Little Italy locations in San Diego, supplemented by a rotating guest artist program. The studio specializes in 18 distinct tattoo styles ranging from Micro-Realism and Japanese to American Traditional and Watercolor. Additional offerings include a merchandise shop, the Chats & Tatts podcast, and through sister company Evolve Tattoo Removal, tattoo removal services. The studio operates primarily by appointment with walk-in availability, and also provides anesthesia tattooing options.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Custom Tattoo Services Custom tattoo design and application delivered by 23 resident artists and rotating international guest artists across 18 tattoo styles, available via appointment and walk-in at both San Diego studios.
- Anesthesia Tattooing
Companies that use Guru Tattoo
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Guru Tattoo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Guru Tattoo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Evolve Tattoo RemovalminorSister company operating at the Little Italy location. Provides tattoo removal services to complement the tattooing services offered by Guru Tattoo.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Guru Tattoo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Sailor Jerry: Lifestyle/spirits brand built on traditional tattoo heritage. Not a direct competitor but adjacent as a consumer-facing brand that monetizes tattoo culture and shapes mainstream perception of tattooing — comparable to Guru's lifestyle/community positioning.
- Inked Magazine: Largest US media brand covering tattoo culture, artists, and studios. Adjacent to Guru Tattoo as a category amplifier that drives consumer demand for tattoo services and shapes artist reputations — an ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor.
- Evolve Tattoo Removal: Guru Tattoo's own sister company offering tattoo removal services at the Little Italy location. Included as a peer because it represents a distinct, adjacent service vertical (removal vs. creation) and is a comparable model for standalone tattoo-removal businesses in the market.
Direct peers
- Saved Tattoo: Brooklyn-based destination tattoo studio with a large resident artist roster spanning multiple styles, walk-ins and appointments, and a strong lifestyle/community brand. Highly comparable to Guru Tattoo in scale, multi-artist structure, and brand-led positioning.
- East Side Ink: Long-established NYC tattoo studio known for its roster of artists and walk-in-friendly service model. Comparable to Guru Tattoo as a multi-artist urban tattoo destination serving both locals and travelers.
- Smith Street Tattoo Parlour: Brooklyn-based multi-artist tattoo studio with a curated resident roster and walk-in availability. Comparable to Guru Tattoo as a destination studio whose value proposition rests on artist diversity and neighborhood brand.
- Shimmy's Tattoo: Chicago-based tattoo studio with a large resident artist team and diverse style coverage. Comparable to Guru Tattoo in its multi-artist, multi-style, walk-in-friendly destination studio model in a major US metro.
- Bang Bang Tattoo: New York City-based high-end tattoo studio famed for celebrity clientele and artist roster (Keith McCurdy's shop). Directly comparable as a multi-artist destination studio whose brand, not individual artists, is the primary draw — same business model and positioning as Guru Tattoo.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Guru Tattoo social profiles
Digital presenceGuru Tattoo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Guru Tattoo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Guru Tattoo subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Guru Tattoo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Guru Tattoo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Guru Tattoo
What does Guru Tattoo do?
Guru Tattoo is a dual-location custom tattoo studio operating two retail shops in San Diego, California (Pacific Beach and Little Italy). The core service is custom tattoo design and application delivered by 23 resident artists and rotating international guest artists across 18 tattoo styles, available via appointment and walk-in. The company additionally sells branded merchandise online and offers an anesthesia tattooing option for pain-managed sessions.
Is Guru Tattoo a public or private company?
Guru Tattoo is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Guru Tattoo founded?
Guru Tattoo was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Guru Tattoo based?
Guru Tattoo is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does Guru Tattoo make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Tattoo Services are the primary driver. The others are merchandise Sales.
Who are Guru Tattoo's main competitors?
Others on record are Sailor Jerry, Inked Magazine and Evolve Tattoo Removal. Direct peers are Saved Tattoo, East Side Ink, Smith Street Tattoo Parlour, Shimmy's Tattoo and Bang Bang Tattoo.
Does Guru Tattoo have an API?
No public API is recorded for Guru Tattoo.