UPDATED 21:27 EST / MARCH 10 2016

NEWS

Happy funding ending: On-demand massage startup Soothe raises $35m Series B

On-demand massage startup Soothe, Inc. has raised $35 million Series B in a round led by The Riverside Company.

The valuation on the round was not disclosed.

Founded in 2013, Soothe offers on-demand massage in 22 cities in the United States from 3,000 independent message therapists who are claimed to earn three to four times more than the industry standard.

Like other Uber-style on-demand companies, customers book licensed therapists for an in-home massage with a standard price of $99 an hour (tipping is not required), and the masseur takes home $70, with the rest going to the company.

Soothe claims it is growing rapidly and now has tens of thousands of customers delivering 23 to 31 percent month-over-month revenue growth, and they’re planning on expanding to an additional 20 cities this year.

“We’re thrilled by the demand we’re seeing among clients and massage therapists alike who are eager to experience on-demand massage as a routine form of wellness,” Soothe’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer Merlin Kauffman said in a statement sent to SiliconANGLE. “Our growth is in large part due to the incredible experience Soothe’s massage therapists provide, and it’s only just the beginning for us.”

Luxury on demand

The market Soothe is catering to may not seem like a broad one, but the company claims it is a $14 billion market in the United States alone, and one that continues to grow.

Kauffman created the company while studying at the Harvard Business School, a period where he is alleged to have found it difficult to schedule a massage appointment outside standard business hours and locations; given their growth stats to date, it would appear that a sizeable number of other massage devotees would also have similar issues.

Soothe offers a variety of massage options, including Swedish, Deep Tissue, and Couples Massage, allowing “clients to book a customized experience to meet their wellness and relaxation needs,” and is currently available in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, Scottsdale, Seattle, Vancouver (British Columbia), and Washington D.C..

Including the new round Soothe has raised $47.7 million to date from investors including AngelList, Cyan Banister, Daniel Curran, Flight Ventures, IDG Ventures USA, Alex Rosen, Joshua Schachter, Scott Banister and Walter Loewenstern.

The company said in would use the new funding to “bring licensed and vetted five-star massage therapists to every major US market so that new and existing clients can enjoy the convenience of booking same-day, at-home massages in as little as an hour.”

Image credit: taraangkorhotel/Flickr/CC by 2.0

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