Barespace Releases New Finance Product That Uses Real-Time Data to Back Underserved Salon Businesses

The rise of embedded finance has been one of fintech’s most quietly transformative trends. But while much of the attention has focused on big-name platforms, a new wave of vertical SaaS companies is starting to do something far more interesting: using real-time operational data to unlock funding for industries that traditional finance has long ignored.

That’s the opportunity Barespace is leaning into. The company has launched Barespace Capital, an embedded finance product that gives salon owners access to €2K–€2M in funding directly within the platform they already use.

That means no separate bank applications, no long, drawn-out approval timelines, and in some cases, funding can arrive in under 48 hours – all powered by real-time business data.

A Sector Built on Data, But Locked Out of Finance

Hair and beauty might not sound like a fintech frontier, but it’s a surprisingly strong business model. It boasts recurring customers, predictable demand and steady cash flow, yet, historically, it’s been underserved by lenders.

According to Barespace CEO, Conor Moules, the issue isn’t the quality of the businesses – rather, it’s how they’re assessed.

“[There are] a few compounding reasons,” he explains. “Traditional credit models were built for businesses with clean, auditable financials and balance sheets… Hair and beauty gets treated as low status, high risk, despite the fact that a well run salon has remarkably predictable, recurring revenue.”

In other words, the data exists, but banks just can’t see it. Well, Barespace can.

From Booking Platform to Growth Partner

Founded in 2022, Barespace started by solving a much more basic problem: fragmentation.

Salon owners were juggling booking tools, payment providers, spreadsheets and CRM systems that didn’t talk to each other which, unsurprisingly, led to them not having a clear picture of their business.

“The core problem was fragmentation,” says Moules. “They couldn’t tell you which clients were at risk of churning… or whether their marketing was working. They were flying blind.”

Barespace brought everything into one place – bookings, payments, CRM, HR – and layered AI on top of all that. Over time, that data layer became the real asset.

So, the move to finance was actually quite natural.

“Honestly, the data made it obvious,” Moules says. “When you’re processing a salon’s bookings and payments, you know their business better than anyone.”

Rethinking Credit in Real Time

Traditional lending can be backward-looking – it relies on historical accounts, credit scores and static snapshots of a business. However, no, Barespace changes the game completely.

Instead of looking at last year’s performance, it looks at what’s happening right now: booking density, client retention, transaction values, seasonal trends.

“What we have is live,” Moules explains. “We can see the revenue being generated this week… That gives us a dynamic, real time picture of business health that a traditional lender simply cannot replicate.”

This allows everything to be sped up considerably. The whole process, including funding decisions, can be done in a matter of 48 hours rather than days or weeks.

For Dublin salon owner Katrina Kelly, that meant securing capital within 48 hours to scale her product line, which has since expanded to seven countries.

Introducing a Different Kind of Repayment Model

Speed is one thing, but structure is another. Barespace Capital doesn’t rely on fixed monthly repayments. Rather, repayments are tied to a percentage of weekly revenue which is important for a few reasons.

“A salon in December is doing three times the revenue of a salon in January,” says Moules. “A fixed monthly repayment that works in December can be genuinely damaging in January.”

By linking repayments to revenue, the model flexes with the business. If you have a busy month you’ll pay more, but if it’s been a quiet month, you’ll pay less.

“It aligns the interests of everyone involved,” he adds. “We are not trying to extract repayments from struggling businesses. We want the salons on our platform to grow.”

Embedded Finance, But Make It Vertical

Barespace isn’t alone in this shift. Indeed, across SaaS, platforms are realising that if they already handle customer data and payments, they’re uniquely positioned to offer financial services.

“Toast, ServiceTitan – the playbook is consistent across verticals,” Moules says. “The platform that processes your revenue is best placed to support your growth.”

In that sense, embedded finance isn’t a feature; it’s the next phase of the product, and for companies that don’t move in that direction, Moules asserts that “they’re leaving material revenue on the table.” That is, they’re missing out.

Moving Forward With Barespace and Barespace Capital

For Barespace, this is just the beginning of an exciting new journey in finance. The company, which already works with more than 300 salons across Ireland, the UK, France and Spain, is doubling down on its AI engine (BAE), expanding its enterprise offering and scaling Barespace Capital beyond its initial cohort.

But the bigger play is about becoming something more than software – rather, it’s about becoming “a growth partner,” as Moules puts it. Because once you control the data layer, the operating system, and the capital, you’re no longer just helping businesses run, you’re actually helping them grow.

And in a sector that’s been historically overlooked, this is not only helpful and important, but it may actually be one of the most disruptive shifts of all.