I spend one day in Montreal, and I'm already feeling a little bit more cosmopolitan. Austin Hill and Alex Eberts, the guys behind Akoha, invited me out to see a group of young entrepreneurs pitch their companies for prize money and gain valuable exposure to angel investors and VCs. I was feeling like a fish out of water most of the evening because most of the presentations were in French. However, one of the best presentations, according to some of the other audience members, was presented in english by Ian Sutherland of MANN.
Ian's concept was simple - MANN is an all-in-one grooming destination exclusively for men. Currently, men have a few alternatives - go to a barber shop and get an incomplete set of services, or go to a standard spa and hang out with the girls. Ian spent some time explaining how "manly" his shop is, but I didn't think that was necessary. The services he offers include "manscaping", pedicures, skin treatments and massages. Let's face it, most straight guys don't care about this stuff, but should. (I'll include myself in this group, as my wife often watches Queer Eye and says stuff like "gee, that shirt would look good on you").
MANN is looking for money to expand and franchise. I think it could be every bit as popular as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy - the men that aren't enlightened enough to go on their own will be strongly encouraged to go by their SO's. Congrats to Ian for identifying a niche, and proving it out - MANN's first location is profitable after less than one year of operations.
Link: "Man-O-Lantern", the chest-waxing scene from 40 year old Virgin [warning: coarse language] - probably not good advertising for a men's spa.
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