"We have been fully booked since we've reopened again and our future bookings are more than they have ever been," Driscoll told Insider."There's just such pent-up demand for wellness and self care. I think people are absolutely wanting physical touch and relief from soreness and pain."Founded in March 2019, Squeeze is the brainchild of Alli Webb and Michael Landau, the sibling cofounders of Drybar, the national salon chain where Driscoll formerly led marketing.
"When we looked at the massage landscape, we felt like there was a hole in the middle," Driscoll said."On one end of the spectrum, you have the discount chains — which to their credit over the past 10-to-15 years have made massages accessible to the masses through affordable pricing — but lack so much from a consumer experience standpoint. Then you have high-end hotels and spas, which are lovely, but very unattainable from a financial and time aspect.
While she originally struggled with the idea of franchising Drybar in the company's early days because she wanted a tighter grip on the business, Webb eventually acquiesced and saw the benefits. With Squeeze, she said she and Landau are helping approve franchisees in the final interview stages, but have largely deferred to Driscoll's vetting process.
Another key learning was leaning into technology to improve the end-to-end customer experience, which Driscoll said is Squeeze's biggest competitive advantage. Users book and pay for their services entirely through the website or mobile app, eschewing the in-person point-of-sales process entirely. The app also stores personalized preferences that are relayed to massage therapists and updated in real-time.