Melody McCloskey is the beauty and brains behind StyleSeat—the largest online marketplace to book all of your favorite beauty and wellness services, all from the convenience of your cell phone.  The site currently boasts more than 260,000 beauty professionals in 15,000 cities across the U.S. with 3.8 million clients, has celebrity investors like Sophia Bush and Ashton Kutcher—and booked more than 5 million appointments last year. Meet the CEO and co-founder behind a life changing app that is changing the way you book your manicures, pedicures and facials.

FACTIO MAGAZINE Tell us how you founded StyleSeat and how it has become the largest online marketplace for booking beauty and wellness services.
MELODY MCCLOSKEY: I started StyleSeat because I wanted a better way to find and book beauty professionals. It’s tough to find a good one, there’s usually a lot of phone tag involved and I thought there should be a better way. Almost 100% of our growth has been word of mouth, which has been so exciting and proof that people and professionals want this service.

FM: StyleSeat is now in over 15,000 cities, what are some of the differences you see from beauty bookings from some of your largest markets –New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco?
MM: Los Angeles is all about the blowout and styling, while SF women book mostly for cut and color. Miami women are booking a lot of nail art and Chicago women book all types of services regularly.

FM: You’ve brought on some big name investors including Ashton Kutcher and Sophia Bush. What has that been like for your growth?
MM: Sophia is incredibly supportive and believed in us even when we had a few thousand stylists in a handful of cities. Ashton was one of our very early investors actually and has been helpful in crafting the product, recruiting and helping us get in front of the right people to build the business.

FM: What are some of your favorite services to book and why?
MM: I’m obsessed with nail art.  I book it regularly and love to try new things. Also, blowouts are amazing. I’m almost incapable of giving myself a blowout, so it feels so nice to know your hair looks great.

FM: What are some of your must-have beauty products?
MM: I love Shu Uemura and Kerastase products, especially the styling and protective products. My hair gets so dry in the winter, I can see a big difference in split ends and breakage when I use the right products. Right now Kerastase Elixir Ultime protective oil is my favorite.

FM: How would you describe your sense of style?
MM: My style is a little dark. I wear black and leather most of the time, but mostly because I have zero time! Smokey eye, lots of mascara and always high heels.

FM: What are people surprised to know about you?
MM: I love hip hop. Also I’m 5’10”, a lot of people are surprised by that if we meet in person.

FM: Describe your perfect day.
MM: Up at 5:30 a.m., coffee, Pilates, walk my dog, Winston, to work. I would get a lot done and then have time to have dinner with a friend or family. Also maybe a little trashy TV, ha ha. I love Scandal!

FM: What is a travel destination you love and why?
MM: Anything with a beach. Often my first meeting is at 7:00 a.m. and I’m at the office until pretty late at night, so vacations where absolutely nothing is accomplished are perfect!

FM: Where do you see StyleSeat in the next five years?
MM: I’d like for StyleSeat to be the ultimate global platform for consumers to discover, book and pay for beauty appointments and for professionals to grow their business and find financial freedom.

To learn more about StyleSeat or to book an appointment, click here.