GeekWire’s startup coverage documents the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial scene. Sign up for our weekly startup newsletter , and check out the GeekWire funding tracker and venture capital directory .Rhodium execs, from left: Cindy Engstrom, Michael Hyman, Rachel Sanders, Audrey Leibovich, and Alex Krooglik. (Rhodium Photo)Former Petabyte executives are bringing their data expertise and tech chops to Rhodium, a new Seattle-area startup focused on helping medical spas and beauty brands interact with customers.The company, which has raised $2 million in initial funding, aims to address what CEO Michael Hyman sees as a critical gap in the beauty and medical spa industry: leveraging data to improve customer experience and boost revenue.“I look for places where there’s a lot of data and a lot of money and not a lot of companies making good use of the data to make money,” Hyman said.Hyman previously led Petabyte, a Seattle-area startup that built software for veterinary clinics. Chewy acquired the company in 2022 for $43.4 million.Petabyte co-founder Alex Krooglik, who also co-founded Embrace Pet Insurance, is chief operating officer at Rhodium.Rhodium’s core offering is a software-as-a-service platform that uses machine learning and AI to help clinics and brands better understand and engage with customers — before, during, and after an appointment or purchasing a product. The platform ingests data from various sources — electronic medical records, Amazon, Shopify, Meta, Google, etc. — to automate marketing campaigns and customer touch-points.In an unusual move for an early-stage software startup, Rhodium has merged with three direct-to-consumer beauty brands to create a unified company

SEATTLE, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zenoti, the industry leader powering nearly 30,000 beauty and wellness businesses with its cutting-edge SaaS platform for salons, spas, medspas, and fitness centers, today announced the appointment of Stephen (Steve) Hudek as Chief Customer Officer (CCO). With nearly three decades of experience in leading post-sales Customer Success organizations, Steve brings a wealth of expertise to guide Zenoti's customer experience initiatives

CHICAGO, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tricoci University of Beauty Culture is proud to announce it has officially launched Zenoti , an online booking system that transforms how clients schedule services across all 15 Tricoci University campuses. As one of the largest cosmetology schools in the country to offer this level of digital convenience, Tricoci University continues to set the standard for innovation in beauty education. Previously, clients needed to call their nearest campus to make appointments, often booking weeks in advance. Now, with the Zenoti platform, clients can book guest services seamlessly online, offering a faster, user-friendly experience.The integration of Zenoti equips students with hands-on experience using the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform trusted by top salons and spas across the country. By learning to navigate booking software, manage appointments, and engage with clients digitally, students develop skills that mirror real-world salon environments, giving them a competitive advantage after graduation."Our students are now using the same tools and systems they'll encounter in major salons and spas," said Nate Swanson, CEO of Tricoci University of Beauty Culture