Episode 06 · Local services
We took £0 of funding and hit £1.2m in barber chairs
Dean opened one chair in a shared unit in 2021. Four shops later he still owns 100% of the business. We go through the exact numbers, the two months he nearly folded, and why he refuses to franchise.
7 August 2026 · 52 min
Audio drops soon
We took £0 of funding and hit £1.2m in barber chairs
52 min listenRecorded in one sitting, unedited answers
- Guest
- Dean Achebe, Founder
- Business
- Fade Republic
- Sector
- Local services
- Stage
- Year 4
- Based
- Manchester
- Numbers
- £1.2m turnover, 19 staff, no external funding
Session notes
Dean walks through the unit economics of a barber chair, the rent deal that almost killed him, and how he trains staff so they stay.