The episode opens with 43North hosts welcoming ShearShare cofounders Dr. Tye and Courtney Caldwell and inviting a quick elevator pitch. Courtney explains ShearShare as a platform that fills empty salon, spa, and barbershop chairs by the day or week, helping owners earn from unused space while giving licensed pros flexible work options. The hosts pivot to the founders’ journey and funding realities. Courtney notes being among a relatively small cohort of Black women to raise venture capital and outlines common investor biases toward married cofounders. She reframes the relationship as an advantage: deep trust, complementary strengths, and constant alignment.

Tye recounts the 2012 origin story. After expanding his salon with new suites, stations sat idle until a stylist asked to rent short-term. The experience proved demand for flexible access. As requests snowballed, the couple searched for an “Airbnb for salon chairs,” found no solution, and decided to build it. Tye introduces his book “Mentored by Failure,” outlining a five-point guide: be focused, be professional, build your best brand, be smart about money, and be consistent. The discussion turns to risk. Before traction, they drained checking and savings, then tapped a 401(k) to fund the MVP, embracing sacrifice and belief.

They describe complementary roles: Tye as visionary and industry expert; Courtney as operator with enterprise marketing process discipline. The conversation moves to Buffalo and 43North. Relocating for the accelerator, they knocked on doors with the team, signing up shops through community-first outreach and proving traction with efforts that “do not scale.” They highlight expansion to emerging cities and the universality of hair, skin, and nail services.

A recent personal challenge follows: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with a local banking partner connection. The seven-day trek tested endurance and partnership; “pole pole” slow-and-steady progress mirrored startup life. Returning inspired, they created the “Happiness Journal” to share habits like daily priorities and gratitude. Looking ahead, they mention ringing the New York Stock Exchange closing bell and invite listeners to help by telling every stylist, barber, esthetician, or owner about ShearShare and downloading the app. The hosts close with subscription and contact reminders.

The session opens with introductions by moderator Nancy Fechnay, an independent angel investor and advisor, who highlights Courtney Caldwell’s career trajectory from global tech leadership roles to cofounding ShearShare. Fun facts follow: Courtney reveals her upbringing as a military brat and her passion for vegan baking. She recalls how a college crush led her into an entrepreneurship class, though her husband, Dr. Tye Caldwell, modeled risk-taking long before ShearShare’s creation.

Courtney introduces ShearShare as the first B2B mobile app that lets licensed stylists rent professional space by the day, giving owners new revenue streams while empowering independent workers with flexibility. She explains how the idea originated in 2012 from filling empty chairs in her husband’s salon, eventually becoming a full-time business after repeated requests.

The conversation turns to COVID-19’s impact. With salons shuttered, ShearShare pivoted to supporting its community by creating over 100 resources, helping 125+ stylists access PPP loans, and launching a virtual beauty supply store. She emphasizes team well-being through daily standups, one-on-one check-ins, and a “brain vacation credit” to encourage hobbies and stress relief.

On the future of work, she notes that stylists are reimagining their schedules, seeking three- or four-day workweeks, staying closer to home, and avoiding long-term leases. Courtney underscores ShearShare’s role in keeping small businesses alive, framing barbershops and salons as cultural cornerstones in every community.

She discusses cofounding with her husband, countering investor bias against married founders by highlighting deep trust, role clarity, and complementary strengths. She shares her “Silver Rule”: always leave people, places, and things better than you found them—a principle woven into ShearShare’s hiring, culture, and customer care.

On mental health, she outlines five pillars for founders and teams: eat well, hydrate, sleep, socialize, and move daily. She urges rejecting “martyr” founder culture in favor of sustainable wellness. She then shares ShearShare’s acceptance into the inaugural Google for Startups Black Founders Accelerator, closing a seed round with Lightspeed Venture Partners, and expanding product features.

The session ends with rapid-fire personal favorites (Bible, Your First Million podcast, and vegan Butterfinger bars), a call to download ShearShare, and encouragement for entrepreneurs to “feed what you want to live and starve what you want to die.”

Courtney Caldwell takes the stage at Google Demo Day, introducing herself as cofounder and CEO of ShearShare, alongside her husband Dr. Tye Caldwell. She begins with the problem: 40% of salon and barbershop space goes unused daily. Drawing on her own experience as a salon owner, she explains that stylists increasingly prefer flexible, short-term rentals instead of long leases. In response, ShearShare was created as the first B2B mobile marketplace where beauty professionals book licensed workspace by the day.

Courtney demonstrates how the platform works: users enter a city, select dates, choose workspace type and amenities, then pay seamlessly through the app—like booking a hotel room. She emphasizes that ShearShare supports all specialties—hair stylists, barbers, nail techs, estheticians, makeup artists, and massage therapists. By 2017, ShearShare had listings in 375 cities across 11 countries and secured a pilot with L’Oréal.

She highlights industry shifts: 70% of stylists are now independent contractors, building personal brands on social media while still relying on salons for their craft. ShearShare, she asserts, is positioned to do for beauty what Uber and Lyft did for transportation. Since beta launch in 2016, the platform has grown 20% month-over-month, with 68% of professionals rebooking. With salon space waste estimated at $16.9B annually, she projects $700M+ in three-year revenue potential through a 25% commission model.

Courtney introduces the founding team: Dr. Tye Caldwell, 25-year industry veteran and bestselling author; Courtney herself, with 20 years in enterprise tech marketing at Oracle; and their head of product, an engineer with multiple startup exits. Backed by Y Combinator Fellowship and 500 Startups, ShearShare is positioned to lead the beauty-tech marketplace revolution.

During Q&A, Dr. Tye expands on the L’Oréal partnership and how ShearShare will expand from space rental into broader ecosystem services like insurance, retail, and product distribution. They discuss marketplace dynamics, emphasizing data-driven city expansion and network effects. Dr. Tye also underscores stylist demand: most users are experienced female stylists who travel locally and regionally, building clientele across cities while retaining customer relationships.

The judges commend ShearShare’s traction, market clarity, and founder experience. Later in the session, ShearShare is announced as one of two winners, securing $250,000 from Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest fund.