Indian cricket icon Yuvraj Singh invests in Vyomo to boost India’s beauty and wellness sector

Yuvraj Singh, the highest paid cricketer of the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has made his debut deal as a startup investor. The cancer survivor, who had recently floated startup fund Youwecan Ventures, said in a statement that he has invested in beauty and wellness app Vyomo. The fund did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

The startup is launching an app that aggregates salons, spas, and stylists in July this year. The merchant-facing app for salons will provide management tools that simplify their business and increase traffic. Some of these include CRM, ERP, EPOS, performance management, and a booking management system.

“We would like to support empowerment of millions of beauty professionals,” Singh said. “I want to help them improve their lives, increase income levels, and be part of their personal milestones.”

With the funding, the company aims to bring more than a million stylists on the platform in two years. It aims to do what Ola and Uber have done for cabbies.

Vyomo wants to replicate the success of taxi sharing apps to beauty and wellness industry. In addition, it aims to create a complete solution for beauty professionals to manage and grow their business through a smart-phone, said Abhinav Khare, co-founder of Vyomo. A management graduate from London Business School, Khare started the company along with his classmate Poonam Marwah.

Singh adds: “We decided to invest in the startup based on the execution capability of the team, depth of the product, and our belief in the vision of Vyomo which can simplify the lives of millions of Indians.”

YouWeCan was started as a non-profit foundation a couple of years ago to support cancer survivors. Now he feels the Yuvi brand can play a larger role in empowering the growing band of young entrepreneurs in India. And so he set up the seed fund with his own money – about INR 500 million (US$8 million).

It’s mostly a healthcare focused fund which is aiming to raise another US$48 million from other investors in three to five years.