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Upgrade Boutique
Techstars '23Houston, US · 6 employees on LinkedIn · 3 known investors
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Upgrade Boutique sells custom wigs and hair products including bundles, closures, and frontals through an online marketplace for stylists and consumers.
Also known as Upgrade
Investors · 3
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Upgrade Boutique is a Houston, Texas-based consumer commerce company operating a tech-enabled platform for customized wigs and hair products. Its online storefront is organized around custom wigs and around bundles, closures and frontals, alongside a marketplace section and dedicated resources for stylists, including an education area and a "for stylists" channel.
The business is described as a managed, tech-enabled marketplace spanning custom wigs, hair extensions and beauty services, positioning it across fashion and beauty, e-commerce, social commerce and vertical software categories. It sits in the consumer and commerce sector and is classified as a non-AI business. The company maintains a physical address at 5404 Almeda, Houston, TX 77004, with contact by email and a toll-free phone line.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Britney Winters conceived the business while a student in Boston, where she had difficulty finding stylists suited to her hair and spent time and money traveling in search of workable beauty services. That experience led her to build a platform offering high-quality, customized wigs and hair products.
Business model
Upgrade Boutique sells customized wigs, bundles, closures and frontals directly to consumers through its website, and operates a marketplace layer connecting shoppers with stylists. The company also provides education and tools aimed at stylists, and is characterized as a B2B2C model whose revenue lines include marketplace commission, subscription software and services.
Reported revenue lines include marketplace commission, subscription software for stylists, and services and consulting, in addition to direct product sales of wigs, bundles, closures and frontals.
Traction
Reported total funding of $3 million across pre-seed, 2021 and 2022 seed rounds, with a team of about five. Reported monthly website visitors were about 9,000 as of February 2025 and about 5,000 as of April 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
A private, early-stage company in the customized wig and hair extension market, grouped with comparable businesses such as Mayvenn, Parfait and UNice Hair.
The company positions itself as a tech-enabled platform rather than a pure product retailer, combining customized, made-to-order hair products with a marketplace that matches customers to stylists and with educational resources and business tools for those stylists.
Technology
The company describes itself as a tech-enabled platform, operating an online storefront with a shopping flow, cart and marketplace that connects customers with stylists; it is classified as a non-AI business.
Go-to-market
Sales run through the company's own e-commerce site, which guides customers via a "how to shop" flow across custom wigs and hair product categories, plus a marketplace for stylist services. A separate stylist-facing track offers education and tools, providing a channel for professional partners to reach end consumers.
Women seeking customized wigs and hair products, and hair stylists who use the platform's marketplace, education and business tools.
Geography
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with a listed address at 5404 Almeda, Houston, TX 77004, and sales conducted online.
History
The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. It raised a pre-seed round in July 2020, a further round in May 2021 and a seed round announced May 3, 2022, bringing reported total funding to $3 million from investors including Next Coast Ventures, The Artemis Fund, Mercury Fund and ANIM Fund. As of the most recent data it remains a private company with a reported headcount of about five.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Upgrade Boutiqueupgradeboutique.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Upgrade Boutique do?
- Houston-based tech-enabled marketplace selling custom wigs and hair extensions and connecting customers with stylists.
- Who are Upgrade Boutique's investors?
- Upgrade Boutique's investors include South Loop Ventures, Techstars, Urban Capital Network.
- Where is Upgrade Boutique headquartered?
- Upgrade Boutique is headquartered in Houston, US.