HIGHLIGHTS • From Fork in the Road to CEO w/ Vargaro's Fred Helou
The Hair Game
Salon Republic
4.6 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Hair Game Podcast, Fred Helou, shares his remarkable journey of becoming the founder and CEO of Vagaro. He discusses the pivotal moments in his life that shaped his entrepreneurial spirit, the challenges he faced in the tech industry, and the importance of customer feedback in developing innovative software solutions. Fred also touches on the future of AI in the beauty industry and introduces his new podcast, 'Know What I Mean?', where he aims to share stories from the beauty community.
Key Takeaways:
• Fred's Journey from Lebanon to the US
• Growing Up in War
• The importance of recognizing pivotal moments in life
• Fred's experience in tech and how it led to the creation of Vagaro
• The significance of customer feedback in developing software features
• Creating his own podcast "Know What I Mean" and sharing stories from the beauty industry
• Honoring your entrepreneurial spirit
• The challenges and triupms of starting your own business
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the highlights of the full episode. |
| 0:06.6 | Hey everybody. It's Harry here, producer of the Hair Game podcast. We have some very exciting |
| 0:11.7 | information. Salon Republic just opened a brand new location in Philadelphia, our first ever |
| 0:17.7 | East Coast location. You can go to SalonRepublic.com to book your space and find your new home. |
| 0:23.9 | A little bit later, we'll have a new location in Jankentown, a little north of Philadelphia. |
| 0:28.7 | Go to Salamrepublic.com and get notified and we're going to be beginning tours. |
| 0:33.6 | Now on to our episode with Red Hulu. |
| 0:37.6 | I've always wanted to go to the United States. |
| 0:40.4 | My dad was a big USA fan. |
| 0:43.4 | He would always talk about the United States. |
| 0:45.7 | Like, it's a big deal. |
| 0:47.1 | So just listening to my dad and how much he loved the United States, |
| 0:50.3 | it kind of just made me want to come to the U.S. |
| 0:52.7 | and lived the life that he probably wanted to live here, you know. That's kind of just made me want to come to the U.S. and lived the life that he probably |
| 0:55.6 | wanted to live here, you know. That's kind of what happened. So yeah, the minute I turned 18, |
| 1:03.2 | and really, my grades in high school were not going to get me in any college in Lebanon. So, and |
| 1:09.4 | it's a big part of it because I cannot of didn't care to go to college in Lebanon, |
| 1:13.9 | you know. |
| 1:14.9 | So I kind of just was already setting myself up to just leave, you know. |
| 1:19.8 | And I came to the US at 18. |
| 1:23.4 | I had $4,000 in my pocket. |
| 1:25.1 | That's all I had my parents gave me to come to the U.S., |
... |
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