Ideal Image was founded in 2001 as a laser hair removal business with the goal to help clients look and feel their best. Since then, the company has capitalized on the fast-growing aesthetic industry and added a full suite of skin, face and body services to become America’s #1 MedSpa.
Ideal Image was acquired by L Catterton, the leading consumer-focused private equity firm. It has continued to grow its footprint, adding both corporate and franchise units. It now has over 150 clinics throughout the US and Canada.
Ideal Image is the nation’s #1 MedSpa and fastest growing consumer medical brand in the U.S. with 150+ locations.”
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and David Prokupek, CEO of Ideal Image:
What services does Ideal Image offer, and how do they meet the needs of your customers?
At Ideal Image we give our clients a full suite of affordable, non-surgical treatment options for their skin, face and body—all backed by our exclusive Lifetime Guarantee Program and 100% approvals for clients who want financing.
We have a broad range of clientele, the majority ranging from 25- to 55-year-olds who are well-educated, enjoy an active lifestyle and have a broad range of household incomes. We meet their diverse needs—from removing unwanted hair to reducing stubborn fat to getting a more firm, toned body to having healthy, youthful skin. Our full suite of services are delivered by a team of expert Medical Professionals and include laser hair removal, Botox® wrinkle relaxer, CoolSculpting® fat reduction, CoolTone™ muscle toning and a range of medical grade facials and skin tightening solutions. We are able to give our clients everything they need to look and feel their best for years to come.
Describe your company’s tagline “Confidence Changes Everything.”
More than just a tagline, it is our core belief that Confidence Changes Everything. Confidence is the most powerful thing in the world—and the most beautiful—it is beauty from the inside out. We believe in this crazy, fast paced, competitive world that people deserve to look the way they want and love the way they feel.
Our mission at Ideal Image is to work hard every day to passionately deliver on that promise. Our team of experts get to know each client individually to develop a personalized treatment plan using the most advanced aesthetic technology. We say that “confidence walks through our doors every day and walks out better, stronger and more courageous.” We get up every day to help our clients say yes to “better” and get the natural looking results they want.
You have an interesting background. How did you come to be at Ideal Image?
I have been fortunate to be part of some amazing consumer brands—whether leading, investing or advising—and to partner with the country’s top private equity firms, creating some great outcomes. I came to Ideal Image because of a relationship with L Catterton who has a history of backing the best consumer brands in the world. The aesthetic industry was new to me, but I quickly realized how fast it was growing and saw the opportunity to create an international brand—where none really existed. The skills we learned from our other consumer and franchise experiences could quickly be applied here to accelerate growth. In the end, it was an easy choice—I felt this was going to be a home run.
How do you help your franchises succeed?
We have a unique business model that allows our franchise owners to thrive in the fast-growing aesthetics industry—enjoying average annual clinic sales of $2.4M—well above the industry average. Our turnkey, direct-to-consumer client model delivers hundreds of new clients per month, all of whom are treated in our advanced MedSpas by Medical Professionals who have performed 20+ million aesthetic treatments.
To support our franchise owners, we provide 1) the highest level of medical training and advanced technologies, 2) a turnkey marketing program with broad-based media and digital campaigns targeting core clients in each of our markets, 3) a national telehealth platform that provides free virtual consultations, services, and sales support to thousands of clients per day, 4) affordable pricing because we pass on savings as a result of our scale, and 5) 100% approvals on financing, making Ideal Image accessible to everyone interested.
Describe Ideal Image’s culture.
Our mission is to build the largest and most enduring brand in the aesthetics industry. Our values are driven first and foremost by our medical heritage, which prioritizes safety and expertise above all else.
We support a high-performance, results-driven culture with a focus on consumer and business model disruption that will dramatically grow our company by democratizing the aesthetic industry. Likewise, we value a highly collaborative culture filled with people who are inspired and driven with a love for what they do. We are accountable to each other, our clients and franchise owners and we see our clients for who they are—individuals who simply want to look and feel their best. We take great pride in helping them.
What marketing activities do you implement to reach out to your potential customers?
Our marketing strategy is one of our key advantages. We invest heavily in sophisticated marketing activities both to quickly grow our new-client business, as well as promote long term loyalty with our existing guests. We use a full suite of direct-to-consumer marketing activities, including broad based media like TV and radio, and a wide range of digital marketing channels resulting in us performing thousands of free consultations for new clients every month. We create a host of loyalty and VIP pricing programs to encourage our existing guests to experience all that Ideal Image has to offer.
How do medical advancements fit into your strategy?
As a medically driven organization we are constantly evaluating, testing and upgrading our technologies to keep our clients safe with effective new services. Right now, we are focused on upgrading a number of our digital technologies. For example, we use the app Go Evo to ask our associates CDC-approved questions and track their health with regard to COVID-19 risks. Additionally, we have expanded our telehealth platform to increase our hours of operations and evaluate our clients in real time. When it comes to services, we are rolling out a new muscle strengthening and toning technology platform called CoolTone by Coolsculpting to each of our clinics.
What does your roadmap look like over the next five years?
First off, we are focused on disrupting the very fragmented, aesthetics market and to do so, are investing significantly in our direct-to-consumer healthcare platform. This allows us to do business where and when clients want.
Second, we are rolling out approximately 20 corporate clinics per year, as well as expanding our franchising footprint in the United States and Canada—and soon beyond.
Third, we just launched a new program for existing MedSpas and physicians to join the Ideal Image team as affiliated partners—quickly adding even more points of service for our clients.
Lastly, we’re adding new services targeted at healthy skin and face services, along with a consumer-friendly membership model.
We’re excited about all of these developments, which will accelerate our growth and further extend our leadership.
About the Leader
David Prokupek is CEO of Ideal Image, North America’s #1 MedSpa concept and a fast gr owing direct to consumer medical brand with 150 North America locations and 20 million treatments performed. With the support of Ideal Image’s private equity owner, L Catterton, David has trans formed the company in to “America’s Med Spa,” disrupting the cosmetic and dermatological aesthetics industry by delivering outsized growth and consumer innovation in a highly fragmented category.
Under David’s leadership, Ideal Image is experiencing double-digit r e venue and client growth by making its full suite of non-surgical treatments—including laser hair removal, Botox®, fat-reduction, muscle toning and other anti-aging treatments for the skin and face—more accessible and affordable than e ver. With a belief that “Confidence Changes Everything” and a focus on helping consumers look and feel their best, Ideal Image performs thousands of free consultations a month and more personalized medical aesthetic treatments than any other company in the U.S.
A proven business and brand builder, David is known for partnering with leading private equity firms as CEO and investor to create highly differentiated consumer businesses. His recent track record of success includes having led the aggressive growth and brand trans formations at Smashburger and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.
David is an active investor in emerging consumer brands, and ser v es on the board of Victra, the largest Verizon retailer in the U.S., with more than 1,000 wireless s tor e s, and DFC Global, a leading Canadian consumer finance company. He is active in YPO.
David earned a master’s in management from North western University’s Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Wisconsin.
