Episode #10: From a Bedroom to 120 Desks. How Salonkee Solved the Office Problem at Every Stage

Who Is Samuel Faber? The CFO Who Scaled a Startup’s Workspace Five Times in Eight Years

Quick answer: Samuel Faber is the co-founder and CFO/COO of Salonkee. It is one of Luxembourg’s most successful SaaS companies. He was born and raised in Luxembourg. He studied finance and entrepreneurship at EBS Paris and the University of Strasbourg. He worked four years at EY before co-founding Salonkee in 2016. Today, the company has over 300 employees, 12,000 salon clients across six European countries, and has raised over €35 million in funding. Along the way, Samuel managed five office moves. From a bedroom to a 10 m² box. From the House of Startups to a former gym on Rangwee. Each time, the space had to keep up with the growth.

🏢 What happens to your office when your team doubles every year?

In this episode, we sit down with Samuel Faber at the Salonkee headquarters in Luxembourg City. The offices sit at 38 Rangwee, in a former gym redesigned by Studio Samuelov. The same Israeli designer behind the House of Startups.

He tells us how Salonkee was first domiciled at the parents’ house of Tom Michels, their CEO. How the team moved into a 10 m² room at the House of Startups in 2018. How they kept upgrading — from 4 desks to 8, then 12, then 20, then 40 — until the House of Startups told them they were too big. How they found a former gym with dance mirrors on the walls, signed the lease before showing it to the architect, and turned it into a 120-person headquarters. And why, looking back, he would choose more open space and fewer closed offices.

But this is not just an office story. Behind every move, there is a fundraising round, a new country to open, and a team that keeps growing faster than the space. Samuel shares what it really means to manage a workspace when your headcount doubles every year. The trade-offs between flexibility and identity. The cost of getting it wrong. And why the office is not just a place to work — it is a recruiting tool, a culture statement, and a bet on the future.

This is a raw and honest conversation. No filter. No PowerPoint.

💡 What we cover in this episode

Why the first office was a parents’ house.
The House of Startups: 10 m² for four people.
Growing inside the House of Startups: from one room to four.
Why flexible coworking was the perfect solution for a seed-stage startup.
The moment the House of Startups said: you are too big.
Finding a former gym at 38 Rangwee and signing the lease before the architect saw it.
Choosing Studio Samuelov, the designer behind the House of Startups.
Ripping out dance mirrors and hoping it would not bring bad luck.
Designing for 120 when you are only 40: betting on your own business plan.
The failed experiment of subletting empty desks.
Open space vs. closed offices: what he would do differently.
Call boxes, boardrooms, and why the finance team needs a door.
Remote work policy: one day per week.
Dogs in the office, colors on the walls, and the startup vibe that helps recruit.
Sales teams in coworking spaces across Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland.
Annual offsites to bring 300 people from six countries into one room.
The origin story: booking a barber online with a paper mockup.
Five co-founders and the role of the CFO in a tech startup.
Raising €35 million in three rounds.
12,000 salons across six countries.
The ambition to become the European leader.

📌 Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:58 Who is Samuel Faber?
1:23 What is Salonkee and how it started
3:27 The origin: booking a barber online
5:22 Calling salons with a paper mockup
7:31 First clients and first revenue
8:23 Building the product in-house
9:51 Five co-founders, one does everything except product
11:21 No office: domiciled at the CEO’s parents’ house
11:52 The House of Startups: first real office, 10 m²
12:23 Upgrading rooms inside the House of Startups
12:46 Four years of flexible space: the ideal setup for a growing startup
13:19 Finding 38 Rangwee: a former gym with mirrors on the walls
13:49 Signing the lease before the architect saw it
14:27 Studio Samuelov: same designer as the House of Startups
15:20 Designing for 120 people when you are only 40
15:50 The failed subletting experiment
16:10 Open space vs. closed offices: what he would change
17:44 Call boxes, finance behind closed doors, devs in open space
18:30 Remote work: one day per week, no more
19:03 Office culture: dogs, colors, and recruiting
20:20 Sales offices abroad: small coworking spaces, flexible leases
21:18 Bringing 300 people together: the annual offsite
24:33 Fundraising: €1M seed, €6.2M Series A, €28M Series B
29:06 12,000 salons, six countries, market leader in Belgium and Switzerland
33:19 The ambition: win Germany, become the European leader
36:12 AI and the future of Salonkee
39:18 Advice for entrepreneurs in the age of AI

🎬 Watch this if you want to know

✅ How a startup goes from zero office to 120 desks in eight years

✅ Why the House of Startups is the best first office for a Luxembourg startup

✅ What happens when you sign a lease for 120 people but you are only 40

✅ Why a former gym turned out to be the perfect headquarters

✅ How office design becomes a recruiting tool in a tight labor market

✅ What the CFO would change about the office layout if he had to do it again

✅ How to manage workspace across six countries with coworking and flexible leases

Who Is Samuel Faber? The Story in Key Dates

Samuel Faber is the co-founder and CFO/COO of Salonkee. He was born in Luxembourg. He studied finance and entrepreneurship. He worked at EY before co-founding one of Europe’s leading salon management platforms.

2010 to 2015. He studies business administration at the University of Strasbourg. Then finance and entrepreneurship at EBS Paris. He works at EY Luxembourg as a Senior Tax Consultant for four years.

2016. He co-founds Salonkee with Tom Michels, Andre Stehle, Alexandre J. Claro, and Gilberto Fernandes. The company is domiciled at Tom’s parents’ house. No office. No funding. Just a paper mockup and phone calls to salons.

2017. Salonkee launches. A booking platform and digital agenda for hair and beauty salons.

2018. First fundraising round. €1 million in seed. The team moves into the House of Startups. A 10 m² office for four people. First real desks.

2021. Series A. €6.2 million led by Fortino Capital and Newion. The team grows from 25 to over 100. The House of Startups gets tight.

2022. The team outgrows the House of Startups at 40 people. They move to 38 Rangwee. A former gym redesigned by Studio Samuelov. Capacity: 120 desks. The lease is signed before the architect visits.

2023. Series B. €28 million led by PeakSpan Capital. 12,000 salon clients. The Luxembourg office fills up faster than expected.

2025. 300 employees across six countries. An extra 300 m² added to the Rangwee office. Sales teams work from coworking spaces in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Austria.

2026. The team keeps growing. The office in Luxembourg is at full capacity. The ambition: win Germany and become the European leader.

What Makes This Office Story Different?

Three things stand out.

Every funding round triggered an office move

At Salonkee, space and capital went hand in hand. The seed round paid for the first desks at the House of Startups. The Series A fueled the growth that made the House of Startups too small. The Series B filled up the Rangwee office. Samuel did not plan his real estate strategy in advance. He reacted. Every time the money came in, the team grew, and the office had to follow.

He bet on the future — and it almost backfired

When Samuel signed the lease at 38 Rangwee, the team was 40 people. The space could hold 120. That is a big bet. He even tried to sublet empty desks to small companies. It did not work. The team grew so fast that the subtenants had to leave after one or two months. Today, he sees that as a good problem to have. But at the time, the rent was a real concern.

The one thing he would change: more open space

Looking back, Samuel says he would design the office differently. Fewer closed offices. More open space. Not because open space is trendy. Because it is flexible. When the marketing team grows, they need a bigger room. But the HR team is next door and cannot move. With open space, you just add desks. No walls to break. No teams to shuffle. In a company that changes shape every six months, flexibility beats aesthetics.

FAQ: Samuel Faber, Salonkee and Office Strategy for Fast-Growing Startups

What is Salonkee?

Salonkee is an all-in-one salon management platform for the hair, beauty, and wellness industry. It provides online booking, a digital agenda, a point-of-sale system, payment solutions, marketing tools, and analytics. It was founded in Luxembourg in 2016.

Where are the Salonkee offices in Luxembourg?

The headquarters are at Centre Orchimont, 38 Rangwee, L-2412 Luxembourg City. The offices are in a former gym, redesigned by Studio Samuelov. The same Israeli design firm behind the House of Startups.

Why did Salonkee choose Studio Samuelov for the office design?

The team wanted to recreate the energy of the House of Startups. They asked who designed it and were connected to Studio Samuelov. The brief was simple: keep the startup vibe, make it colorful, make it feel alive. Not a corporate box.

How is the Salonkee office organized?

The office mixes open space for developers, closed offices for finance and HR, call boxes for phone calls, and meeting rooms of various sizes. Developers bring their laptops and plug into screens. Finance works behind closed doors because of confidential data. There is also a boardroom for formal meetings.

Does Salonkee allow remote work?

Yes. The policy is one day of remote work per week. Most employees prefer coming to the office. Some roles, like deep development work, benefit from focus time at home.

How does Salonkee manage offices across six countries?

Sales teams abroad work from coworking spaces with flexible, monthly leases. In large countries like Germany, small teams of 4 to 10 people are spread across several cities. No one rents a full floor in Munich if there are only five people.

What is the House of Startups?

The House of Startups is a startup campus in Luxembourg City, set up by the Chamber of Commerce. Over 6,000 m² across five floors. It hosts over 150 startups and several innovation hubs. Salonkee was one of its first tenants in 2018 and stayed four years.

Who are the co-founders of Salonkee?

The five co-founders are Tom Michels (CEO), Andre Stehle (CTO), Alexandre J. Claro (CSO), Samuel Faber (CFO/COO), and Gilberto Fernandes (CPO).

How much funding has Salonkee raised?

Over €35 million in total. €1 million in seed (2018), €6.2 million in Series A (2021), and €28 million in Series B (2023). Investors include PeakSpan Capital, Fortino Capital, Newion, Expon Capital, and LBAN.

His Core Belief

There is one line that sums it all up.

“There are always new challenges. You solve them. Then you delegate them. Because there are new ones behind.”

Samuel Faber did not build Salonkee with a real estate master plan. He reacted. Every time the company outgrew its space, he found the next one. A bedroom. A 10 m² room. A flexible floor. A former gym. An extension.

The office was never the priority. But it was never irrelevant either. The House of Startups gave the team its first identity. The Rangwee office became a recruiting tool. The coworking spaces abroad kept the structure lean.

At every stage, the workspace shaped the culture. And the culture shaped the workspace.

That loop never stops.

👉 See Also

Episode #9: From Banking to 650 Employees. The Christophe Diederich Story

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City: Luxembourg | Date: April 2026 | #SSY!