She sells pampering for the masses

10,000 MASSAGES, FACIALS AND MANICURES later, Colleen Stone and her investors declare their first inSpa a success, plan a second and dream of retail indulgence on a grand scale.

Colleen Stone of Kirkland is rubbing shoulders with investors who believe shoulder rubs can make them money.

In two years, Stone, 44, a former Wall Street investment banker, talked with 50 investors about her concept of a retail day spa. She raised $2 million and in July opened inSpa - offering massages, facials, nail care, and skin-care products - in University Village.

"Historically, spa services have been seen as truly extra," said Stone, inSpa's founder and chief executive. "But when you get back to the basics of facials, manicures, pedicures, they're an enormous benefit of everyday life."

Six-month sales were better than projected, and a second location is scheduled to open in Bellevue Square in April.

The young company was scouting spots on the Eastside when the upscale mall, with the state's second-largest sales per square foot, courted Stone. She wasted no time negotiating a plum spot near Nordstrom.

InSpa's edge?

Prices start at about $10 and top out at $49, no tipping allowed.

"We offer services and products people use in everyday life," Stone said. "And because we offer them in an everyday environment, retail developers have interest because they want repeat customers."

Stone describes the 1,700-square-foot day spa, which has 35 employees, as "non-intimidating," with a Starbucks-style order counter and large wall menu of services, hardwood floors, white walls and beach murals.

The small resemblance to the coffee company's shops is no accident.

When a person enters a Starbucks, they can step up to the counter, read the wall menu and place an order.

"When people walk in here, they can read the menu and book an appointment," Stone said. "They don't have to guess what's here."

Scott Greenburg, secretary of Starbucks until three days ago, and Yves Mizrahi, Starbucks' former vice president of real estate, hold positions on inSpa's advisory board.

J'Amy Owens, president of downtown's The Retail Group, and Yair Landau, senior vice president of Sony Pictures, also sit on the advisory board.

Over the next month, Stone will launch a second round of investment, expecting to raise $10 million through venture capital and angel investors.

Greenburg said he took a financial interest in the company because of Stone's combination of intelligence, experience and passion.

"It was easy for her to convince me that she saw something others couldn't see," Greenburg said. "When she explained it, I could see it. And when she opened her first store, it all came true."

An adviser to Starbucks since 1986, Greenburg said he believes Stone's company has the same potential to catch fire everywhere, one market at a time.

One store's success means another will open, said Stone, a Seattle native.

She grew up in Mercer Island and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford. She spent six years on Wall Street as an investment banker before relocating to Los Angeles as the executive vice president of Merle Norman Cosmetics.

While with the makeup company, she traveled through middle America meeting with franchise owners, but ended up paying more attention to the customers.

"They were asking us for a day spa," Stone said. Her company, however, decided to stick to faces.

The day-spa idea nagged her until she knew she had to follow through. She returned home two years ago.

"Seattle has a tradition of retail start-ups," she said, "and I wanted to be in that environment."

She was introduced to Greenburg, who introduced her to other potential advisers, until she had four advisory board members and 50 investors.

It's a great time for start-up businesses, Stone said. "There's so many people willing to be involved as investors."

With more than 10,000 transactions since the doors opened, University Village customers also seem keen on the idea. Sandy Mount said she drives 25 miles to get her nails done, though there are many places closer to her home.

"It's very upbeat, clean and her staff is friendly," Mount said.

The company, which employes 35 people, has started profiling its customers. Twelve percent are men, and the number of male clients increases every month. Twenty-five percent received their first massage at inSpa. Clients range from teenagers to seniors in their 90s.

"We wanted to appeal to a broad market and didn't want to have too narrow an audience," Stone said. "Our biggest challenge is to make sure everything is low-key and welcoming - there's no tip-toeing around in bathrobes or having to be quiet."

Like most small companies moving into the world of venture capital and angel investors, Stone has an exit strategy in the works. It could include taking the company public at some point, probably several years away, after the concept has proved itself in more than a few locations.

If that happened, then small investors might be able to rub shoulders, so to speak, with the big ones.

Dori Stubbs' phone message number is 206-464-2792. Her e-mail address is:

dstubbs@seattletimes.com