Handybook, which helps people book home services — primarily cleaning — has raised $30 million led by Steve Case’s Revolution Growth.
On-Demand Cleaning Service Handybook Raises $30 Million
“We’ve grown over 10 percent a week for 20 weeks straight.”
The New York City-based company currently operates in 26 cities. “We’re changing how people buy local services,” said co-founder and CEO Oisin Hanrahan. “We’re trying to get as local as possible at matching service pros — eventually that’s how this game is won.”
There was a meeting of minds with Revolution, whose team led AOL back in the day. “AOL won the game because they got more local phone numbers than anyone else,” Hanrahan explained.
In line with today’s on-demand and smartphone-driven world, most bookings on Handybook are for cleanings 24 to 48 hours in advance. Service providers can accept jobs directly using Handybook-provided phones. “It’s like an ATM in your pocket,” Hanrahan said.
The co-founders of Handybook, whose big parallel competitor is the San Francisco-based startup Homejoy, say they’ve learned from Uber the lesson of building a well-known brand.
“People are letting us into their homes. It’s crazy. Brand and trust and credibility are probably more important here than anywhere else,” explained co-founder and COO Umang Dua.
Handybook processes payments and takes a 20 percent cut. It promises to pay out to service providers’ bank accounts the very next day after a job.
Founded in 2012, Handybook’s latest milestones can best be measured in weeks, according to Hanrahan. “We’ve grown over 10 percent a week for 20 weeks straight,” he said.
The money from Revolution, along with Highland Capital Partners and General Catalyst Partners, brings Handybook to $49 million raised.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
