On-demand cleaning platform UrbanYou has entered the Brisbane market following the acquisition of rival domestic cleaning start-up HomeHello.
The acquisition will see HomeHello fully integrated and operating within the UrbanYou business, which co-founder Noga Edelstein believes is great news for customers and service professionals alike.
[quote]“When we looked at their business, there were obvious synergies that would enable us to quickly scale up across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,” said Edelstein.
“Marketplaces are typically a ‘winner takes-all’ and this acquisition enables us to step-up and cement our position as the biggest marketplace for household maintenance services, in a market worth $15 billion.” [/quote]
Commenting on behalf of HomeHello, co-founder Richard Lin, who started the business with Jason Pham in 2014, said: “We’re incredibly proud of everything the HomeHello team has built and achieved over the past three years and we are extremely confident in UrbanYou’s ability to continue our mission of providing quality home services to all Australians.”
It is understood Lin and Pham will now be working with UrbanYou in advisory roles. UrbanYou was co-founded by ex-Yahoo executives Elke Keeley and Noga Edelstein and connects people with verified cleaning and gardening professionals.
The acquisition comes after a year of growth for UrbanYou. In July, the company secured $1 million in funding, fuelling its expansion into Melbourne. Currently operating in Sydney and Melbourne, UrbanYou has serviced more than 30,000 bookings and generated more than $4 million in sales through the platform. The business is on track to triple growth within 12-months.
Rollout of enhanced features
UrbanYou has also commenced the rollout of enhanced features for their real-time booking platform including the launch of two new mobile apps, and self-managed portals for both service providers and customers respectively.
The new tech touchpoints will further automate user booking and payments, and integrate UrbanYou into the business operations of their service provider network.
Edelstein believes the new technology will extend the company’s commitment to providing the best experience on both sides of the marketplace.
[quote]“At UrbanYou we’ve spent the past year building our quality network of providers, enhancing our user experience with innovative technology, and establishing partnerships in high growth markets,” she said. [/quote]
[quote]“We are very proud of our ability to build depth in market and user loyalty, and implementing our rollup strategy to gain instant liquidity, we’re continuing our mission to help busy people manage their everyday household services, quickly and conveniently.” [/quote]