Monday, October 19, 2015

Startup Idea: Metastartup Servicing Uber for X Startups

After noticing that a Y Combinator backed "Uber for Maids" Homejoy folded up (after having raised $38 million), a correspondent writes,

Uber for Maids... $38 million in funding....because its easier to use an App than call a local phone number? Partial Google bailout/aqui-hire....

All of these Uber for X companies are building the same infrastructure....

1) Location based app that says I want X here at a time / now, allows for payment, and mutual ratings.
2) Background check for the "independent contractors" that are hired.
3) Sales / advertising teams.

Why isn't there a meta-startup that licenses (1) to a "homejoy" (and others), (2) provides a "temp service" to said "homejoy" (and others), and allows the
[entrepreneurs] that want into this field to focus on selecting/being 2) and outbidding each other on google/facebook for (3)
Previously on metastartups.

5 comments:

CP said...

So Forbes named Homejoy one of the hottest startups of 2013 (and they make a 30 under 30 list). They raise money from top-tier VCs and angels. Adora does quite a bit of speaking (it seems) on growth, regional expansion, and startup inspiration. They expanded to 30+ markets.

But they were really just selling cleaning services for below cost–on the backs of 1099 workers. It's a worse model than Groupon and I can't fathom how the founders or investors thought it would work.

It all feels icky to me.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9903831

CP said...

Further:

That being said, I talked to several (10-15) people who used Homejoy at least once. The responses I got from most of those people was that the cleaners weren't professional. In fact several of them mentioned that cleaners didn't know what Homejoy was. They were sent for cleaning by their contractors.

CP said...

My problem with Homejoy/Handy etc. is the high degree of unpredictability in the quality of each cleaning. My conclusion is that for something like home cleaning, you want to find a regular person -- not someone new each week.

Anonymous said...

Credit bubble stock idea... short Rocket Internet

bjdubbs said...

Was Homejoy really an Uber for X? If they were hiring the contractors, then they're just a massive agency with a website. It's not that Uber for X failed, it wasn't even tried . . .