To cement its position as the dominant marketplace for on-demand household services, Sydney-based startup UrbanYou has acquired HomeHello, its rival in the domestic cleaning space.
According to UrbanYou co-founder and ex-Yahoo executive, Noga Edelstein, the acquisition was possible due to the “phenomenal” growth of her company over the past 12 months, including an expansion into Melbourne off the back off a $1 million Series A raise in July.
“UrbanYou has generated $4 million in sales from more than 30,000 home service bookings across Sydney and Melbourne,” Edelstein said. “We’re now on track to triple growth within 12 months, having grown double digits monthly, due to a focus on constantly improving both sides of our marketplace – whether it is building our network of verified service professionals and offering quality work leads, or enhancing the user experience with innovative technology.”
Edelstein, who was profiled by Dynamic Business in August, caught up with the site to discuss the Homehello acquisition, including the value it will generate for UrbanYou as well as it existing and new users.
DB: How did the acquisition deal come about?
Edelstein: We are always open to exploring new growth opportunities, and when HomeHello approached us it was the right time for our business to scale, and we were able to complete the transaction quickly.
DB: What do you admire about HomeHello?
Edelstein: When we looked at their business, there were obvious synergies that would enable us to quickly scale up across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It had built a strong and loyal recurring business in domestic cleaning, and had a large network of top-quality service professionals available on demand.
DB: What value will the acquisition generate?
Edelstein: Acquiring HomeHello gives UrbanYou instant liquidity on both sides of the marketplace, by doubling our recurring user base, launching us into Brisbane, and expanding our network to over 1000 service professionals across Australia.
DB: Will HomeHello be rebranded UrbanYou?
Edelstein: Yes, both HomeHello users and service providers have been on-boarded onto the UrbanYou platform, cementing our position as the dominant on-demand marketplace in a home maintenance market worth $15 billion.
DB: How will you secure ‘buy-in’ from HomeHello users?
Edelstein: We are very proud of our ability to build depth in market and user loyalty, and look forward to extending our best in-class customer service experience as we welcome HomeHello customers. HomeHello only offers domestic cleaning. By joining forces, HomeHello users now have access to many more home services offered through UrbanYou, such as gardening, carpet cleaning, and exit cleaning. We’ve on-boarded all HomeHello service professionals, and combined, UrbanYou now boasts the largest network of top-quality service professionals available on-demand. Plus, the acquisition of HomeHello coincides with the rollout of enhanced features for our real-time booking platform, which make it easier than ever for HomeHello customers to manage their bookings.
DB: Do you have plans for further acquisitions?
Edelstein: We are always open to new opportunities and are definitely seeing market consolidation as a trend for growth in the on-demand economy. However, for the near-term, we’re focused on welcoming HomeHello users and providers into our network, and further expanding into other major metro areas across Australia.
See also: UrbanYou’s co-founder on the ‘game-changing’ moments in her startup’s ‘rollercoaster’ story
