It often seems like entrepreneurs have tried to apply the “Uber for X” model to nearly every customer vertical, and home improvement is no exception.
Using our CB Insights database, we identified dozens of startups aiming to offer convenient, on-demand options for everything from lawn mowing to plumbing to TV repair. Many of these startups operate within the 1099 or gig economy, relying on independent contractors rather than employees. In addition, some go further on the services side and position themselves as ways for non-professionals to earn extra money by completing short-term projects on their own schedules. All are hoping to make the home services process as seamless for the consumer as other types of online shopping.
To be clear, this infographic does not include all startups focused on home services, but only those that leverage an on-demand business model. We define the on-demand category in this market map as startups that let users book services instantly online, and receive the service within a few hours or, for larger projects like home renovations, within a compressed timeline. Scroll down to view the infographic, category explanations, and a company list with select investors.
The companies in this graphic have raised roughly $1.5B in funding. However, they represent only a fraction of our full On-Demand Companies startup list, available to CB Insights clients. If you’re a client, click here to check out a full alphabetized list of on-demand companies with all historical and investor data.
Please click image to enlarge. Graphic includes private companies only and is not meant to be exhaustive of companies in the space.
Category breakdown
Construction & renovation – Startups such as Boston-based Renoviso ($5M in funding) provide on-demand quotes and booking for large-scale home construction and renovation projects.
General services marketplaces – These startups aim to connect people who have short-term, non-professional home improvement projects (and other tasks) to people willing to do the work, in real-time. The most well-funded is Thumbtack, which lets users post project proposals and receive instant bids to complete them; the company has raised $274M in funding from investors including Sequoia and Google Capital and joined our Unicorn Tracker in 2015. Another high-profile company in the category is “Uber for services” app Taskrabbit, which has raised nearly $38M.
House cleaning – Handy, with $109M in funding, and other startups offer on-demand home cleaning, with appointments generally available same-day as well as by subscription, and bookable online.
House painting – The New York-based Paintzen ($12M in disclosed funding) and others offer on-demand house painting services.
Interior design – These startups provide on-demand access to interior design professionals. Havenly, with $13M in funding, connects users virtually to interior design experts who help in creating design themes, by building online visualizations, making personalized shopping lists, and obtaining and ordering desired items. Cocontest lets users submit project proposals and receive personalized bids from interior design professionals, while Homee offers text message-based on-demand design advice.
Laundry – A crowded category, on-demand laundry startups generally promise to pick up users’ clothing, handle the laundering, and then deliver the finished bundles back to users’ doors. Despite several recent laundry startup deaths, such as Washio, we still see a good deal of companies offering similar services around the world, including Lenet ($6M in funding) in Japan, Edaixi ($123M) in China, Laundrapp ($14M) in the UK, and Rinse ($10M) in the US.
Lawn care – Led by TaskEasy, with $22M in funding, these startups offer on-demand lawn mowing and landscaping services, bookable online.
Moving services – Startups like the Seattle-based Dolly ($10M in funding) and Tennessee-based Bellhops ($20M in funding) provide on-demand services for moving homes or apartments.
Professional contractor marketplaces – Platforms like Houzz, Porch, and Australia’s HiPages help users search for and connect with professional contractors for a wide variety of household improvement projects. These websites focus on professional contractors, in contrast to startups in the General Services Marketplaces category (above) which offer more amateur and peer-to-peer help. Houzz earned a spot on our Unicorn Tracker in 2014, and is currently valued at $2.3B.
Repair services – Startups like Serviz ($31M in disclosed funding) offer on-demand repair for large appliances, such as ovens and refrigerators, and plumbing issues. These startups focus specifically on repairs, while some of the broader home service marketplaces included in other categories of this market map may offer repairs alongside other services.
Storage – These companies offer on-demand help with item pickup and storage. Full-service storage startup Clutter, based in CA, leads the pack with $32M in funding.
Subscription home management – HappyHome ($18M in funding) and other startups offer subscription plans for overall home management. Subscribers receive on-demand access to a variety of home maintenance and repair services, all handled through their single subscription and personal home managers.
Tech support – HelloTech ($22M in disclosed funding) and Cellsavers ($18M in disclosed funding) promise to send on-demand tech support specialists to customers’ doors to fix their computers and smartphones within a few hours.
| Company | Category | Select Investors |
|---|---|---|
| Airtasker | General Services Marketplaces | Black Sheep Capital, Carthona Capital, Morning Crest Capital |
| Askfortask | General Services Marketplaces | Undisclosed |
| Housejoy | General Services Marketplaces | Matrix Partners India, Qualcomm Ventures, Amazon |
| Jiffy | General Services Marketplaces | Hedgewood |
| Localoye | General Services Marketplaces | Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| iKongJian | Construction & Renovation | Shunwei Capital Partners, Share Capital |
| Opun | Construction & Renovation | Aviva Ventures |
| Renoviso | Construction & Renovation | Bessemer Venture Partners, RRE Ventures, NextView Ventures |
| ServiceWhale | Construction & Renovation | Undisclosed |
| Sweeten | Construction & Renovation | Navitas Capital, Gotham Gal Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital |
| Taskbob | General Services Marketplaces | Mayfield Fund, Orios Venture Partners, IvyCap Ventures |
| Taskrabbit | General Services Marketplaces | Floodgate, Baseline Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, 500 Startups |
| Thumbtack | General Services Marketplaces | Sequoia Capital, Google Capital, Javellin Venture Partners |
| YouDo | General Services Marketplaces | Flint Capital, United Capital Partners |
| Broomly | House Cleaning | Capital Factory |
| Handy | House Cleaning | General Catalyst Partners, Highland Capital Partners, BoxGroup |
| Helpling | House Cleaning | Rocket Internet, Kite Ventures, Point Nine Capital |
| Miso | House Cleaning | Y Combinator |
| MyClean | House Cleaning | Undisclosed |
| SweepSouth | House Cleaning | Newtown Partners, Vumela Fund |
| WaHome | House Cleaning | 500 Startups, ES Investor |
| Whizz | House Cleaning | Allen Linz |
| EasyPaint | House Painting | Undisclosed |
| Paintzen | House Painting | NextView Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Red Sea Ventures, AngelPad |
| Cocontest | Interior Design | 500 Startups, Draper Associates, LVenture Group |
| Havenly | Interior Design | Foundry Group, Binary Capital, Chicago Ventures |
| Homee | Interior Design | Founders Fund, FF Angel, Foundation Capital |
| Laurel & Wolf | Interior Design | Arena Ventures, Draper Associates, CRV, Benchmark |
| Cleanly | Laundry | 500 Startups, Ludlow Ventures, FundersClub |
| Edaixi | Laundry | Baidu, Tencent, Matrix Partners China |
| FlyCleaners | Laundry | Zelkova Ventures, Jordache Ventures |
| Ihateironing | Laundry | Blue Wire Capital |
| Laundrapp | Laundry | Jeff Blue |
| Lenet (White Plus) | Laundry | YJ Capital, JAFCO Asia |
| Rinse | Laundry | Arena Ventures, Accelerator Ventures, Base Ventures, Otter Rock Capital |
| Wash Cycle Laundry | Laundry | Robin Hood Ventures, Investors Circle |
| Wassup | Laundry | BS Nagesh |
| Green Socks | Lawn Care | River City Labs |
| Lawnguru | Lawn Care | Sequoia Capital, Briggs & Stratton |
| Lawnly | Lawn Care | Undisclosed |
| TaskEasy | Lawn Care | Access Venture Partners, Grotech Ventures |
| Bellhops | Moving Services | Great Oaks Venture Capital, Canaan Partners, Binary Capital |
| Buddytruk | Moving Services | DRH Investments |
| Dolly | Moving Services | KGC Capital, Maveron |
| Ghostruck | Moving Services | 9Mile Labs |
| Moved | Moving Services | AngelPad |
| BuildZoom | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Formation 8, 8VC, Streamlined Ventures, Grey Wolf |
| Fazland (Midnight Call) | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | RedSeed Ventures |
| Gapoon | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Pankaj Kapoor |
| HiPages | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | News Corp Australia, Right Click Capital |
| Houzz | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, NEA, GGV Capital |
| IguanaFix | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Undisclosed |
| Porch | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Lowe’s, Battery Ventures, Founders Fund |
| Pro.com | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Andreessen Horowitz, Madrona Venture Group, Sherpa Capital, Maveron, Redpoint Ventures |
| ProntoPro | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Immobiliare |
| Smart Reno | Professional Contractor Marketplaces | Anges Quebec |
| Fixd | Repair Services | Undisclosed |
| Pronto App | Repair Services | Undisclosed |
| Serviz | Repair Services | Point Guard Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, Groupon |
| Closetbox | Storage | Boulder Ventures, Roser Ventures |
| Clutter | Storage | Sequoia Capital, Grey Wolf, Otter Capital, Resolute.vc |
| Livible | Storage | Alliance of Angels |
| MakeSpace | Storage | Collaborative Fund, Slow Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Primary Venture Partners |
| Alfred | Subscription Home Management | NEA, Spark Capital, Sherpa Capital |
| HappyHome | Subscription Home Management | BoxGroup, Freestyle Capital, Lowercase Capital, Slow Ventures |
| Keepe | Subscription Home Management | Techstars |
| Super | Subscription Home Management | Formation 8, Lux Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Founder Collective |
| Cellsavers | Tech Support | Sequoia Capital Israel, Carmel Ventures |
| HelloTech | Tech Support | Correlation Ventures, Accel Partners, Upfront Ventures |
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