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Though there are several startups in the home-maintenance segment, the sector is still dominated by non-organized players. One of the leading startups in this sector is Housejoy. Housejoy’s end-to-end technology-driven solutions for all home-related needs – right from construction to maintenance are paving a way for an indeed unique experience for its users.
Led by Sanchit Gaurav, Housejoy has kept cutting-edge technology at the core of all solutions and has a transparent and automated end-to-end process. Housejoy’s Construction and Renovation business is growing at the rate of 20% MoM and the growth seems unstoppable. Get an insight into the Success Story of Housejoy, its business model, founders, revenue, funding, competitors and more.
Housejoy – Company Highlights
| Startup Name | Housejoy |
|---|---|
| Headquarter | Bengaluru |
| Sector | On-Demand Home Services |
| Co-founders | Arjun Kumar, Sunil Goel |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Area Served | India |
| Total Funding | $30.3 million |
| Parent Organization | Sarvaloka Services On Call Pvt Ltd. |
| Website | housejoy.in |
Housejoy – About
Housejoy – Founders and How it Started?
Housejoy Journey and Growth
Housejoy – Name, Tagline and Logo
Housejoy – Business Model and How it Works?
Housejoy – Revenue
Housejoy – Funding and Investors
Housejoy – Startup Challenges
Housejoy – Competitors
Housejoy – Future Plans
Housejoy – About
Started in 2015, Housejoy is a leading tech-driven Construction, Renovation, Interiors and Home Maintenance company catering to all home-related needs of Indian consumers. The company offers end-to-end technology-driven solutions for all home-related needs, from construction to maintenance.
The company is a pioneer in introducing geo-targeted technology when it comes to home services. Housejoy has its services running in 6 cities with more than 10 categories, that too in a highly fragmented sector.
The app and website of Housejoy are akin to a cab booking system where you are first asked to provide your location and then book a service. Once the user selects a location, various services available in that area are displayed to the user. It works similar to food delivery apps like Swiggy and Zomato.
Like many other online platforms, users can pay through online modes, banks, and cash. The app was wildly successful and was known for its reliability with more than 1 million customers and 500,000+ downloads in its initial years.
Housejoy – Founders and How it Started?
Housejoy was founded by Arjun Kumar and Sunil Goel, Sanchit Gaurav in 2015. Housejoy founders Arjun & Sunil quit the startup in 2017.
Saran Chatterjee was the CEO of the company from 2015 till recently, he is now a member of the board. Sanchit Gaurav joined him in 2018. The company is now led by Mr Sanchit Gaurav the CEO and founder of Housejoy.
Sanchit has close to 16 years of experience in the Indian real estate market. A serial entrepreneur, he founded Gaurav Housing Development Private Limited in 2012. He is also a Director at Altima Realty and Infra Private Limited.
Sunil Goel worked in the IT leadership team for two decades in TESCO and eventually switched his job to TutorVista as the head of operations. Sunil launched a video platform to pre-screen candidates before they are hired by a company. This platform was named VU First.
While Sunil was working in TutorVista, he met Arjun. Bookadda was the startup initiated by Arjun and he had raised $5 million in funding for this venture. Bookadda was eventually acquired by Sapna Group.
Arjun had worked for MakeMyTrip. He had experience working in different fields like product development and payment systems at different companies. While Sunil and Arjun were exchanging various ideas for startups, they felt there are several issues with home cleaning and maintenance. It was a realization of the tremendous potential in this field.
After working on their startup for around 3 years, the duo called it to quit. Many uncited sources say that the founders were forced to quit by the board members.
Housejoy has recently made several high-level appointments to its senior leadership team with a focus on innovation and digital transformation, including bringing on board –
- Gaurav Joshi as Senior VP, Growth and Strategy
- Arpan Biswas, VP, Marketing
- Neelima Ronanki as Associate Vice President, Design
- Deepak Thakur as Vice President, Product and Technology
Housejoy’s team also includes experienced Designers, Architects, Structural Engineers, Engineers, Site Supervisors, Quality Controllers, and Sales Representatives.
- Pallavi Vijaydeep, Lead Interior Architect.
- Tibin A is VP, Founder and CEO’s office, Customer Experience and Process Excellence
- Priyadarshi M is Head of Sales
- Gaurav N is Head of Finance
- Sagar P is Head of Human Resources
Baishali Das Adhikari
Housejoy Journey and Growth
Housejoy started as a home maintenance and improvement brand that offered a variety of services including plumbing, carpentry, electrical services, pest control and beauty in five major cities across India. The company has now expanded its offerings to tap the almost $30 billion home construction market in India which is currently dominated by unorganized sector operators.
The conventional, unprofessional and non-tech-based approach often leads to a lot of problems for its consumers. Timelines are not adhered to, handovers get delayed, there is no accountability of schedule or cost-overruns, and at times, plans are altered without the consumer’s approval.
Even the quality and costs of materials used in construction are usually concealed from the customers. Housejoy understands these pain points and is committed to providing clients with a one-stop-shop offering 360-degree home construction and home services solutions.
Housejoy also focuses on bringing specialized beauty and wellness services to the customer’s doorstep. The on-demand salon and beauty services by trained and experienced beauticians include skin care, hair and makeup, and bridal and spa services using high-quality products.
Vidhi Punamiya
Housejoy – Name, Tagline and Logo
The founders then decided to launch a startup that provides services at home and wanted a name that depicted the offerings. They came up with Housejoy which means the joy of being served at your home with satisfaction.
The logo of Housejoy is the roof of a house and under that roof is a smile which depicts the name Housejoy.
Housejoy – Business Model and How it Works?
Housejoy works on a marketplace business model wherein they charge a commission for the services delivered through their platform. The commission ranges from 5% to 15% depending on the category. Customers can choose a service from either their website or mobile app and book the same. Housejoy works as a mediator between service providers and consumers.
The brand offers its services on its website and mobile app. Customers simply need to choose a service from the available options and book it. The service provider will reach the customer’s house and perform the task. Housejoy works as a mediator where service providers and consumers can find each other and connect.
Housejoy – Revenue
Housejoy reported revenue of INR 136 crore in fiscal (2019-2020) which is 4x times more than in 2018. Housejoy’s Construction and Renovation business is growing at the rate of 20% MoM and their future plans include building 2000 homes in less than two years.
The company has also seen a massive increase in demand for its house sanitization and fumigation services which is expected to continue rising over the course of the next year.
- Revenue grew 19% In FY18 i.e. INR 37.85.
- In FY 17, revenue was INR 31.79 Crore.
- Losses shrunk by 29.44 %, from INR 70.2 crore to INR 49.53 crore in a span of one year ending March 2018.
Housejoy – Funding and Investors
Housejoy has so far raised a total funding of $30.3 million from investors such as Amazon, Matrix Partners, Growth Story, Vertex Ventures, Qualcomm, and others.
| Date | Amount | Series | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | $4 Mn | Series A | Matrix Partners |
| December 2015 | $23 Mn | Series B | Amazon, Matrix Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, ruNet |
| December 2018 | $1.34 Mn | Bridge Round | Matrix Partners |
| December 2018 | $1.58 Mn | Bridge Round | Vertex Ventures, RTP Ventures, Sama Capital,Qualcomm Ventures |
| December 2018 | $327k | Bridge Round | Ganesh Krishnan |
Chayanika Goswami
Housejoy – Startup Challenges
The construction sector is labour intensive and hands-on. This is one of the foremost challenges that a startup like Housejoy faced in this domain.
“However, we keep everything streamlined with technology and ensure that any loopholes are addressed in a timely manner” says the team at Housejoy
Another challenge was the lockdown imposed after the COVID-19 outbreak which led to the disruption of its services. Initially, Housejoy operated for about a week by reducing the on-site presence of its workforce. However, work has picked up now and it has seen an increase in demand.
In future, the lean organizational structure where the number of on-site or in-house employees will be less will become a norm. The team at Housejoy are also going to focus on further automation of services so that the least possible disruption is caused to its services during any such unforeseen crisis.
Housejoy – Competitors
There are several companies and startups entering the home construction domain. Some competitors of Housejoy in the home-maintenance segment include Urban Company, Brick and Bolt, UrbanPro, Helpr, SBricks, Mr Right, Timesaverz, Bro4u, EasyFix, and Home Triangle.
Despite all the growth, the sector is still dominated by non-organized players. Housejoy’s vast expertise and in-depth understanding of consumer behaviour and needs have helped them create a unique profile. They have kept cutting-edge technology at the core of all solutions and have a transparent and automated end-to-end process. This ensures that all major stakeholders such as customers, sales teams, architects, designers, project managers and on-site engineers as well as the quality control and accounting personnel are on the same page.
Housejoy – Future Plans
Expansion of existing services and the addition of new areas is key for any organization. Housejoy has diversified its portfolio over the years in order to augment the business.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of branching out and innovation, even more. For instance, they have been focusing on constantly strengthening and modifying their service model by following customer feedback and inputs.
Post-Covid too, there will be a lot of focus on personal hygiene and sanitation. More people would opt to buy everything including groceries online. Housejoy has been receiving a lot of demand for organized at-home services and will be focusing on their on-demand beauty services too.
The company recently launched home fumigation services and is gearing up to do all that it can as a brand to ensure it helps its customers while ensuring the sustainability of the business. The overall goal of the platform is to become the largest tech-enabled construction and home services platform in India
Housejoy – FAQs
Is Housejoy shutting down?
No, there were rumours that the company might shut down but Housejoy confirmed that they are not shutting down and are planning to grow their services in India.
Who are the competitors of Housejoy?
The biggest competitors of Housejoy today are UrbanClap, TaskRabbit and Urban Pro.
What is the revenue of Housejoy?
Housejoy had a revenue of INR 136 crore in 2019-2020 which is 4x times more than in 2018. Housejoy’s Construction and renovation business is growing at the rate of 20% MoM.
What is the business model of Housejoy?
Housejoy works on a marketplace business model where the company charges a commission for services delivered through its platform. The commission varies across different categories. Some range from 7% to 10%, others lie in the range of 10% to 15%, and in the case of high ticketing services like construction and renovations, the commission may go up to 20%.
How much funding has Housejoy raised?
Housejoy has raised a total of $30.3 Million of Funding to date. Its most recent funding was led by Matrix Partners, Vertex Ventures, RTP Ventures, Sama Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Ganesh Krishnan for $3.24 Million.
