Rough landing...
Homejoy says goodbye
401–410 of 410 posts
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#402Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The long-term winners will be companies like Flywheel that recognize this and focus on providing that service to existing operators, much like payment processors. I don't think this creates a very big moat - that's essentially what Uber started out as (dispatch for private driving companies that already existed); they started letting anyone drive in order to meet demand. If all the services are interchangable (and…
Uber is different than Homejoy. You would use the same house cleaning professional over and over again but you will likely never ride with the same Uber driver again. This means that the Homejoy house cleaner can bypass Homejoy but the Uber drivers/users can't do without it.
> you will likely never ride with the same Uber driver again.
In theory, having your "own" driver would not be a bad thing. But the main difference is in scheduling.
With taxis and Uber, you want a car to show up in 10 minutes at any time of the day without advance booking. This requires a large pool of drivers on standby and a middleman to handle the communication.
A cleaner can visit pretty much any time during the week, and is usually pre-booked for every week indefinitely into the future. This doesn't need a middleman, since you can arrange the details directly.
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#403Earlier quoted context omitted.
Winner will take all. Uber will be the Uber for X (for everything) and AirBnB (potentially) AirBnB for everything. Low margin markets are usually zero sum in the long-term.
My and mbesto's point was that making an app to get any service on demand doesn't really work except for a few high-volume, low margin markets such as ride sharing and maybe food delivery. The businesses that can be disrupted are the ones where low margins are made up by massive volume. Most service businesses actually operate the opposite way - high quality, high margin. Uber, Google, and pretty much anyone else who…
I think we all agree with the same statement then :)
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#404I run a company similar to HomeJoy in Japan, and I disagree with most comments here. 1. Those who claim cleaning is not a "skilled job" should get off their keyboard, spend a day cleaning their moms house, and get back to me when they learn they are 3X slower than a pro and destroyed something with bleach-based spray. 2. It feels like nobody here actually read Adora Cheung's quotes about multiple lawsuits coinciding…
>> 2. It feels like nobody here actually read Adora Cheung's quotes about multiple lawsuits coinciding with investment timing. That is obviously the reason they shut the doors. Everybody did. It seems like a convenient face-saving excuse. The company didn't grow fast enough. If the all the numbers were impressive enough, investors would've taken the risk, especially the ones that already had $40m in.
> The company didn't grow fast enough.
Even with everyone working through Christmas?!
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#405Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, I'd say they're twofold: * Obviously, whether the guy is going to try and kidnap you. Well, Uber has rating, but the background checks are pretty flimsy. Still, I'll concede that it may well be just as good. * The second thing affects non-customers and it's ensuring the roads aren't congesting with a glut of taxis driving around looking for fares all day (with all the attendant problems that causes). While the…
> it's ensuring the roads aren't congesting with a glut of taxis driving around looking for fares all day Ever hear of this thing called supply and demand?
You're missing the point, which is that the costs are not borne by customers but by everyone on the road. Supply and demand is not a mechanism to solve this kind of problem
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#406Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was tempted. The atmosphere got very uncomfortable. I canceled all my recurring appointments after that cleaning. I had a cleaner through a personal referral in Seattle, who for $60, cleaned my place so well that I'd be happy just coming home to the neat and spotless apartment. When I moved out of Seattle, she packed up my stuff for $160. Movers would have charged >$700. Needless to say, I paid her a lot more than…
Can you refer me that personal cleaner? I am in that same situation. Used to use Homejoy but looking for someone good. Can provide references to you if you don't trust an anonymous HN guy! Thank you. mike.anon@hotmail.com
Hi icelancer,
I will see if I can dig up the contact info for that cleaner. It was over phone and I left Seattle three years ago. Will try!
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#407Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was tempted. The atmosphere got very uncomfortable. I canceled all my recurring appointments after that cleaning. I had a cleaner through a personal referral in Seattle, who for $60, cleaned my place so well that I'd be happy just coming home to the neat and spotless apartment. When I moved out of Seattle, she packed up my stuff for $160. Movers would have charged >$700. Needless to say, I paid her a lot more than…
I would be very happy to find such a person in Seattle.
I'll try to dig up their contact info
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#408I'm surprised. I don't know much about Homejoy but I read once that it was the company in the YC portfolio that has the highest growth, so I thought they would become a unicorn at some point. What happened to them?
You can always spend dollars to buy quarters. It's very different to flip that and the folks at Homejoy couldn't. I believe the key problem is that you can't train a housecleaner and still treat them as a contractor.
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#409Earlier quoted context omitted.
Winner will take all. Uber will be the Uber for X (for everything) and AirBnB (potentially) AirBnB for everything. Low margin markets are usually zero sum in the long-term.
My and mbesto's point was that making an app to get any service on demand doesn't really work except for a few high-volume, low margin markets such as ride sharing and maybe food delivery. The businesses that can be disrupted are the ones where low margins are made up by massive volume. Most service businesses actually operate the opposite way - high quality, high margin. Uber, Google, and pretty much anyone else who…
Sorry to comment on a super dead post, but I like this comment "unless they radically alter the economics associated with the overhead costs required to maintain quality." That is my focus, but it's really challenging. The margin is comfortably high in Japan, but ignoring quality kills retention and maintaining quality brings overhead costs back up to the level of existing franchise-model businesses.
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#410I run a company similar to HomeJoy in Japan, and I disagree with most comments here. 1. Those who claim cleaning is not a "skilled job" should get off their keyboard, spend a day cleaning their moms house, and get back to me when they learn they are 3X slower than a pro and destroyed something with bleach-based spray. 2. It feels like nobody here actually read Adora Cheung's quotes about multiple lawsuits coinciding…
Will you be expanding into USA?