YC
Adora Cheung
@ Y Combinator
07/31/14
Takeaways
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
Homejoy connects people with home service professionals, aiming to make homes happier everywhere. We're available in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Berlin.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
The entrepreneurial spirit in Europe, particularly in London and Berlin, is vibrant and on the cusp of something great, even though Silicon Valley remains the top destination for entrepreneurs.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
I want to share my journey of how my co-founder and I spent over three years searching for the right idea for Homejoy, which was born out of a personal need for a cleaning service.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
We initially struggled to find a problem to solve because we were generally happy people without many issues, which made it challenging to identify a business idea.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
After exploring various ideas, we realized that booking a cleaning service was inconvenient and the industry hadn't changed in over 60 years, leading us to create Homejoy.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
To attract customers, we initially set up a website but received no bookings. We then resorted to giving away free water bottles at a fair to engage potential customers and successfully booked cleanings.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
We faced a chicken-and-egg problem in our marketplace, needing customers before we could find cleaners, so we decided to become cleaners ourselves to fulfill the demand.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
Cleaning is much harder than it seems; during our first job, we struggled with a large post-construction home, realizing that cleaning requires significant effort and skill. It took us five days to clean the house, which was a terrible experience for the customer because I had to return the next day and apologize for the lack of progress.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
We realized we needed to learn how to clean properly before bringing professional cleaners onto our platform, so I decided to get a job at a cleaning company to gain firsthand experience.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
I spent two weeks finding a job at a cleaning company in San Francisco, where I had to deal with long commutes and a taxing schedule, but it was essential for learning about the cleaning industry.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
After a week of working in cleaning, I noticed I was spending too much time in traffic, so I started sleeping in my car to save time before my cleaning gigs.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
Working in the cleaning job was informative; I learned how cleaning companies operate and identified inefficiencies in their booking and scheduling processes.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
After a few weeks, I quit the cleaning job because I wasn't learning anything new, but it gave us confidence that we were on the right track with our platform.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
We realized that to grow our business, we needed to raise capital, as we had no money in the bank after three years of operation, and we didn't want to remain a lifestyle business.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
We took out a credit card and set up meetings with potential investors, knowing that if we didn't raise money, we would have to shut down the company.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
In a pivotal meeting, I asked an investor for $25,000 to expand our operations, and he agreed without hesitation, which was a huge relief for us.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
After securing $50,000 from two investors in one day, we felt like we could finally make something happen with our business, which had previously been struggling.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
I believe that perseverance is key in startups; you only fail if you stop trying, and it's important to learn from setbacks without letting them overwhelm you.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to luck, but I believe that hard work and determination are what truly lead to success, not just fortunate circumstances.
AC
Adora Cheung
07/31/14
@ Y Combinator
I continue to work hard every day to improve Homejoy for our customers and service professionals, emphasizing the importance of dedication in entrepreneurship.