Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs | UrbanYou Cleaning Services

UrbanYou brings cleaning and gardening services to Australia with a click.

Inspiring female entrepreneurs Noga Edelstein and Elke Keeley are taking the on-demand cleaning and gardening services market in Australia to new heights with their on-demand platform UrbanYou.

Users of the UrbanYou website simply select the service they need, whether it be spring cleaning, carpet cleaning, end of lease cleaning, window cleaning, after party cleaning,  lawn mowing services, tree mulching, leaf removal etc., and enter when they would like to schedule the project. A pre-approved quote is then generated, which can be accepted and paid for via a credit card transaction. The entire process takes about a minute to complete, and UrbanYou receives a 20 percent commission on all transactions.

The female tech entrepreneurs launched UrbanYou in Sydney in 2014, investing $15,000 of their own money in the start-up after leaving their jobs at Yahoo. After securing $500,000 in funding in 2015, Edelstein and Keeley undertook a massive re brand of the site that included changing its name from UrbanOutsource to UrbanYou.

That move by the successful young women entrepreneurs paid off, as the company has grown by 30 percent each quarter since the aggressive changes were made. To date, the company has generated more than 20,000 services calls and $3 million. It boasts 5,000 users in Melbourne and Sydney and the pair has plans to expand nationwide over the course of the next year.

The female entrepreneurs in Australia used the capital they raised two years ago to shift their tech development in-house, allowing for a re-launch of the platform which included same-day delivery. In addition, UrbanYou utilizes a highly restrictive screening process so that only 10 percent of the service providers who apply become part of the curated network. All service provider applicants are heavily screened, must carry insurance and pass a police background check.

UrbanYou customers are also encouraged to provide feedback on their experience with their cleaners and gardeners. Those ratings are closely monitored to ensure that only the best service providers remain on the platform. Edelstein and Keeley say that more than 60 percent of their monthly revenues is generated by repeat customers.

UrbanYou also uses an algorithm which automatically offers jobs to its highest-rated providers which incentivizes them show up on time and to do a good job for the customer.

The technology used by UrbanYou seeks to make hiring cleaning services and garden services for the home as easy as buying an item from Amazon and fills a vital niche for busy people who find themselves stretched for time between caring for their families, their jobs and homes. The company has also recently partnered with NAB, Ernst & Young and SeventeenHundred to offer its services as part of their employee benefits package.

With upfront prices that are fully transparent to both customers and providers, UrbanYou is also a plus for independent service professionals who want to grow their businesses but are not tech-savvy. when a cleaning or gardening pro joints UrbanYou, they no longer have to worry about spending money on ads that might not generate any business. UrbanYou guarantees service professionals that they will be paid at an agreed-upon rate for going out and completed a guaranteed job.

Check out also Airtasker, a trusted community platform that connects people who need to outsource tasks and find local services, with people who are looking to earn money and ready to work.