Big dollars for dust: Home services startup Handybook raises $10M

Handybook is a dream come true for those of us too busy or too lazy to clean our own homes.

The “Uber for home services” startup has swept up $10 million and released a new mobile app today, which lets people easily book on-demand services for cleaning, handyman work, furniture building, movers, and plumbing.

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Between work, seeing family and friends, exercising, trying out new restaurants, running errands, and relaxing, it can be hard to find time for chores. There are plenty of services out there to take care of these important yet tedious tasks, but the market is fragmented and the traditional process for finding these services is inconvenient.

Handybook is one of many startups aiming to put these processes online and connect people quickly and conveniently with professionals who can do their dirty work.

In the past, finding and booking home appointments involved time-consuming online searches, chats with neighbors, inconsistent pricing, unpredictable wait times, and quality and safety concerns.

You tell Handybook what you need done at what time, and it does the legwork for you. The system searches its database of vetted professionals for available providers and claims that within 90 seconds, your booking is confirmed and payment held securely on the site.

Unlike  Angie’s List, which focuses more on reviews, Handybook brings service providers onto one platform and streamlines the booking process. It rivals ClubLocal, as well as Homejoy and Exec which focus on cleaning.

This approach is useful for service providers, who have a new channel for finding business, and customers who don’t have a go-to plumber and just need someone to come and fix their toilet.

General Catalyst Partners and Highland Capital Partners led this round, with participation from David Tisch, and others. The company arose out of Harvard Innovation Lab in 2012 and raised a $2 million seed round.

Since then it has expanded out of New York and Boston into Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. It has plans to expand into Dallas, San Diego, Houston, Atlanta, and Seattle at the end of the month.

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