Rs 49, a maid at your doorstep in 15 minutes. Sounds wild? That’s exactly what Urban Company’s launched in May - Insta Maids.

But the journey started with a much simpler problem: Why is booking a plumber harder than ordering a pizza?

1) 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲?

➡️ In 2014, 3 friends—Abhiraj, Varun and Raghav decided to take on highly disorganized local services market in India.

➡️ They saw that home services space in India was chaotic and unorganized.

➡️ Customers often struggled to find a trustworthy plumber, beautician, or electrician🛠️

➡️ Skilled professionals also had no stable source of income and lacked platforms to build a reputation.

2) 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲

➡️ UrbanClap, a tech-driven platform was launched for on-demand home services.

➡️ Company did strict background checks, onboarded verified professionals to ensure customer satisfaction.

➡️ A rating and review system helped build trust and accountability from day one.

➡️ Launched at a time when smartphones were booming, urban lifestyles were changing, and people were ready to pay for convenience.

3) 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗴 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆

➡️ Ensuring good earning for Service Professionals. The top 20% of partners earned an average of ₹38,263 per month in Q3 FY22 .

➡️ Providing life, accidental, and health insurance to all professionals free of cost in India.

➡️ Frequently coming up with training and upskilling programmes.

➡️ Launching the Partner Stock Ownership Plan (PSOP), allotting company stock options worth ₹150 crore to gig workers.

4) 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀

➡️ Rapidly expanded to include appliance repairs, cleaning and more catering to broad customer base.

➡️ By 2018–19, UC entered international markets like UAE and Australia.

➡️ Continuously upgraded the app’s booking experience, real-time tracking, transparent pricing.

➡️ Rebranded from UrbanClap to Urban Company because Globally expanding and in some countries clap had a negative connotation.

5) 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝟭𝟵 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰

➡️  Implemented stringent safety measures, including PPE for professionals and contactless services.

➡️ Accelerated digital adoption to facilitate remote bookings and virtual consultations.

➡️ Unveiled newer services such as men’s haircut and disinfection that saw a lot of demand.

➡️ Rolled out Rs 20 crore in advances to its beauty partners to support them.

6) 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆

➡️  Company has received shareholder approval to raise ₹528 crore through an IPO.

➡️ Improving financials with a 38% year-on-year increase in net revenue and a 4% profit before tax 📈

➡️ Expanding in 100–300 cities tier 2 cities.

➡️ New categories such as wall panels, smart locks and sustainable decor.