Helpling is a Rocket Internet–founded home‑services marketplace that connects customers with cleaners and other household service providers via its app. The company sells both on‑demand bookings and is exploring subscription‑based commerce and affiliate revenue models for its service providers. Helpling says it is continuing its "path to profitability" and previously disclosed €10 million in new funding in March. Over the next 12 months it plans to roll out additional household services internationally and invest in technological product development to increase platform automation. Helpling is working with Unilever on co‑branded marketing, content development and in‑store promotions, and is exploring using cleaners’ knowledge to help Unilever reach Helpling’s customers. Management has emphasized retaining and motivating quality cleaners as a key priority for the supply side of the marketplace. Helpling operates an online marketplace that lets consumers book a range of home services, with home cleaning as its entry vertical. The company has expanded its offering beyond cleaning to additional household services such as window cleaning, furniture assembly and paint work across 20 German cities. Helpling says more than 85% of its business comes from long-term customers who require weekly or bi-weekly cleaning, and its core markets became profitable during the Summer. Management plans to double down on the best user-acquisition channels and cross-sell additional services to convert more customers into repeat business. The company raised new funding to enable it to reach profitability within the next year. Mangrove Capital Partners said Helpling dominates the home cleaning sector in Europe. Helpling operates a two-sided marketplace that connects people seeking home cleaning with vetted cleaners and uses a rating algorithm to surface top providers. The service debuted in Berlin in March 2014 and has expanded to roughly 200 cities across Europe and elsewhere. Helpling cites more than 50,000 customers to date, while noting the vast majority of jobs are concentrated in its top 20 cities. The company says its marketplace is only profitable at scale and that repeat bookings drive the real revenue. Helpling centralizes cleaner recruitment and vetting to enable rapid expansion and relies on customer ratings for quality control. Management plans to use new funding to continue scaling operations and entering additional markets. Helpling is a Rocket Internet-backed cleaners-on-demand marketplace that connects vetted cleaners with customers. Launched in Berlin in March this year, the company says it is active in over 150 cities across eight markets in Europe and Latin America. Helpling does not disclose customer or cleaner counts and has not shared financial metrics. It establishes local offices with small teams and vets cleaners through a multistep process including interviews, cleaning tests, document submissions and references. The sector is crowded with competitors such as HomeJoy, Housekeep, Mopp/Handy, Hassle and TaskRabbit. Helpling says it aims to expand access to home cleaning via flexible, convenient and secure services, though it has not specified how the new funding will be used.

Total raised

$73M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Mar 2017