In the suburbs there are approximately 4 dry cleaners per capita. When I grew up their storefronts read “99 Cent Shirts.”
Cool value prop bro.
Today these institutions are scrambling to adjust for inflation, gas prices, and the reality of a rising minimum wage. (And though I can’t prove it, I say minimum wage is a direct function of 2-meat combo plates at Panda Express.)
In a similar regard, below are my insights about self-service home cleanings — the latest “Uber for everything” dialect.
And yes, I’ve spoken to all of these companies. And no, they will not be happy when this article triggers their Google Alerts.
Exec
Positioning: premium.
Pitch: “You’re too busy to clean your room.”
With a sleek front-end design (credit: Karen) you feel pretty 1337 going through the check-out process. But what I don’t like is how home cleaning already has a premium stigma.
Growing up I envied friends who woke up early on Saturdays because “the cleaning lady has to dust my room.” So I don’t find value in paying pinky-out prices for fancy buttons (a:hover, text-decoration) with extra curvy corners (border:radius). That is superfluous crap. Show me the beef.
Hipstermaid
Positioning: middle-class, middle America.
Pitch: “You’ve always wanted a home cleaner, now it’s easy to book.”
Hipstermaid aims for early adopters — you know, people who don’t think hipsters are totally disgusting.
The site design is fun but professional, prices seem reasonable with healthy margins, and you don’t feel like a prick hiring someone to clean last night’s party. After all, they’re hipsters and they know what’s up. #YOLO
Homejoy
Positioning: bottom of the barrel (see: antithesis of Exec).
Pitch: “Even you can afford a home cleaner — we think?”
This aligns with Uber’s “Everyone can have a personal driver” vision, but what I don’t like is their price point of $20 /hour (update: now $25). Is this sustainable?
Cheat code: up-down-up-down it’s not.
I think Homejoy will soon be scrambling like 99 Cent Cleaners, and I think it will be the first time a tech startup has increased rates as a function of rising gas prices.
Competing on price is a race to the bottom. And the worst part is? You just might win.