Introduction
In India, the availability of trustworthy domestic help is definitely a pressing issue in most households. The need for such assistance has further gone up, owing to the pandemic.
Families, since years, have been hiring domestic help through referrals from security guards, other helps, neighbours and other local agencies, which prove to be majorly incompetent. The help which is typically hired is not reliable, skilled, or verified. 3,25,000 thefts by house helps are reported annually in India. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that 41% of urban households are not satisfied with their helpers. There is a complete erosion of trust in the ecosystem, after several trials and errors the entire process tends to get exhausting. There is a need for a method which would enable an uninterrupted flow of well-trained and skilled house helpers who can ease the worries of their busy employers.
Vaibhav had been switching between jobs, looking to find something that might be the perfect fit for him. Together with Saurav, his friend from Delhi College of Engineering, they started a not-for-profit organization and worked together for the underprivileged. It was here that they first realised how big this entire sector was and also saw a huge business opportunity in organising the blue collar workforce. Niharika had just moved out of her family house and was looking for someone to help her mother out, however had no luck. Sensing a real opportunity from this inconvenience, Niharika and Vaibhav, who were then about to join ISB, changed their plans to start this venture with Saurav. Today, the trio is building Broomees - a data-driven marketplace that connects families to qualified helpers. All of Broomees’ helpers are trusted and upskilled.
While booking a help from Broomees, the customer can hire help for cooking, cleaning, elderly-care and baby-care. Employers can select their requirements, interview the candidates, rate their work, keep a track of the salary and attendance, and also make the payments online. On the other hand, the helpers registered with Broomees are all trained and evaluated as per the services offered. For them, the platform is available with an array of features inclusive of multi-vernacular support, audio auto-filling, option to upload documents and other admin related tracking facilities. They undertake a 4 step verification process - including background check, criminal record check, medical check, and past employers check which is automated through their workers’ app. In addition to this, Broomees provides the employers with live location based tracking of the helpers and a much needed Covid19- safe verification. At present, they are serving 1500 subscribers in Delhi with a service which is 80% faster and 25% cheaper as compared to any alternative to hire.
On a broader level, other than solving a major hindrance for modern families, Broomees is working towards dignifying the professions of domestic workers, thus simultaneously helping formalise a crucial part of the labour economy consisting of over 90 million domestic workers which are usually unaccounted for.
Market Opportunity
Presently, Broomees is targeting 10 million households with working professionals, having a median income of $13,500 p.a. in tier 1 cities of India. The size of this market sums up to $25Bn. Being termed as one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, the growth trajectory looks promising for Broomees as they plan to launch in Bangalore in the following year.
Standardising of skills seems like a potential operational challenge and thus remains a top priority for the team to solve. With online and offline training sessions planned to be launched in December 2021, it seems easier to overcome this hurdle.
100X.VC Thesis
The founders - young but clear in addressing and solving the problem have actually hit the nail with Broomees. All 3 founders having excellent backgrounds and zeal, have defined their roles clearly and their roadmap is scalable. The problem is universal - tier1 or tier 3. Initial traction is putting them well above their competitors. The way they are going about addressing the problem both from the supply side and demand side gives them a unique vantage point.
Conclusion
With a genuine gap in the market being identified and an army of skilled Broomees helping households across cities, the team is looking at a great journey ahead to leave a mark. We wish them all the luck!
