Started With Rs. 2,000, This Hyperlocal Startup ‘Homvery’ Is Now Valued In Crores
In a short period, the need for hyperlocal services in India has grown very rapidly. According to ‘India Hyperlocal Market Outlook 2020’, the hypermarket value in India will exceed Rs 2,306 crores by 2020.
And amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector received a further boost because of customers’ changed behaviour. Now, customers want everything at their doorstep without venturing out much.
Today’s story is about a Sambalpur, Odisha, headquartered startup, Homvery, that aims to tap into the growing hyperlocal delivery market by providing home maintenance services.
Startup Story: Homvery | Hyper-Local Service Provider In Odisha
Homvery Founders
This Sambalpur, Odisha, headquartered startup was founded in 2017 by Prahllad Mittal, Rajat Kar and Ritesh Mittal.
Homvery, a tier 3 hyperlocal startup, connects customers with expert technicians for home maintenance services.
Prahllad says,
“Having headquarters in a smaller tier 3 city gives you the advantage of staying connected with your customers as compared to metro cities where people hardly know each other.”
How Homvery Started?
The idea of home maintenance services incepted in the mind of Prahllad while he was doing his B.Tech.
Prahllad noticed that many technicians, electricians, refused to take up the work at customers’ homes with the fear of bargaining.
So, he decided to solve the issue by launching Homvery to connect the customers and expert technicians online at fixed costs.
Talking about the startup, Rajat Kar, Co-founder and COO of Homvery says,
“Initially we started with Homvery in a tier 3 city Burla, a city in Odisha, on a pilot basis with just Rs. 2,000 from our pocket money.”
Homvery was also a part of iHUB’s accelerator programme in 2019.
USP Of Homvery
Homvery app allows the customers to place service orders and connects them with the technical experts for the service. The startup provides more than 50 home maintenance services like renovations, laundry, packers, movers, electricians, plumbers, AC repairs, home sanitization, etc.
The customers can quote service and book the service at their convenient timing rather than waiting for technicians leaving their works behind.
The mobile app and the web browser enables the customer to get the best quality of work from the expert technicians for a wide range of services like plumbing, laundry, interior lighting and maintenance of electrical equipment, wedding planners, home sanitation, and more at the best price. Customers need to fill in their service requirements, date, time, contact details to book the technicians.
Present Situation of Homvery
Started with just Rs. 2,000, this Bootstrapped startup is currently operating in four cities: Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda, and Burla. The startup is operating with 55 certified technicians and has more than 7000 registered customers.
Amid COVID-19 induced lockdown, it has seen revenue growth of 2.5x times with the increase in demand for home cleaning and disinfection services.
Homvery has completed more than 5000 services with an 80% retention rate. And as of September 2020, the startup is valued at 3.51 crores.
Future Plans of Homvery
To meet the rising demand, Homvery is planning to expand its network to Rourkela and Cuttak, by the end of 2020. The startup is also looking for Angel investment.
Talking about the plans, Prahllad says,
“In the coming five years, we want to create an impact where people say ‘call Homvery’ instead of ‘call technicians’ whenever they need home maintenance services.”
Read: This Bengaluru Based Startup Is Helping Semi-Urban And Rural Areas Get Access To Healthcare Services