3 ms·

Mild disagree here: the premium isn't coming from cleaners, it is coming from a hundred thousand or so local mom-and-pop operations which own one to five trucks

by patio11 11y ago

Mild disagree here: the premium isn't coming from cleaners, it is coming from a hundred thousand or so local mom-and-pop operations which own one to five trucks. They hire substantially the same workers by demographics and do not appear to give their employees meaningfully superior compensation than the on-demand service companies. The model appears to be centralize lead generation nationwide, pool support resources, and then price below market. In some cases that pricing is a result of VC subsidization of middle class customers. Longer term it would have to be through operational efficiency gains.

tptacek 11y ago
Sure, but that's tu quoque, isn't it? Meanwhile: none of those mom-and-pops are shooting for billion dollar valuations on the backs of people who by rights shouldn't be 1099s. What makes this easier to stomach is the poetic justice of contractor "leakage" eventually killing the business.
s73v3r 11y ago
What value is there in national lead generation for something that is extremely local?
- patio11 11y ago
  Economies of scale; national or worldwide brand recognition; improved efficiency of operations; leverage from applying top-tier marketing/etc talent to the problem. Lead acquisition at a mom-and-pop agency is the 10% project of the owner or office manager or, at best, a local SEO/AdWords/etc agency. The platform companies, by comparison, can totally hire ten people with skills superior to mine to do it, as their only job.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    Perhaps to some degree. I keep coming back though to the fact that national chains exist. They may not have an iPhone app or hot programmers but, for a regularly scheduled cleaning service, I'm not sure it matters and I'm not sure what problem more tech solves that cuts the costs significantly. Mind you I'm also not sure that the national chains are a particularly great product for consumer cleaning. I used Merry Maids for a while and thought they were meh. That's an anecdote but the reviews aren't great in general. Now I have a regular housecleaner who my neighbor recommended and she's great.
yarou 11y ago
I think that Homejoy was a thoroughly rent-seeking enterprise, rather than a disruptive technology startup. Frankly, I failed to see (and still fail to see) what was disruptive about their process. They were essentially competing in a close to perfectly competitive market (with some minor level of differentiation). Contrast that with Uber, who was able to capture most if not all of the Schumpeterian rent.

by patio11 11y ago

tptacek 11y ago

Sure, but that's tu quoque, isn't it? Meanwhile: none of those mom-and-pops are shooting for billion dollar valuations on the backs of people who by rights shouldn't be 1099s. What makes this easier to stomach is the poetic justice of contractor "leakage" eventually killing the business.

s73v3r 11y ago

What value is there in national lead generation for something that is extremely local?

patio11 11y ago
Economies of scale; national or worldwide brand recognition; improved efficiency of operations; leverage from applying top-tier marketing/etc talent to the problem. Lead acquisition at a mom-and-pop agency is the 10% project of the owner or office manager or, at best, a local SEO/AdWords/etc agency. The platform companies, by comparison, can totally hire ten people with skills superior to mine to do it, as their only job.
- ghaff 11y ago
  Perhaps to some degree. I keep coming back though to the fact that national chains exist. They may not have an iPhone app or hot programmers but, for a regularly scheduled cleaning service, I'm not sure it matters and I'm not sure what problem more tech solves that cuts the costs significantly. Mind you I'm also not sure that the national chains are a particularly great product for consumer cleaning. I used Merry Maids for a while and thought they were meh. That's an anecdote but the reviews aren't great in general. Now I have a regular housecleaner who my neighbor recommended and she's great.

yarou 11y ago

I think that Homejoy was a thoroughly rent-seeking enterprise, rather than a disruptive technology startup. Frankly, I failed to see (and still fail to see) what was disruptive about their process. They were essentially competing in a close to perfectly competitive market (with some minor level of differentiation). Contrast that with Uber, who was able to capture most if not all of the Schumpeterian rent.