
Pathjoy (YC S10) Offers Affordable Housecleaning With Easy Web Booking - briankim
http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/16/pathjoy-launch/
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Harj
I use Pathjoy to clean my apartment and I love it. The booking process is
simple and the quality of the cleaning has always been superb. Recently a
second cleaner came by at the end to check up on the quality of the cleaning,
which is something I've never seen from any other cleaning service. It was
also a great price, I can't see myself ever switching from it.

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tvjunky
I think there are some big problems with this latest round of "TaskRabbit for
X", aggregated labor services (Cherry, GetMaid, and others). In the case of
Pathjoy, the differentiation they are trying to sell is price. The technology
is nothing special unless your idea of finding a house cleaner is Craig's
List. Yet, is price the problem to be solved with these services? Is pushing
down the price on a service like this beneficial to anyone except the
aggregator?

For some TaskRabbit type tasks, especially the last minute or one-off tasks,
it make a lot of sense because the transaction may not have happened
otherwise. However, for these kinds of specialized labor type tasks, isn’t
there some harm done to the service market through lower wages for the cleaner
and inconsistent service for the customer?

Also, how does Pathjoy maintain customer loyalty? If service is a kind of “on-
demand” how can you maintain consistent work for the cleaner? What is to stop
the cleaner or customer from doing an “under the table deal”?

I think there could be an opportunity to “Disrupt” these older services but
I’m sure lowering the price is NOT the way to a sustained business, even at
scale.

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dotBen
Is there really a problem to solve here?

I have cleaners from a notable SF-based cleaning firm come every two weeks.
Sure, I have to call them up if I want to reschedule or whatever but it's
really no big deal.

Interacting with a human being who knows me by name isn't necessarily a bad
thing, esp for something so personal like cleaning my home.

Thinking about cleaning, the issues I care more about are thing like are they
using quality products like Method, are they bringing their own equipment, do
they do do stuff like change my bed, is it the same person who comes every
time who therefore gets to know my place and what I like.

Whether I can book an appointment on my iPhone isn't high on the list. Unlike
something like Uber, I don't see how the addition of high-tech is really
helping here.

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famousactress
Pathjoy might be great, but at this point fluf-pieces from techcrunch about
ycombinator companies make my brain turn off.

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pg
For you this is just another startup, but for the founders this is their big
moment. So please show at least enough respect not to dismiss them without
evaluating them.

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tptacek
He didn't dismiss Pathjoy. He dismissed TechCrunch. And your comment is
welcome, but would be even more welcome if you applied it to every company
that "launched" to HN, not just the ones you helped shepherd.

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brianbreslin
I like the trend of YC companies and other startups marrying technology
(billing, scheduling, authentication) to old school service businesses. there
are a number of stories of individuals doing this making 6 figures a year
running these types of businesses. (see g-maids in dallas)

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staunch
I'd bet that least 2x more people would use a maid service if someone did it
in just the right way. I think the biggest issue to fight is procrastination
and fear of uncertainty. Some kind of loss-leader promotion might pay huge
dividends.

The front page is perfect and if it only said "First cleaning is on us. No
upsells. No commitment. No kidding" or something I bet you'd get tons of
people to try it and the LTV would make up for the acquisition costs.

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arbuge
Reminds me of GetMaid... was on HN a week or so ago. Seems to be a similar
model. I think GetMaid even used backpacks to carry cleaning supplies in dense
urban areas too.

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BvS
GetMaid charges 45US$/hour, Pathjoy only 21US$/hour.

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smackfu
Makes you wonder... how is Pathjoy so much cheaper?

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johnrob
I'm not sure if "housecleaning for the masses" is the ideal message. I'm
willing to bet that most people either value time (already have cleaner) or
money (clean their own house). You normally need a pretty big price drop to
create a new segment - even 2x is not enough in my opinion.

My message would be "a better housecleaning experience, at a better price".

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sshevlyagin
I like the idea of building out a specific vertical of the "hire people for
stuff" space. I wonder what's next.

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andrewljohnson
No way the $20/hour rate is going to stay that low in the Bay Area, unless
they run it as a loss leader.

You cannot get any cleaning person around here for less than $30/hour. I don't
think it would be possible to pay people the legal minimum wage and make
profit at $20/hour.

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ryanglasgow
I currently pay $20/hour (in SF proper) for an independent cleaner who does an
excellent job. Language barrier is a major issue tho, and I'd much rather
schedule cleanings online. If minimum wage is <$10, why would it be impossible
to profit off charging $20/hr?

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andrewljohnson
Minimum wage is 10.24 in SF, and rising. On top of that:

* there will be refunds (grubhub gives a lot of refunds for bad food)

* they will need insurance (remember airbnb?)

* there will be legal challenges - like Uber, this kind of startup walks a fine line - if you employ 50 maids, you would usually have to provide workers comp at least, and maids seem more prone to file a claim than lots of professions

* there needs to be a margin for pathjoy

I believe you can possibly scale 20/hour maid service in parts of the country,
but in the Bay, it will be at a loss or the price will rise. I really don't
see how the math works any other way.

Grubhub's strategy was to raise delivery fees after they got traction, and it
wouldn't surprise me if thats what pathjoy does. They will need to
differentiate on something other than price though.

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tvjunky
Great points.

On the topic of working elsewhere. Large urban areas provide the best
opportunity for lower cost and more efficient operations. Two things limit
growth for this kind of service in smaller less dense areas. Travel and
population. Both limit the number of jobs that can be requested or completed.

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mitchellwfox
I received an invite from Exec for a similar offering this week. $50/hr for 2x
cleaners, reserved online, including pickup/dropoff of your house keys so you
don't have to hide or give away a copy of your key.

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herdrick
We used Pathjoy to clean our place up last week. Worked great; price was
right. We'll do it again soon.

