When you need housekeepers in the future, you might post your requirements online. A suitable professional will be matched with you and arrive at your house at the scheduled time. In Pune, more than 100 families already utilize this service, founded by a startup called Maideasy.
Maideasy was founded by Mandar Ghugari and Sunita Ghugari and specialises in connecting families with professionals for elderly care, home help, cooking, babysitting, and patient care. A new office will open in Pimpri-Chinchwad around September, and an app is on the way.
A friend in the US, who lives in Pune, called me to say his mother needed help sometime in January or February 2020. Then I discovered that hundreds of companies provided medical services, but very few provided services for the elderly. I connected my friend with a professional who specialized in elderly care, which inspired me to create a startup to streamline the process of finding home help,” says Mandar, an IT professional.
The company has a database of more than 200 employees, recruited from areas around Pune. We place boards in areas frequented by the community, including Sassoon Hospital, marketplaces, and neighborhoods where they live. We received several referrals from word of mouth. Each house help must have their thumbprint or signature verified by a member of our staff,” adds Mandar, adding they are insured and undergo regular health tests.
Clients need to provide a detailed list of chores, as well as details such as leave for the housekeeper. Until the pandemic is over, house helps will be available for a minimum of eight hours, but the company plans to create a service that offers temporary workers when regular ones are unavailable. At present, it is best if all the help works in one house. There will be reduced chances of her getting infected because they won’t be going to various homes,” Mandar says.
They are trained in work, but also instructed in ethics and behavior.
The company’s revenue model revolves around charging the client monthly fees – payable in two installments – in a year, against which they get two replacements free.
“We do not charge any commission to the house help,” says Mandar. Generally, COVID experiences uneven business – sometimes there is a high demand and a low supply, and sometimes the reverse occurs – however the sector is expected to grow with the pandemic changing the way people work. Currently, they are not looking for investments.
In the coming months, we hope to contribute to the streamlined hiring of house helps, he states.
