Homee raises $15 million to connect property owners with service providers

Homee, a Tampa, Florida-based startup developing an on-demand home services platform for homeowners and property managers, today announced that it’s raised $15 million in series B funding led by Forte Ventures, with participation from Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Active Capital Partners, Florida Funders, Deepwork Capital, and Engage. The capital infusion, which also saw contributions from strategic investors The Hartford, State Farm Ventures, and Ferguson Ventures, brings Homee’s total raised to nearly $30 million.

CEO Doug Schaedler said the funding will enable Homee to launch new markets and expand its services further throughout the U.S. “We launched Homee three years ago to change the way homeowners and landlords order home services. Our revolutionary on-demand model which ensures our customers the highest quality service at the most competitive price,” he added. “We look forward to working with all our new strategic partners and servicing their home improvement needs across the country.”

Homee’s network enables background-checked and vetted electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and handymen to accept nearby repair or maintenance job requests for offices, homes, condos, and restaurants from their smartphones. A centralized operations team continually monitors provider ratings to ensure quality doesn’t suffer, and to lock in pricing no matter the time of day or location.

Jobs come with a $1,000 quality guarantee and $2 million insurance coverage. The Homee app features a built-in timer that tracks work down to the minute and automatically pauses if a service provider leaves for materials or a lunch break. Individual workers can book most jobs in under a minute on average from within Homee’s app, while larger operations can track teams of crewmembers. Providers regardless of size receive payment within 72 hours.

In that respect, Homee offers something akin to gig-matching services like TaskRabbit, Keepe, Takl, and Fiverr, not to mention tech giant Amazon’s Home Services. But despite competition in a roughly $3 trillion gig economy made up of 57 million people in the U.S. alone, investors like Forte Venture founder and managing partner Tim Hawkins assert that Homee’s focus on the property improvement market positions it well against its rivals. Already, Homee claims, its clients include several of the “largest national single-family portfolio companies.”

“We are excited to lead the series B financing round and join the Homee team as the company continues to pursue rapid growth throughout the United States,” said Hawkins, who plans to join Homee’s board of directors. “Homee is one of the fastest-growing companies in the home services market and has achieved tremendous traction to date by successfully addressing key industry challenges.”

Source. Venture Beat, Kyle Wiiggers, August 27, 2019

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