URBANYOU’S CO-FOUNDER ON THE ‘GAME-CHANGING’ MOMENTS IN HER STARTUP’S ‘ROLLERCOASTER’ STORY

Networking with influential door-openers, eager to help female-led startups, helped the brains behind UrbanYou – an on-demand platform for household services – fast-track business growth, with their most recent feat being a $1m capital raise within the space of two weeks.

To date, UrbanYou has facilitated over 20,000 services, totaling $3 million, for its 5000 users (and counting) across Sydney and Melbourne. According to the company’s director Noga Edelstein, there are no plans to slow down: “We’re on track to triple our annual run rate for revenue, users and bookings within the next 12 months as we expand nationwide”.

She spoke to Dynamic Business about the startup she co-founded with Elke Keeley, including the key milestones in its growth trajectory and why they’re not worrying about online competitors.

DB: What circumstances led to the creation of UrbanYou?

Edelstein: I have worked in senior roles for top tier law firms in Sydney and London, and for global technology and media companies such as Yahoo!, IBM and Foxtel. Reflecting on the people I worked with, I realised they had something in common: they never had enough time to get things done around their house and when someone did take a day off work to, say, let a tradesman in…invariably the tradesman wouldn’t even show up. Read more

James Harkness - Dynamic Business - 24 Aug 2017