Five to watch: Avin Rabheru, Housekeep

Avin Rabheru, 31
Company: Housekeep
Web: www.housekeep.com

Digital disruption has seen many old fashioned industries given a 21^st century makeover, so it was only a matter of time before the £4bn home cleaning market was given the same treatment.

Founded by ex-venture capitalist Avin Rabheru, the Startups 100 listed company is one of a number of up and coming online booking platforms for experienced home cleaners, targeting time-poor London residents. Unlike its competitors though, Housekeep focuses less on the ‘on-demand’ sector and more on quality control and generating repeat business. Every experienced housekeeper is interviewed in person and background checked to ensure they’ll provide a valuable service, including the security of a key monitoring service with the intention of sending the same local cleaner every time.

Initially self-funded with £5,000, Housekeep went on to raise $1m funding in a deal led by the Pentland Group just three months after launch, that won Housekeep the Best Angel-VC Deal of the Year award in 2014 from the UK Business Angels Association. The company claims to currently be seeing 32% month-on-month revenue growth and has tripled its geographical coverage. With plans underway to expand into new services and an entrepreneur at the helm who clearly understands his market – Rabheru personally cleaned 100 homes in preparation – Housekeep is definitely one to watch.