Online service hopes to clean up with Irish expansion

Two Irish people are at the forefront of a new online booking service which aims to give busy workers back some of their free time by finding people to clean their homes.

British-based Hassle.com was launched in Dublin on Monday, with the Irish market representing the company’s first international expansion.

The website, co-founded by Irishwoman Jules Coleman and whose head of design is Corkman Gearóid O’Rourke, connects people with trusted cleaners in their local area for a fee of €12 per hour.

Commenting on the expansion into the Dublin market, Ms Coleman said the capital’s tendency to embrace new technology was behind their decision to set up here.

“We chose Dublin as our first market outside of the UK for several reasons. The city has a great deal of early adopters who embrace technology; many cleaners are looking for more work particularly as the economic outlook improves, and we have good market insight given that I’m Irish.”

Mr O’Rourke, who is originally from Kinsale, Co Cork, leads the website’s design team.

“My role spans everything ‘designed’ at Hassle.com — from the website and user interface to billboards and ads on the sides of buses.

“My core focus is making booking a cleaner as easy as possible for all our customers and, on the other side of that equation, building tools for cleaners to help them run their own business,” he added.

Customers using the site simply browse a vetted list of cleaners in their locality where they can read reviews from previous users, with payments managed by credit or debit card.

Cleaners can bid for work, allowing them access a steady flow of jobs. Cutting out the agency ‘middle man’ also leads to higher incomes for cleaners, the company says.

Hassle.com recently secured funding of €4.4m from venture capital group, Accel Partners.