In an exclusive conversation with NewsX as part of NewsX India A-List, Umang Dua, co-founder, Handy and Chief Review Officer, ANGI Homeservices, talks about his personal journey, growth of his company and shares his mantra of entrepreneurship.
Recognised for excellence in home care services, Handy is the leading platform for connecting individuals looking for household services by top-quality, pre-screened independent service professionals. From home cleaning to handyman services, Handy instantly matches thousands of customers every week with top-rated professionals in cities all around the world.
Reflecting on his journey on how he co-founded Handy, Umang Dua said, “I was at Harvard Business School and was going to do a regular MBA programme. My roommate and I in 2012 started talking about ideas and one thing led to another. We both wanted to do something entrepreneurial. We started talking about an idea, which eventually took shape of Handy. It is a platform for booking home services where people can go when they need something at home and within 60 seconds they can make a booking. This concept did not exist earlier as usually, you have to wait. We were trying to make it instant. There were two big jumps, one was to drop out of Harvard Business School and the second was to start a business outside of India. We ended up starting it in New York.”
He added, “We started in 2012 and it has been around nine years. The journey was fun with a lot of ups and downs. The thing with business is that you are always changing plans. We started in one city but became nationwide, across the US, in the UK, Canada, and we ended up raising over 110 million from all kinds of investors. It has been amazing to watch people use the service. You had an idea which now millions of people are using and getting value from it. It has been a very satisfying experience.”
Speaking about ANGI Homeservices and the rationale behind it, Umang stated, “ANGI is a large public company providing biggest home services, and has a deep presence in the US itself. Unlike Handy, it provides all kinds of services. As an entrepreneur, you are always thinking about how can you be quicker and reach more customers and thinking about the business strategically. We decided to bring together the technology we had built and the ability to book services. It was a chance for us to go a little bit faster and do it with a partner.”
When asked about his thoughts on becoming the Chief Revenue Officer at ANGI Home services, he expressed, “About four to five hundred billion dollars are spent every year for home services just in the US and globally, it’s trillions. No one has a home services brand that has reached millions of people globally and I think this is a chance ahead of us. The more it became obvious to me, I told myself that we have the chance to build something truly iconic. I feel fortunate to be a part of Handy but also leading ANGI.”
2020 was a difficult year for organisations around the world. Sharing how he spent 2020, Umang said, “I was sitting in my apartment and everyone was suddenly working from home that in itself was a different experience. From a purely business perspective, people have spent a lot of time at home. The home services industry has done really well in 2020 and we have just been grateful that we have built this platform and people can get these home services. Working from home with a large team has its own set of challenges and we all had to get used to that. We feel fortunate to be in that position and that is not something we could have predicted at all.”
When asked about his views on the startup culture in India, he expressed, “The pace at which things are happening in India, companies are starting, companies are getting funded and creating value for all the stakeholders has been incredible. Everything started to move online. We are seeing this accelerated pace across every industry and while I think it is easy to look at markets in the US or other countries, you have to take into account the growth rates people are seeing in India and so I feel that the world is different than it was in 2012.”
On a parting note, Umang shared his mantra of entrepreneurship and said, “If people are willing to start businesses in India, you want to be thoughtful while you ensure to give the right amount of time. Think about the idea and what you are going to do with it. The market is there and so is the opportunity. I don’t think there has been a better time than this so go for it.”