24th August, 2017 Dynamic Business
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: Which moments have helped define UrbanYou?
Edelstein: Winning top prize at our first ever pitch competition was a big ‘aha’ moment. For us, it was proof we were onto something. Plus, the judging panel featured some really high-profile investors, who opened a number of doors for us, including introducing us to the Heads Over Heels network, which enables female entrepreneurs to connect with industry and business leaders.
When Heads Over Heels selected Elke and I to be two of their Portfolio CEOs, this was a game-changer for UrbanYou. Through the network, we received 125 offers of high-level introductions, which opened doors that would otherwise have taken us years to knockdown. Additionally, the Heads Over Heels team and alumni have both been a great source of mentoring and support. Since presenting at Heads Over Heels events, we’ve not only onboarded a large number of attendees as customers, we’ve also raised $2 million in total funding – this includes a $1 million Series A investment, which we raised in just two weeks this year after completing the Springboard Accelerator program for high-growth women-led businesses.
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