Home services startup Sayfix secures $160K

Home services startup Sayfix has raised $160,000 (about Rs 1.1 crore) in angel funding led by Yajnanarayana Kammaje, MD of Bangalore-based Sona Group of Industries.

B V Naidu, Managing Partner at StartupXseed Ventures LLP, also participated in this round, the startup said in a press statement.

Bangalore-based RedGenie Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates Sayfix, will use the money raised to expand its technology infrastructure and up marketing spend.

"The services sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Indian economy and as a result, the service-commerce industry is definitely the need of the hour. Today, there is a high requirement of reliable, professional and high-quality handyman services for individuals as well as businesses,' said Kammaje.

Launched in June 2015 by NIT Allahabad alumnus Nabin Roy, Sayfix offers services around maintenance, home repairs, plumbing, cleaning and car care, besides other services. The company, which currently operates in Bangalore only, claims to have rendered services in about 1,000 apartment complexes.

It expects to expand into five more cities by the current year-end. The startup aims to serve 100,000 customers over the next 12 months.

Before starting Sayfix, Roy was running Celtem, a startup providing professional certification courses. Before that, he worked at Infosys and Larsen & Toubro.

Sayfix competes in a crowded space with the likes of well-funded players such as Housejoy, Urban Clap,  Helpi, LocalOye, UrbanPro, Zimmber and Timesaverz to name a few. However, the market is still fragmented and a clear segment leader is yet to emerge.

Around 100 home and local services firms have emerged during the last three years, providing a broad gamut of services ranging from handyman's jobs to home cleaning, car washing, laundry, pest control and even hobby classes.

Besides, legacy local classifieds players such as Sulekha.com New Media Pvt Ltd and Just Dial Ltd have also forayed into the online services market.

At least a dozen startups have received funding in the last two years with deep-pocketed investors and entrepreneurs, such as Ratan Tata, Amazon India Ltd, SAIF Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel Partners and Matrix Partners, making financial bets.

According to VCCEdge data, Housejoy, UrbanClap, Zimmber, Timesaverz and LocalOye have collectively raised $70.05 million so far. Of that, Housejoy and Urban Clap raised about $26.97 million and $34.14 million respectively, making them the top funded startups in the home services space.

Recently, Mumbai-based Crenovative Ideas Pvt Ltd, which operates home services startup Taskbob, secured $4.5 million (around Rs 30.8 crore) in Series A funding led by IvyCap Ventures.

Meanwhile, the home services industry is also witnessing early signs of consolidation. Taskbob recently bought Zepper while Paytm acquired home services provider Near in December.

Early this month, Housejoy acquired startup My Wash Technologies Pvt Ltd.