Handy Technologies
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Home services, Sharing economy |
| Founded | January 1, 2012 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States |
| Founder | Oisin Hanrahan, Umang Dua, Weina Scott, Ignacio Leonhardt |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States, United Kingdom, Canada |
| Products | Residential cleaning, handyman services, installation, furniture delivery and assembly |
| Owner | ANGI Homeservices (since October 2018) |
Number of employees | ~100 (as of May 2014) |
Handy Technologies, Inc. operates as a digital two-sided market platform specializing in residential cleaning, installation, and various home services. Established in 2012 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company is now headquartered in New York and serves customers across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. In October 2018, it became part of ANGI Homeservices through acquisition.
History
Handy was launched in 2012 under the name Handybook by founders Oisin Hanrahan, Umang Dua, Weina Scott (who holds a computer science degree from Harvard University), and Ignacio Leonhardt (an alumnus of Duke University and the London School of Economics). Later that year, the company relocated its headquarters from Cambridge to Manhattan. Operating within the sharing economy framework similar to Uber, it concentrates on handyman and cleaning service offerings.
Initially supported by the Harvard innovation lab, Handybook secured $2 million in seed capital from General Catalyst Partners and Highland Capital Partners in October 2012. One year later, in October 2013, it raised an additional $10 million from existing investors such as David Tisch's BoxGroup. That same month, Handybook initiated acquisition negotiations with San Francisco–based errand service Exec, finalizing the purchase in January 2014 to establish a presence on the West Coast. By May 2014, the workforce had grown to nearly 100 employees.
In June 2014, a $30 million series B funding round led by Revolution Growth fueled further expansion. The company extended its operations to 26 cities across North America, including Vancouver and Toronto, managing approximately 10,000 weekly service requests. In September 2014, Handybook rebranded as Handy and soon after acquired London-based Mopp to accelerate its growth within the UK market; Mopp’s founders remained involved to support European operations.
Handy encountered legal challenges in November 2014 concerning allegations about classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees.
March 2015 saw Handy secure $15 million in funding led by TPG Growth. By May of that year, discussions were underway to acquire competitor Homejoy; however, Homejoy ceased operations in July amid comparable labor issues. Following this closure, Handy extended $1,000 signing incentives to former Homejoy workers joining its platform. June 2015 marked a milestone with Handy completing its one millionth booking.
By November 2015, plans were announced to introduce furniture delivery and assembly services. The company also disclosed a $50 million series D financing round led by Fidelity Management & Research alongside previous backers.
In October 2018, ownership of Handy transferred to ANGI Homeservices, which also owns HomeAdvisor and Angie's List.