Incubated at Nest i/o, Sukoon.com is an online service that offers skilled workers like carpenters, painters, plumbers, masons and electricians for hire online. While there is a plethora of such services available now, led by Skill Bazaar, Technician.Pk, H&O Services and the like, Sukoon has suddenly managed to raise a hefty investment from Crescent Ventures as the lead investor, followed by TIE Islamabad Angel Fund and Dotzero Venture. The amount is undisclosed at the moment.
The wizards behind Sukoon, Shoaib Iqbal and Qazi Umair believe that this investment shows that the investors are confident of Sukoon’s business model and agree with its vision. They plan to expand the service internationally once its successful in Pakistan. They have received an overwhelming response from the consumers so far and are pretty excited about the possibilities.
Humayun Mazhar, the lead investor from CresVentures thinks that Sukoon provides a much needed innovative solution for a need in the home and office i.e. individuals and corporations looking to contract handymen. As a result, Sukoon will drive social impact which according to Humayun Mazhar, is one of the key reasons behind the investment. This means that those startups that wish to raise funds in 2016, should create some degree of positive social impact too.
The online repair market is slowly gaining credibility in the Pakistani market, and while many would still trust their old plumber/electrician who has worked previously with them, a small population, especially females, would prefer to order a skilled worker online, simply because they are either frustrated of their old plumber or don’t know who to call when a machine breaks down.
Sukoon’s workers are background checked and are verified as professional by a continuous rating system. And these workers are available with a day’s time. So you don’t have to wait a week and keep getting soaked before someone can come and check why your sink is leaking. You can also register for work yourself if you are a skilled cleaner or handyman and create your own schedule. A little extra cash doesn’t hurt after all. You can make up to $22/hour as a cleaner or $45/hour as a handyman. Sukoon’s top professionals make more than $1,000 a week. Interested? Just quit your job and find some repair work!
Yusuf Hussain, Chairman of TiE Islamabad Angel Fund, Founder of Founder Institute Pakistan and Advisor of Crescent Ventures says that if we look at the number of households and offices that struggle with quality repair and maintenance services, there is a huge demand but short supply.
The thing that makes this deal unique is that it brings together leading angel funds from the three big cities of Pakistan i.e. Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, which are sharing the risk together in this investment to pave the way for a sustainable technology ecosystem in Pakistan.
Sukoon’s next steps should be to develop a mobile app that allows the user to order a worker while being on the go. Because the intended target market uses smartphones more than it uses laptops.
