Our journey after a year

In a blink of an eye (not even kidding), we have launched for over a year, and we really wanted to share the good, the bad and the ugly side of stuff, no bars held.

1. The Good - Scaling incredibly with many homeowners’ and friends’ support

We started with the sole goal of driving out horrible renovation experiences. This culminated in us spending much time curating firms, sharing knowledge, recommending suitable contacts and handholding the entire process.

We were not from this industry. What we could not make up in knowledge, we made up with hard work and late-night learnings. But this is how we can stay objective and not lean too much towards homeowners or IDs/contractors.

It is easy for many to say “find reliable IDs/contractors”, when you just let in anyone who can pay you. After all, words are cheap, and how many can actually prove that they have done the due diligence.

This is what differentiates us from others - not all who pay can enter, and this will forever be the principle.

With your support, we were able to scale over 10x over the past year, with us hitting maximum capacity many times. It was really, really heartening, and we vow to continue to prioritise quality over sales.

Thank you!!

2. The Bad - We still made mistakes

There were two instances where our partners fell short of the standards, after our investigations.

We’ll be frank. Some homeowners are plain difficult to deal with, which is why we don’t instinctively side them. But in those two cases, it was clear that the fault laid with us and our partners.

It felt terrible. We felt like doing it ourselves.

We further tightened our requirements with our two-strike rule, experience level and contractual penalties.

After these (and a few other incidents as shared below), we realised that actions really speak louder than words. People can say whatever they want, but attitude is really the most important at the end of the day. As we continue to learn, observe, filter, we definitely plan to keep this number at zero henceforth. We have to.

3. The Ugly - Money x People

This industry can be lucrative. With great money comes great variety of people. Self-centred business owners who take advantage of us. Opportunistic people who do things only for their benefit. Two-faced people who treat homeowners who can pay one way, and those with budget another way. Greedy designers or contractors without capabilities who charge stupid 30 or 40% margin. Self-righteous homeowners who go all out to “bully” our kind-hearted contractors because “I paid for it”. The list goes on.

There is nothing wrong with earning (or spending) money. Just don’t be a dick at the expense of others. Unfortunately, there are too many of them.

On another note, we are excited for our next step, which is a very important milestone for us!! Do stay tuned!!

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