Ever wondered how to find a cook or a maid or a painter who is reliable and honest but ended up with the wrong set of helpers? Then, Honestcollars is your solution to all such problems. Well, if you are wondering what Honestcollars is all about, then, hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. We got a chance to interact with Nischay Nahata, the founder of Honestcollars, an online database of verified helpers and here is what he had to say about the whole initiative called Honestcollars.
If you were to describe Honestcollars in one sentence, how would you do it?
Discover the best local help around you on Honestcollars
What was the idea behind starting Honestcollars?
Finding local help in cities has become increasingly difficult. To get a cook or an electrician, you would have to go around asking friends and neighbors and you might still not find one. Even if you found one, chances are pretty less that the person is reliable and skilled. The helpers too don’t have any “performance review”, so they don’t focus on developing their skills or providing a better service. With Honestcollars we are trying to solve these problems; people can now forget about the leaking tap in their bathroom and focus on what they love to do.
How did you meet your co-founder Rajat Garodia?
Rajat and I went to school together and have been very good friends.
How did you fund Honestcollars?
Currently Honestcollars has been funded by both of us.
How do you build your database of service providers? How do you validate the same?
Since the information isn’t easily available, we had to go on the streets looking for people. The validity of our data is high priority. We try to meet each and every individual before listing them (marked as Verified on the profile). If possible, we also take copies of their ID proofs. However, this is not enough. So we have a rating and reviewing system in place too.
What were the difficulties you faced while collating the database for Honestcollars?
Language has been our biggest barrier till now. We are trying to learn the local languages.
Is Honestcollars available for mobiles?
We already have a mobile-friendly site. We are working on getting Android and iOS Apps too.
Tell us something about your clients and how they benefited from Honestcollars.
Most of our clients have been posting on Facebook/Whatsapp groups about their requirements and only a few of them could get a lead for a helper in their locality. With Honestcollars you are not only able to find a good cook but can also hire one who can make Italian dishes.
Whom do you consider your competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
Not exactly competitors but there are a few players in the same industry, namely babajobs and nanojobs.
However, we don’t charge for revealing contact information.
What are your future plans for Honestcollars?
We want to strengthen our database for Bangalore and then explore other cities. We have got 100% positive feedback from users which itself is our biggest encouragement.
Remember to check out Honestcollars the next time you are looking for a helper, and don’t forget to like Honestcollars on Facebook. You can even follow Honestcollars on Twitter and Honestcollars on Google+. If you have any questions or thoughts you would like to share with us or Nischay, please do leave a comment below.
