Startup business looks up at condos to give jobs to those below
Founders of Tralulu, Tarkie, Cropital, Cleaning Lady, and Investagrams together with IdeaSpace Executive Director Diane Eustaquio meet with the media and present their respective startup businesses. Photo by: Meg Adonis
Living in high-rise condominium buildings has made life easier for many workers in Metro Manila but with this comfort also comes the complication of having to maintain the unit amid hectic work schedules.
One startup business seeks to meet the need of condo-dwellers while also providing a job to unemployed mothers who live in ‘underprivileged’ areas usually in the shadow of high-rise condo developments.
The “Cleaning Lady” startup business co-founded by Oskie King, provides what it claims is a Filipino-quality cleaning service that is “professional, delicate and warm” to condos in Eastwood, Ortigas, Makati Central Business District, Rockwell and Fort Bonifacio.
Cleaning Lady was one of the IdeaSpace Foundation Startups 2016 finalists that was given the chance to present their ideas before the media on Wednesday.
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“Over all, the distinct quality [of] Cleaning Lady is the warm and homey feel of our service, which for us is a very strong and unique proposition to leverage on; we’re honing it and calling it #TatakCleaningLady,” King said.
The enterprise gives job opportunities to unemployed mothers from organized communities, such as Gawad Kalinga, through training services under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
‘Bridging the privileged and underprivileged’
Clad in his Cleaning Lady collared shirt, Oskie King showed the media a photo of a line of condominiums of the “privileged” towering over the small, cramped houses of the “underprivileged.”
King explained that this photo made them ask themselves if they could create something that would bridge the gap between these two distinct communities. With this realization, Cleaning Lady was brought to life.
“We share one vision for the company and that is [to] bridge the privileged and the underprivileged communities by creating meaning before money, impact before income, and significance over success,” he said.
Breezy booking, tricky transportation
Although it may not seem like a “trend” in the Philippines, cleaning ladies are actually in demand, and this means that Cleaning Lady would need to make arrangements easier for their clients.
Cleaning lady bookings can be made through SMS, their official Facebook page and website.
King, however, admitted that being in demand is not entirely “good.” In fact, he explained that this is one of the challenges they continue to face.
“We have a pool of cleaning ladies coming from Quezon City, so what if we’re catering to Mandaluyong, BGC [or] Makati? So it’s a challenge for us to transport them. But hopefully once we finalize our partnership with Grab, then probably that can be an answer to that problem,” he said.
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IdeaSpace Startups 2016
IdeaSpace opened its doors once again for startup businesses on Jan. 21 for their annual Startup Competition and announced last Friday the top ten “diverse” startups from over 600 applicants nationwide.
“It’s a batch that has different levels of maturity [like] Tarkie that’s been there for two years. So how do you take them now to the next level? They have not received external funding, so we have to prepare them for that phase,” IdeaSpace Executive Director Diane Eustaquio said.
These ten finalists will undergo IdeaSpace’s acceleration program for the next four months. The program will focus on the founders’ ability to validate customers.
“[T]hey really need to master that skill because what we want is to have scaleable fundings. So right now they work with one customer segment, and then they’re going to work with another customer segment [so] they can get to know the basic elements of going segment by segment,” Eustaqio added.
The ten startups will face their final test during the “Demo Day” on Dec. 6, where they get one last chance to present their final products after months of training.
Cleaning Lady, Cropital, Investagrams, Tarkie, and Tralulu were the startups that met with the media. The five other startups are Populi, InvestED, Banyera, Taxumo, and E.A.R.S.
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