Urban Company made a splash on the stock exchanges on Wednesday, September 17, listing at ₹162.25 on the NSE—a 57 percent premium over its IPO (initial public offering) price of ₹103. The ₹1,900 crore issue was oversubscribed nearly 109 times, underscoring investor confidence in the platform’s tech-first approach to home and beauty services.
Founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Bhal, Varun Khaitan and Raghav Chandra, Urban Company has evolved from a service aggregator into a full-stack platform that now operates in 51 cities across India and abroad. It has fulfilled over 97 million service orders, and serves 6.5 million annual transacting consumers.
“The home services market presented a clear opportunity. Existing players were operating basic lead-generation models, leaving both consumers and service professionals underserved. For India, the fundamentals of the home services sector were clear—there was a crying need for trust, reliability and better customer experience,” says Abhinav Chaturvedi, partner at Accel. Accel invested Rs70 crore in the company in 2015.
Urban Company's model was untested in India. “No one had proven that a full-service home services platform could work here, but we weren't investing in what they had built—we were investing in what the founders could build together. Put these three in any room with any challenge, and they would find a way to solve it systematically. That relentless focus on execution and problem-solving continues to drive how Urban Company operates today,” adds Chaturvedi.
As the company steps into life as a listed firm, its DNA is shifting—from being a service enabler to a consumer-first brand. This strategic pivot has implications for how Urban Company scales, monetises and maintains quality across markets. The shift is most evident in its recent launches: InstaHelp, a high-frequency service for everyday chores, and Revamp, which targets home improvement. Both are designed to deliver speed, convenience and reliability—with bookings fulfilled in as little as 30 to 60 minutes in dense micro markets.
Native, Urban Company’s product line of smart water purifiers and door locks, reflects its ambition to solve consumer pain points end-to-end. These offerings aren’t just about adding categories—they’re about deepening the platform’s role in everyday home living, and building a brand that’s trusted not just for services, but also for seamless solutions.
To understand what this transition means—and what lies ahead—Forbes India sat down with the Urban Company leadership team, weeks before the IPO for a free-flowing conversation. Edited excerpts:
Q. Do you think Urban Company is changing its character?Abhiraj Bhal: Not really—the core vision has remained consistent since we started in 2014. Our goal was to organise the fragmented home services market, bring in standards, quality control and reliability for consumers, while also empowering service professionals who were largely part of the informal economy. Before Urban Company, there wasn’t even a defined ‘home services industry’— just unstructured spending happening offline.
We’ve always aimed to formalise this space, upskill professionals and help them earn a dignified, middle-class wage with access to insurance, loans and other benefits. That vision hasn’t changed—if anything, we’re more committed to it now than ever.
What has evolved is our approach: The business model, the categories we focus on, and how deep we go into the supply chain. These have seen tactical and strategic shifts over the years, and they’ll continue to evolve. But the mission—to organise and elevate the home services industry—remains at the heart of everything we do.
Q. On the services front, Urban Company has launched new offerings like Insta Help and Revamp. How is that evolving, and what’s the vision going forward?Bhal: We now offer close to 60 services on the platform. Across all of them, our goal remains consistent: Deliver a high-quality experience that’s fast, reliable and offers clear value for money.
Historically, we’ve focussed on on-demand services—beauty treatments, massages, deep cleaning, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, appliance repair and painting. This year, we’ve expanded into two new segments: Insta Help and Revamp.
Insta Help is our entry into high-frequency, everyday services—basic cleaning and housekeeping tasks that people need weekly or even daily. It’s early days, but we’re seeing strong traction and it’s a key area of focus going forward.
Also read: The gig economy, reimagined: Inside Urban Company’s playbook
Q. There was some backlash initially, especially around the name. Has that settled down?Bhal: The service went viral from day one. We’ve never seen such rapid consumer demand for any offering. Initially, we launched it under the name Insta Maids, and while many customers were excited, we received valid feedback about the name.
As a company, we deeply value the dignity of labour. Over the past decade, we’ve trained and certified tens of thousands of service professionals, worked to improve their earnings, and supported their well-being. We publish our Partner Earnings Index twice a year. Currently, the average service professional earns ₹26,500 per month (net of expenses).
Those doing over 30 orders a month earn around ₹33,500, with the top 5 percent making close to ₹50,000. We also provide benefits like ₹10 lakh life and accidental insurance, ₹1 lakh health insurance, and family health cover of ₹2 lakh for top performers.
So, when feedback came in about the name Insta Maids, we listened. Within a week, we changed it to Insta Help. The virality wasn’t negative—it was driven by unmet consumer need and trust in Urban Company. Our waitlist crossed half a million users in days. On Instagram, we saw over 10,000 comments, most of them just people dropping their PIN codes asking for the service in their area.
We course-corrected quickly, acknowledging that the term ‘maid’ may not age well as a brand. Our ethos is rooted in respect, and we’re always open to feedback.
On a lighter note, we’re a company that gets the brand name right the second time. We did it with Urban Company after Urban Clap, and now with Insta Help. Hopefully Native and Revamp will stick the first time.
Q. Quick commerce has clearly influenced consumer behaviour. Urban Company now offers instant services, especially in beauty. Are you seeing faster adoption, and is this a direction you’re actively pursuing?Raghav Chandra: Absolutely. Insta Help was designed to offer a wide range of services with speed at its core. Consumers have shown a clear preference for same-day or instant service—whether it’s an AC (air conditioner) break down or a spontaneous spa session on the weekend. We’ve built on that insight.
We’re running pilots in Bengaluru where users can access services within 30 to 60 minutes. There’s a dedicated tab on the app showing available service professionals in real time. It’s a model we’re scaling across other cities as well.
Bhal: Yes, Insta is rolling out in more cities with 30- to 45-minute delivery windows. It’s a high priority for us.
Q. Unlike dark stores delivering products, this involves gig workers being available at a short notice. How are you managing that demand?Bhal: The key advantage for us is scale and density. Instant service delivery depends heavily on how dense your network is. We’ve spent years building that density across micro markets, which makes it easier for us compared to newer or smaller players.
Consumer demand for instant gratification has aligned well with our own evolution. In most cases, our professionals are within 20 minutes of the customer. And we only assign jobs to those who’ve marked themselves ‘available’ at that time. So, 30- to 60-minute delivery is achievable in dense areas.
Q. Urban Company has recently ventured into consumer durables with products like water purifiers and smart locks with a new brand called Native. What prompted this shift?Bhal: This move is a natural evolution for us. Urban Company has always positioned itself as a home services and solutions platform. In some categories, solving consumer problems requires a blend of service and product.
We first entered the product space around 2016-17 with B2B products for our service professionals—facial tools, mani-pedi kits, cleaning chemicals and spare parts for water purifiers under the brand True Water. Over time, we saw strong adoption of these products within our ecosystem. We were servicing hundreds of water purifiers annually, and a recurring consumer pain point was the frequent need for filter changes and maintenance.
This led us to ask: Are we just a service company or are we a consumer company solving end-to-end problems? The real consumer need isn’t “repair my purifier”, it’s “give me clean drinking water, hassle-free”. We realised we had deeper insights into usage patterns and pain points than OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), who are often removed from the actual consumer experience.
So, after two years of R&D, we launched our own water purifier in October 2023. It requires no servicing or filter changes for two years and comes with a comprehensive warranty. After two years, one service resets it for another two. We’ve kept it simple—just two SKUs, M1 and M2, both with 10-stage filtration. M2 integrates with the Urban Company app, showing water quality, consumption and filter life.
If we were purely a service company, we’d have launched a product that needs frequent servicing. But we see ourselves as a consumer company, solving problems holistically.
Similarly, with our Native smart locks, we identified a gap—digital locks weren’t truly smart or integrated. Our lock includes a built-in video doorbell that connects to the Urban Company app. You get notified when someone rings the bell, and you can control access remotely. It has all the features—fingerprint, passcode, etc—but also integrates seamlessly into daily life.
Smart products shouldn’t be intrusive. A purifier that works stress-free for two years, or a lock that quietly keeps you informed, are examples of Native products—integrated, intuitive and backed by strong service. Even if servicing is rare, consumers want the assurance that help is available quickly if needed.
We don’t see this as a pivot to products, but as staying true to our vision: To be a home platform offering end-to-end solutions that make everyday living easier.
Varun Khaitan: Ultimately, it’s about evolving with consumer needs. The core needs—clean water, home security—haven’t changed, but how we serve them has. What was once manual is now automated and intelligent. Our role is to decide when a need is best served by an expert, and when by a machine. These products are just better ways of serving the same fundamental needs.
Q. From a business standpoint, the product segment seems to be gaining traction. It’s reportedly the fastest-growing revenue stream, contributing nearly a quarter of the company’s revenue. Do you see it becoming a 50-50 split between products and services in the future?Khaitan: It’s hard to predict with certainty, but we believe that if you solve a large consumer need better than existing alternatives, it naturally becomes a large business. That’s what we’re seeing with Native.
Bhal: In FY25, Native contributed ₹116 crore in net revenue out of a total ₹1,144.5 crore—so it’s still under 10 percent of our overall revenue. If you include our B2B products business, it gets closer to the 25 percent mark. But we view B2B products as part of our core services business, not the Native product line.
For example, when a consumer books a facial, they expect a specific brand of product to be used. These products are sold to our service professionals and are integral to the service experience. They’re not sold directly to consumers, so while they’re a sizeable revenue stream, they’re embedded within our services business.
Native, on the other hand, is a distinct business segment. It’s growing rapidly, and we expect that growth to continue. But it’s still early days, so it’s difficult to forecast how large it will become.
Q. Are there plans to launch new products under Native?Bhal: Not in the immediate future. For the next couple of quarters, our focus remains on the two existing products—the water purifier and the smart lock. It’s been less than two years since we launched Native, and our priority is to do justice to these categories. We may consider a third product down the line, but it’s too early for that now.
Q. There have been reports of protests and dissatisfaction among service partners. Is the push for faster services causing strain?Bhal: Not really. Our proposition to service partners is centred on better earnings, social security and flexibility. Partner retention and satisfaction have consistently improved. Of course, there will always be some dissatisfied voices—and that’s healthy. It helps us improve.
To give you some perspective: In FY25, the average monthly net earnings for a service professional were ₹26,407. That’s after deducting commissions, product costs, travel, GST, etc from a gross of around ₹50,000. This represents about 83 hours of work per month—roughly 3.5 hours a day over 24 to 25 working days. So, they’re not overworked.
Our micro markets are small, and travel time is typically 20 minutes. We only assign jobs when professionals have marked themselves ‘available’. If density isn’t sufficient or the market is spread out, we don’t offer instant service in that area.
Ultimately, partner satisfaction and consumer satisfaction are intertwined. Our internal motto is: Happy partners equal happy consumers. If a professional is overworked or unhappy, it shows in the service. We want our partners to feel empowered, earn well and grow in their careers—while maintaining the professionalism that defines Urban Company.
We’re formalising a space that has traditionally lacked structure and dignity. It’s a journey, and we’re committed to bringing our partners along with us.
Q. You ventured into Australia before the pandemic, but had to shut operations there. Now you're present in three international markets apart from India. Given how different these markets are, how do you position Urban Company globally and convince consumers to choose you over existing players? Khaitan: We began our global journey in 2018, driven by the belief that the consumer needs we’re solving in India—high-quality, convenient services and better livelihoods for service professionals—are relevant worldwide.
Over the years, we’ve found success in the UAE, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Australia and the US didn’t work out for different reasons. For now, we’re focussed on the three markets where we’re growing rapidly and delivering on our mission: Happy consumers and empowered service professionals.
Even in these markets, services are largely consumed offline. So, there’s significant opportunity to organise and professionalise the sector. If partnerships help us get there faster or better, we’re open to them.
For example, in these countries, the workforce is largely non-local. We partner with organisations in the Philippines, Myanmar and Nepal to bring service professionals to Dubai and Singapore. On the consumer side, we’ve partnered with platforms like Noon in the UAE—a large ecommerce player expanding into services. It’s been a strategic partnership that’s helped us reach more consumers. Interestingly, consumers in these markets are more open to using one app for multiple needs, unlike in India.
Q. What went wrong in Australia and the US? What did you learn from those experiences?Bhal: Over the past 10 years, we’ve had both successes and failures—categories that didn’t work in India, and markets that didn’t work globally. That’s part of building a company. Risk-taking is fundamental. Some bets pay off, others don’t. But when they do, the upside outweighs the downside.
We still see ourselves as a startup. We believe 99 percent of our value creation lies ahead, and only 1 percent has happened so far. To unlock that, we’ll continue taking calculated risks.
Every new market or category goes through a staged approach. There’s a clear capital and time horizon defined. If a bet doesn’t meet its milestones, we step back. That’s what happened with Australia and the US. It was a disciplined decision based on performance.
We’re passionate about building, but also disciplined in evaluating. Periodically, we assess our portfolio and reallocate capital to what’s working. That’s how we grow sustainably.
Q. For a company built around customers and service professionals, how do you see AI (artificial intelligence) shaping the future?Chandra: We see AI as a paradigm shift—on par with what the internet or smartphones did to society. We're still in the early days, so it’s hard to predict exactly how it will unfold, but in five to 10 years, both the world and Urban Company will look very different.
We already use AI extensively across the board. On the customer side, there are the obvious applications—recommendation engines, GenAI-powered chatbots that offer more empathy and understanding than traditional systems. But the real transformation is happening in operations, which is the heart and soul of our business.
We’ve been early adopters of GenAI, especially in customer support. Our chat systems are now powered by GenAI, which helps reduce escalations and improves the overall experience. On the partner side, we’ve introduced voice bots that support multiple languages. For example, if a partner starts speaking in Hindi but prefers Telugu, the bot switches seamlessly. It’s empathetic, responsive and available anytime—something traditional support systems struggle with.
These bots are also embedded in our delivery and quality engines. Previously, auditing a service—say, checking if an AC technician followed all steps—required manual supervision. Now, our GenAI assistant acts like a real-time co-pilot. It reminds partners of SOPs (standard operating procedures), captures inputs and even audits photos taken during the job. If a cleaner misses a spot, the assistant can point it out immediately and ask for a redo.
Q. What’s your outlook on the gig economy in India?Khaitan: It’s only going to grow. The gig economy is already sizeable and supports multiple industries. It works well for everyone—for consumers, it offers access to services that were previously unavailable or inconsistent. Seasonal services like cleaning or repair, which spike during Diwali, are easier to manage in a gig model than in a traditional setup.
For service professionals, the biggest advantages are flexibility and earnings. They can choose when and how much to work—morning, evening, weekdays, weekends. This allows them to balance work with personal responsibilities. On our platform, nearly every partner cites flexibility and income as key reasons for joining.
It’s especially empowering for women. They can take maternity breaks, return when ready and work around family schedules. Whether it’s school drop-offs or caregiving, the gig model allows them to manage both home and work effectively.
So yes, the gig economy is good for consumers, good for professionals and good for society.
First Published: Sep 17, 2025, 15:22
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