Uber revolutionised the taxi industry, but it also changed the way we engage with a service provider – booking the service in close proximity and in real time.
The next logical step was to “Uberise” other service providers like electricians, plumbers and handymen, and now it has been done, thanks to two tech-savvy entrepreneurs in Tshwane.
Francois Briers has launched the HelpOut app with the help of his Nigerian business partner and developer, Diamond Mumbarak.
It’s a free app that connects people to a range of home service providers as well as taxis and retailers, so if there’s a special at a shop close to you, you’ll know about it.
“The idea is the same as Uber. If you need a plumber, the app uses your location to provide a list of plumbers nearest to you at the moment, and their prices.
“It means you don’t have to wait too long for someone to get to your place, and the service provider isn’t clocking up big call-out charges to come from far out,” says Briers. Service providers and taxi operators are screened thoroughly before being added to the app, he says.
The HelpOut app is applicable to service providers and users in Joburg, Tshwane, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
It is still a new app on the block, but there are nearly 600 branded service providers using it already, with some of the bigger ones, like Drain Surgeon, registering hundreds of their own operators on the app.
Retailers and restaurants are also flourishing on HelpOut, as it’s an efficient way to market their specials to potential customers in the area. “The retailers have full control of the app from their side, so they can regularly update their offerings and promotions,” says Briers.
As the app gathers steam, it will be monetised through monthly fees paid by the service providers or “cost-per-click”.
At present the app is available only to iPad and smartphones through the Apple store or Google Play, but Briers and Mumbarak are looking to adapt it to laptops as well.
Briers says he has always been interested in mobile technology, but it took an entrepreneurial leap of faith to get his idea for the HelpOut app off the ground.
“I studied a BCom in financial accounting at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth but I come from a very entrepreneurial family where we bounce business ideas around all the time,” he says.
After university, Briers worked in London on contract, then returned to become managing director of Trailer Rent, in which he is still involved.
“But I wanted to pursue this app idea, so I approached mLab, a mobile solutions laboratory and start-up accelerator, and was introduced to Diamond.
“He is the top-rated developer there,” says Briers.
Currently, the duo are developing new features on the HelpOut app, including a “virtual loyalty card” whereby a brand loyalty barcode is scanned on your smartphone to acquire credits or discounts on brands.
“We want to keep innovating new services on it,” says Briers.
See www.helpoutapp.co.za.