Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry

Posted by Patronapp on Thursday April 07, 2016 @09:04PM
from the self-post dept.

Patron- patronapp.org Get Sh*t Done

I often find myself not having time to complete chores such as shopping and cleaning. Along with this I found it incredibly costly to hire a maid or caretaker therefore I founded Patron, an app that allows people to post tasks and set their own prices. Well who does the work? I'm doing what no other similar service on the market does, anyone can download the app and complete tasks to earn money. I am hoping to build Patron to be the Uber of the service industry where anyone can be their own boss and work on their own schedule.

Right now, I got a completely working application and am focusing on polishing it for publication.

How (are you going to make money): We take 10% of the total post cost.

Where (are the competitors): UberEats and Taskrabbit are our closest competitors. They all have the issue of quick expansion as they have an actual employee system.

( 13 comments | 11 points | on HN )

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by zelloworld on Thursday April 21, 2016 @09:59AM (#11542164)

If a customer gets to know a good service provider via you, e.g. a house cleaner, they are likely to create a direct relationship with him/her, and skip going via your app the next time they need a cleaner. How are you going to get repeat customer orders for the same kind of service, i.e. house cleaning ?

AFAIK, this is one of the issues HomeJoy faced.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by Patronapp on Thursday April 21, 2016 @05:16PM (#11545409)

As long as you use our service, you have access to that dispute system. Also we aren't just for cleaning or repeat services like homejoy. People will still use the app when they're in a quick need of something, as this is the niche its meant to fill.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by gpsgay on Thursday April 07, 2016 @11:42PM (#11452438)

Interesting! Would you do some kind of "Quality assurance" of the services providers? How do you make sure they keep paying you once you find someone? Maybe some kind of rating based on number of tasks completed?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by Patronapp on Friday April 08, 2016 @09:34AM (#11454509)

I'm currently working on adding in a rating system. The back-end is set up in such a way that your credit card is authorized when you make a task, and charged when you hit "Confirm Task". If your task is accepted and its been 5 days and you haven't hit confirm or dispute, it automatically charges the card.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by jenny291 on Wednesday April 13, 2016 @02:36AM (#11486195)

I own a small brick and mortar store and sometimes need a bunch of help unpacking or moving inventory. I can see myself utilizing this

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by thesnowsm on Sunday April 24, 2016 @01:19PM (#11560472)

Yea good way to get cheap labor

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by fiatjaf on Friday April 08, 2016 @09:44PM (#11459476)

TaskRabbit has an "actual employee" system? If so, it's probably because the law has forced them.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by saraphine1 on Friday April 08, 2016 @09:43AM (#11454574)

This has some major growth potential. As long as its secure, of course.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by Goalie27 on Friday April 08, 2016 @01:03AM (#11452664)

How are you vetting both sides?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by Patronapp on Friday April 08, 2016 @09:33AM (#11454500)

What do you mean?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by sharemywin on Monday April 11, 2016 @01:18PM (#11473280)

Any kind of background checks?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by Patronapp on Wednesday April 13, 2016 @02:34AM (#11486190)

We have a rating system in place, and thats about it currently. Background checks seem like a good idea! We'll look into it

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apply HN: Patron – Uber for the Service Industry by cab9904 on Friday April 08, 2016 @09:41AM (#11454564)

I would definitely use this!

[ Parent | on HN ]