Pathjoy (YC S10) makes a maid service for the masses with easy web booking, now launched in the SF Bay Area

by Alexis Ohanian10/16/2012

Adora Cheung, co-founder and CEO of Pathjoy, said her goal is to make maid service “ubiquitous” — a basic service for a broad audience, rather than a luxury for the rich.

To make that happen, Cheung and her brother/co-founder Albert are offering four main twists on the traditional cleaning service model. First, she said Pathjoy is more affordable, charging only $20 an hour, compared to the $40 charged by most other cleaning services. (The default apartment cleaning on Pathjoy takes 2.5 hours, so it would cost $50.) Second, it’s more convenient, because you can book, cancel, and reschedule cleanings from the Pathjoy website, rather than having to call. Third, Pathjoy performs a background check on every cleaner, then bonds, insures, and trains them, so you’ve got some assurances of high-quality service.

Those are probably the important points for the customers, but Cheung said there’s a fourth goal — making sure the cleaners are well-treated too.

Even though it’s officially launching in the press today, the Pathjoy site started offering cleaning in the Bay Area back in July. Cheung said the site had “hundreds” of customers last month, and that it’s doubling or tripling every month.

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Author

  • Alexis Ohanian