Success Clean

• successclean.com (dead now)

• Summer 2017

Success Clean was a home cleaning business for Great Neck, New York. The value hypothesis was that Great Neck residents had an unmet need for a reliable high quality house cleaner.

Instead of talking to customers, I streamlined the process by scouring Yelp reviews of existing cleaning services nearby. I found that the number one problem was quality; homeowners in the area rarely complained about the price but never missed an opportunity to attack a company on its quality.

I found home cleaners and set up a quick online presence that allowed customers to book online or through phone. I decided to initially invest in an automated online booking system since customers indicated this as a sign of quality in their reviews..

I initially struggled to get sales due to intense competition advertising in all conceivable market channels; I had neglected to consider the marginal value I would provide in relation to other competitors in the area. Once I pivoted to an area that had primarily 3 star or less Yelp reviews for home cleaning services, I ended the summer with 23 sales. I considered this a success and shut down the business to pursue larger opportunities in college.

It is easy to find small things that other companies are not doing right; however, it's important to consider the switching costs. If you plan to launch a competitor, ensure that the marginal value provided is more than just patching a couple of issues that another company had; they must be significant enough for a customer to abandon their current platform to choose yours. This is why I had greater success when I switched to an area that had a greater unmet need (more low star reviews and thus bigger problems/need).