Home concierge startup launches in Austin
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Two ex-Uber execs are bringing their home maintenance startup Casa to Austin, promising to put household upkeep on autopilot.
Why it matters: Casa is betting homeowners will pay to outsource the chores that come with owning a home, from cleaning out a dryer vent to finding a reliable handyman when something breaks.
Driving the news: Casa launched in Austin this month after rolling out in San Fransisco and Los Angeles, targeting the city's growing population of young, tech-savvy homeowners with a little extra disposable income.
The big picture: The $199 monthly membership includes 90 minutes of handyman work and a team that coordinates larger projects.
- "These are background checked, vetted, super professional handymen that can knock out half of all the requests we get from homeowners for all the day-to-day type things," co-founder Michael York tells Axios.
How it works: A Casa team member comes into your home and digitizes everything — down to dishwasher serial numbers, paint colors and light bulbs — and uses that information to help schedule routine maintenance or easily fix appliances when they break.
- A Casa user's monthly fee goes toward handyman hours, and unused hours roll over to the next month. Additional work costs $50 an hour.
- Casa also uses AI to interpret homeowners' requests, and homeowners can turn on recurring maintenance plans for jobs like replacing water filters, cleaning exhaust fans or power washing.
Zoom in: Austin handyman Nic Arnold has completed around seven jobs through Casa, from repairing drywall and doors to replacing a fitting on a cold plunge.
- Arnold, who has worked as a handyman for about nine years, says Casa finds customers and schedules jobs, allowing him to spend more time on paid work.
- He says he could charge more working independently, but the potential for steadier work through Casa could mean earning more overall.
- "The lack of the headache is well worth the potential slight bit of money that I'm leaving on the table," Arnold tells Axios.
Between the lines: York says Casa can eventually use the collective buying power of hundreds or thousands of homeowners to negotiate better prices from contractors.
The bottom line: York says Austin's tech-forward population and large stock of single-family homes make it a natural fit for Casa.
- "The home has gotten a reputation for being a money pit for real reasons — every day there's something you have to deal with," York says. "We're looking to bring relief in those areas."
What's next: Casa plans to expand beyond Austin to other major Texas cities, though York didn't share a timeline.