srtano%s ‘Start-Up Star Hello Aled is Expanding - WSJ mA asenae 045% 4 ‘4p 300 25032 030% 4 aig 768 058 usioy aval THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FEATURE Start-Up Star Hello Alfred is Expanding ‘The co-founders of Hello Alfred builta business around the concept of combining the human touch with technological wizardry. Now they're branching out -ByLauren Mechling Maren 29,2018 10.00 am. AMONG THE MORE brutal realities of adulthood isthe list of tasks and to-dos that, no matter how privileged or orgenized you may happen tobe, never quite melts away. There will aways bbe more groceries to be purchased, cry cleaning to be dropped of candles and soaps and wine bottles tobe procured. Now imagine a life wherein the weight ofall ofthese microburdens has magically lifted, Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck, both 32, set out to achieve just that sorcery when they launched the on-demand personal concierge service Helle Alfred in 2014. Their start-ups ect of some 285 houschold managers or Alfreds, as they are checkly called (named for Batman's dependable butler), sees tot that subscribers have tidy, well-stocked homes and, more important, a radical lightness of being. "People say they want to save time,” CEO Sapone says, "but if you lock at what they're really saying, it's that they want you to give them back time so they ean spenditin the highest quality way.” hntpssiwuw.ws.convartcles/star-up-tarelle-ared-ie-expanging-1522302058 1srtano%s ‘Start-Up Star Hello Aled is Expanding - WSJ Some 40,000 households in eight cities across the nation claim their own Alfred, a domestic subscrizers helper who slips in every week to put things in order and address any notes enter into the company’s app (residents of certain Alfred-afflisted apartment buildings are eligible for service on an as-needed basis) Anything goes, so long as it's within the bounds of safe and legal. Visits can vary in duration, with longer sessions of extensive stocking and tidying complemented by “drive-bys,” when an Alfred pops into drop off packages and take out the trash, The time an Alfred wil spene per visit averages out to about 20 minutes, and huge increases in time will incur a fee on top of the monthly membership ues, which start at $279 Inaddition to their house keys, clients hand over a creditcard number for their Alfred to use wien they run errands. There areno surcharges, and the delightful small surprises that subscribers regularly come home to—chicken noodle soup when ahousehold member ill, or flowers welcoming one home after along trip—come out ofa separate budget that isn’t cherged tothe client this carefully constructed Aouble helix ofhigh tech and ‘personal touch that attempts to separate Alfred from the TaskRabbits and Amazons and allthe other apps vying to make our lives easier. “Ils like you're living ina hotel but the hotel gets tolnow you overtime and starts to read your mind a litle bit Sapone says. Their software can hhandle the logistics, but i's the ‘Atl tes rug PHOTO:RVANLONRYFORWS MAGAZINE flesh-and-blood alfreds themselves, whose rleis as ‘much detective and therapist as butler, that are the company's greatest asset. After passing a six-tiered sereening process, aspiring Alfreds undergo two weeks ofboat camp and baccground checks, then shadow established employees before they are assigned their awn roster of clients, 30 on average Incontrast tothe way most gig-economy start-ups work, Sapone and Beck, who now serves as C00, pay Alireds as employees with benefits, not as independent contractors-—a cor tactic that putoff some} rather than deflating prices in order to ure customers was another hurdle in raising capital tial investors. The founders’ insistence on growing slowly and profitably "We fundamentally believe your business should work on day one, and every employee's salary should be covered by the profits," Sapone says. (Alfred, which has raised $23.5 million to date, has been operationally profitable since it launci—although itis currently investing heavily in new growth) SSapone and Beck have found success in convincing customers as wel as investors to take a bet ‘onwhat seemed a rather uncertain proposition “Trust was the bg proof point,” Sapone says “uber had proven that people would get inside a stranger's car, Airbn had proven that people ‘would go in a stranger's home, but would you trust stranger to go inside of your home on a ‘weekly basis?” The duo is now focusing on strategic partnerships, striking up relationships with companies such as Bang & Olufsen and Perrier. This past November, 2 deal with Related Companies, one of the largest real-estate developers in the US. raised Hello Alfred's profile. The company, wnose portfolio contains 1,000 luxury apartment units, i oling out the option to be alfred-powered, free of cost tothe renter, in every one of its buildings. Thirty percent of residents in qualifying properties have alresdy signed up ello Alfred is stl discovering new ways to reduce the frietion an elevate the experience of humdrum houschold maintenance: In Api, the company launches its first line of products, a private-label brand available on helloalfred com (and later on partner sites suchas etcom and local brick-and-mortar specialty stores), aimed at giving customers affordable alternatives totheluxury linens, dish detergents and toothpastes they often add to their shopping ists Every new Alfred customer will receive a “Welcome Homekit” containing the range of goods made with vette partners such as Brooklyn Candie Studio and Henke, the German company hntpssiwuw.ws.convartcles/star-up-tarelle-ared-ie-expanging-1522302058 20sig2018 ‘Start-Up Star Hello Ated is Expanding - WSJ ‘behind cult favorite Persil laundry detergent. “People were asking us What brand ‘was the best, and in many cases the prices were so highwe thought we could doit better” Sapone cooplains. Working off data showing what clients ordered and reordered |NTHERAG Hao tteesnen ric Innes sh bunyagsaneeromancDatoHm ts, most often, Sapone and Beck set out to create a collection of products that would improve upon the standbys. alfred's dish soap is packed with moisturizing coconut, olive and jjoba oils. Inscribed on the lint roller sheets are confidence-shoring quotes from the likes of Albert Einstein and Coco Chanel. "Our ‘embers’ tastes curated the collection” Sapone says. —___ write totauren meening at MORE FROM WIS. MAGAZINE lauren. mechling@wsi.com hpsshwww.ws.conaricles/star-up-starhelle-alredis-expanding-1522332058 aa