By Rob Starr
Like a lot of small business ideas that work, HeyBryan was born from a personal and common experience.
“I couldn’t find a local appliance repair person either willing or able to fix a dishwasher,” said Lance Montgomery, chief executive officer, and founder. “Contractors and other professionals in the home service or maintenance industry couldn’t be bothered with that kind of small job.”
That’s where he got the idea to create a marketplace connecting experts with homeowners.
HeyBryan, which is backed by HGTV star Bryan Baeumler, was designed to serve busy homeowners and enable home-maintenance experts to grow their income.
HeyBryan is an app that connects folks who need home services like plumbing, painting, and cleaning with vetted experts. It’s a way for busy homeowners to link with home maintenance professionals in their communities.
Balancing act
Montgomery understood there was a bit of a balancing act involved right away when the idea for HeyBryan was conceived. On one side were the contractors who wanted to be compensated fairly. On the other, homeowners who wanted to be sure they were letting professionals into their homes.
“It was important to us to also ensure that both parties feel confident that they are getting fair value,” he indicated.
The solution had to guarantee that both sides were satisfied.
“Every HeyBryan Expert is vetted, background checked, verified, and interviewed before being approved for the platform,” explained Montgomery.
That gives the experts the credentials to charge fairly for their skills and homeowners the satisfaction of getting the work done by experienced tradespeople.
The app is also simple to use. Clients just need to download it and select a category from 15 choices. A short description of the task and a timeframe is all that’s needed to get started.
“Local experts who have relevant skills and who have been vetted are then alerted of the new task and the first one who accepts wins the opportunity to complete it,” said Montgomery.
The mobile version is available for Android and iOS.
It makes the most of peer reviews too. The experts doing the work can be rated and reviewed and there are payment options available through the app. Credit cards are preauthorized through a secure portal. Payment only finalizes after the task is completed.
HeyBryan is currently available in Vancouver and Toronto. Montgomery said they are planning to move into five other Canadian cities through the first half of next year. A spokesperson for the app said the plan for the next 12 months is to have HeyBryan available in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Ottawa.
Expansion into the American market is the goal following the Canadian expansion.
You can download the app at the App Store and get it on Google Play
