Celebrating 10 years of Helpling

Helpling, the online platform for home and garden services, was founded 10 years ago. From an idea that was born over dinner to a company that operates in eight countries, here's a retrospective with founder and CEO Philip Huffmann.

Over dinner together, Philip Huffmann and Benedikt Franke had an idea: what if there was an app that could be used to book a cleaner in just a few clicks? Just three months later, in April 2014, the idea was put into practice and the first cleaning service was carried out in Berlin.

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After that, things went from strength to strength. In the first year alone, over 80.000 cleanings were carried out for around 23.400 customers. Not just in Berlin either! Cleaning was also carried out in Bielefeld, Bremen, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hanover, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Mannheim, Munich, Münster, Nuremberg, the Rhine-Ruhr region and Stuttgart.

"It's incredible how well our idea was received right from the start," says the founder and CEO of Helpling, Philip Huffmann. "In the first few months, Benedikt and I even cleaned ourselves. That was the only way we could understand and promote our business."

A real alternative to the black market

You can see how well Huffmann's idea succeeded, because 10 years later, Germany's households are still shining thanks to Helpling. There are more than 1 million cleanings booked every year!

"That's a huge success for us. Helpling has been around for 10 years and we are internationally successful. We have also become a real competitor to the black market. It was always one of my biggest concerns to legalise domestic cleaning and offer an alternative. And today I can say that I have achieved this."

Huffmann continues: "It's always one of the best moments when you meet satisfied customers and realise that you're helping thousands of people every day - from Cork to Singapore."

From domestic cleaning to the super app

Not only has the number of customers, bookings and self-employed cleaners grown, but so has Helpling Group as a company. The first cities were already profitable in 2017. At the end of 2019, competitor Book a Tiger was acquired and Tiger Facility Service, the B2B provider, was born. In 2020, the first franchisee was signed in France. The last major acquisition took place in 2021 with the purchase of Call Jeffrey.

Since the end of 2023, Helpling's focus is no longer just on domestic cleaning. Other home and garden services can also be booked via the platform. These include window cleaning, painting work and basic cleaning, but also gardening and dog sitting. Helpling was featured in Forbes in recognition of the growth and innovation that the company has had in the past 10 years.

"In recent years, we have built up a successful company that is not only self-sustaining, but also helps thousands of people to earn a living." says Philip Huffmann. "And we want to expand this even further in the coming years."

Looking for help with your home? Head to the Helpling website to find top-rated cleaners and compare services and prices. Simply enter your postcode, your preferred booking date, and send a booking request to the cleaner of your choice.