Goan startup looks to change face of on-demand services Newton Sequeira| TNN | Updated: Apr 4, 2017, 11.14 AM IST
PANAJI: If there is one grouse that everyone shares, it is the scarcity of skilled handymen such as plumbers and carpenters in Goa. Plumbers and electricians are a dime a dozen but their work rarely lives up to the expectation. A Goa-based startup, Poocho.in, wants to change that. Founded by GautamFatarpekar, Manisha Fatarpekar and Harish Usgaonkar, the website already covers Goa and is now looking to expand to Maharashtra and Karnataka. " By April-May, we should be able to start operations in Pune. The aim is to expand in the Konkan belt for now," Gautam said. Poocho serves as an aggregator for crucial service providers in the state and functions as an online listing directory to help bridge the gap between need and availability. For Fatarpekar though, more than the availability, it is the trust that the startup wants to address. A mechanical engineer by qualification, Fatarpekar began toying with the idea of providing a listing service after finding it hard to resolve a plumbing issue at home. Beginning in January 2016, the startup found it difficult to convince service providers to come on board. "Today, we get one service provider on board per day and do it without much convincing. We now have over 60 service providers and get around 75-80 queries for services daily," Gautam said. To ensure customers get quality service, the Poocho team visits and verifies the credentials of all the service providers, runs background police checks and also follows up with customers to ensure satisfaction. Today, the startup addresses customer needs for plumbers, electricians, painters, interior decorators, bands, photographers, make-up artists, fitness trainers, house maids and fabricators, among many other services. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/goan-startup-looks-to-change-face-of-on-demand-services/articleshow/57998027.cms -- _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ Frederick Noronha http://about.me/noronhafrederick http://goa1556.in _/ P +91-832-2409490 M 9822122436 Twtr @fn Fbk: fredericknoronha _/ Goa,1556 shared audio content https://archive.org/details/goa1556 _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/