Help At Hand

Urban India's demand for ultra-fast home services is formalising domestic help through tech platforms like Snabbit, Pronto and Urban Company

- By NAINI THAKER

On the eve of Diwali in 2023, Aayush Agarwal sat on seat 21B on a Kolkata-bound IndiGo flight, eyes closed, thoughts swirling. He had just resigned as chief of staff at Zepto and as he mentally sifted through his options—joining another startup, taking a break, exploring new roles—nothing felt right. And then, in a split second, something did. He remembered the countless times he had called his mother to fly down and help him find someone to clean his home in Mumbai (his work location). The frustration of not being able to find reliable help—even in a city like Mumbai—came rushing back. The irony was hard to ignore: In a world where you could book a flight in seconds, finding a trustworthy cleaner felt impossible.

That was the moment Snabbit was born—not out of ambition, but out of a personal pain point and a realisation that daily home services in India were stuck in the past.

Technology has transformed sectors like ride-hailing, delivery, ecommerce and logistics—bringing structure, transparency and scale to previously fragmented markets. Now, players like Snabbit, Pronto and Urban Company's Insta Help are doing the same for domestic help. Currently, the high-frequency home services industry in India is around $40 billion and growing fast. Industry experts believe it is likely to touch $100 billion in close to five years.

“I like to call it democratising a category,” says Agarwal, founder of Snabbit. “You take something informal—no price transparency, no feedback loop on quality—and completely reimagine it. Now, it’s just a click: Fixed rates and trained and verified professionals.” Beyond convenience, it’s also about dignity. The model brings respectability to the profession, shifting how society views this workforce—not as invisible help, but as skilled service providers.