Katie Benner reported in Monday’s New York Times that, “Managed by Q began two years ago during a boom in on-demand start-ups, offering a service to clean offices in New York City whenever clients needed it.
“But unlike similar start-ups, which typically use contractors to fulfill an on-demand service, Managed by Q decided to do the opposite. The company hired its cleaners as full- and part-time employees, paying them more than the minimum wage and providing health care and other benefits.
“Rather than collapse under the weight of those expenses, Managed by Q expanded into three more cities — Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles — and today it has about 400 employees.”
Ms. Benner stated that, “Now Managed by Q has raised $25 million from new investors: GV, formerly Google Ventures, and Kapor Capital. M.G. Siegler, a venture capitalist at GV, will join the board.
“Managed by Q and its investors declined to disclose the company’s valuation, but they said it had increased from a $15 million fund-raising in June. Managed by Q also previously raised about $2.4 million in convertible debt, which has since converted to equity.
“Even as it has become harder for some start-ups to raise money, Managed by Q’s most recent round did not include the sorts of terms that can benefit an investor over the start-up, such as guaranteed payouts for investors, the company and its investors said. Investor-friendly terms have become more common as financing has become more difficult to obtain.”
The Times article added that, “Managed by Q faces competition from Eden, a start-up that began by providing on-demand tech support to consumers and later shifted focus to businesses that needed services like tech support and cleaning. But Managed by Q is the largest company in its category, and it plans to use the new money to deepen its presence in cities in which it operates, as well as build new technology to help it better run and manage office spaces.”
