Chronoshare is a marketplace that connects clients and local service professionals and offers them up to four free quotes, along with the possibility of expanding the client portfolio, respectively. Local services on demand are those that range from home renovations, personal training, cleaning, moving, to events and personal care.
Founded in 2012, Chronoshare was started by a team of three computer engineers. Juan Pablo Cloquell, the company’s current CEO; Carlos Alcarria, CMO, and Daniel Semper, CTO. The creation of the firm came after its passage through the BBooster accelerator, where the founders defined the first MVP and validated the product. Initially, the idea of the startup was to launch an international time bank.
Its name comes from the word Cronus, the most famous titan in Greek mythology, along with the word “share”. “While the product was being validated, the idea pivoted but the name was retained because of the similarities between the two ideas, the time bank, and the service marketplace,” says the Chronoshare team.
Currently, Chronoshare has the award for best company created by young entrepreneurs in the 2014 edition and the third finalist company of the XV SeedRocket.
As a Marketplace for local services, Chronoshare is committed to strong connection and support for professionals. The company invests in improving the product to meet all demands, since they intermediate in more than 100 different services and also has a fast return system for those leads that the professional has bought and cannot perform the service.
In this way, Chornoshare minimizes the investment they have to make to attract an effective client, increasing the engagement. “We are working on an automatic budgeting model, so that users can know the price of the service before the professional physically estimates it. It is the same concept that Uber uses to show the price of each trip”, explain the founders.
BUSINESS MODEL
The startup’s business model is based on a system of lead generation for local service professionals. When a client makes a request for a quote, it is sent to the registered professionals in the area. To contact the client, the professionals pay a commission to Cronoshare for the contact details of each interested client. This business model is similar to mybuilder.com in the UK or Thumbtack.com in the USA.
Currently, Chronoshare is present in 3 countries: Spain, Italy, and Brazil; and within its roadmap it will focus on the Latin American market for the opening of new countries.
INVESTMENTS
The company’s investments have been focused mainly on marketing and on expanding the team through bootstrapping. At the same time, Chronoshare has raised funds from two public institutions: a €50,000 equity loan and a €60,000 loan from the 60,000 from the Valencian Institute of Finance.
The startup has exceeded one million quotes managed through the Marketplace and this year the company’s objectives will focus on launching the platform in the South American market, especially in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.