Last week, we returned to the 110 square foot office in Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi. Standing there with Abhiraj, observing the bench that has survived eleven years, he reflected: "We must remember this is where it all started. In many ways, I believe today is also Day Zero."

This Day Zero mentality has enabled Urban Company to continually reinvent itself. From beauty services in select cities to serving 7 million households across 50+ cities. From services alone to launching Native appliances and InstaHelp. From India to international markets. Each transformation approached with the same first principles, customer-centric thinking that characterized those early days in that modest office.

November 2014: We first met Abhiraj, Varun, and Raghav at Hotel Grand in Vasant Kunj, a day after they had launched their web MVP. Then called UrbanClap, they operated out of a small office that forced two interns to step outside during our discussions. By then, we'd met 55-60 local services startups but hadn't built conviction on any. However, those initial weeks with the UC team changed our perspective.

The founders imagined the simplest future for Urban Company when they started out, envisioning that Amazon had built commerce for products online, and someone would build commerce for services online. They couldn't imagine a future 20 years out where people still hired plumbers through local directories or referrals. While audacious at the time, this clarity of vision resonated with us. The rest is history.

As Urban Company rings the bell today, we want to share the fundamental truths that defined this journey - principles that remained constant whether they had 40 orders a day or 7 million households trusting them annually.

Service Professionals at the Heart

When we asked Abhiraj last week what he was most proud of as the company goes public, his response remained consistent. It's the 50,000+ service professionals living "dignified, respectful, middle-class lives."

Many overlook Urban Company's commitment to its service professionals. While the North Star has always been customer NPS; Abhiraj, Varun, and Raghav understood early that customer delight runs through service professional empowerment.

We've seen the founders’ faces light up when talking about a service professional buying their first scooter, car, or house. During COVID, when operations came to a halt, they doubled down on supporting their partners with PPE kits, interest-free loans, and one of the largest vaccination drives in the country.

As Abhiraj puts it, "We and our service professionals together, we serve consumers. Consumers pay. That's when the service professional's house runs. That's when my house runs."

Yet it extends beyond financial empowerment. They've transformed societal perceptions of these professions. As Abhiraj stated in our 2021 podcast: "We want to create jobs, lots and lots of jobs, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and good middle-class, high-paying jobs for service professionals, which allows them to have a middle-class life with dignity."

The uniform, training, and professional tools - everything is designed to elevate both the service and the service professional. This forms the core of their business model.

The Full-Stack Conviction

About three years into operations, Urban Company made a decision that appeared counterintuitive. In 2017, they decided to discontinue their lead-generation business, contributing 50% of revenues, to focus on a full-stack model. We recall the board meeting where the team presented this strategy. Most founders would have attempted to hedge, perhaps spinning it off or rebranding. However, the founders were unequivocal: "There is only one path forward. We discontinue it and move on."

Conventional wisdom advocated remaining asset-light, operating as a pure technology platform. However, the UC team understood that to excel in home services, one cannot merely connect demand and supply- one must own the entire experience. When someone enters your home, trust is paramount. This conviction established the foundation for decades to come.

Today, UC's service professionals undergo extensive training through multiple SOPs, comprehensive programs, and the company controls every aspect of service delivery.

This is not contrarianism for its own sake. From the start, they have chosen quality over quantity, depth over breadth. Every decision traces back to a fundamental question: What creates the optimal experience for customers and partners? It’s in UC’s DNA to always take the hard path.

When they had mastered services, they launched Native products. Now, with InstaHelp, they're transforming from a medium-frequency to a high-frequency platform. The vision? Transform UC from a home services company to a true home platform.

Culture of Transparency

What has always distinguished UC is their approach to governance and transparency as a fundamental operating principle. Long before talks of going public, they had already established an independent board and were operating with the rigor of a public company and a level of operational discipline that we still share as the gold standard with early-stage founders.

The team also believed that complete transparency breeds accountability and excellence. From the beginning, every monthly MIS sent to investors was marked to the entire company. When asked about the risk of information leaking, the team’s response was quintessentially UC: "The MIS is not our competitive advantage. You can't look at it and make an Urban Company."

UC has built a culture where data trumps hierarchy, where a product manager just a couple of years out of college could challenge the CEO's idea with data and win the argument - building an institution where the best ideas win, regardless of source.

Looking Ahead

Today, Urban Company is building the playbook that the world will follow. Unlike many other categories where the template came from the US or China, UC is the original; solving this problem uniquely.

Abhiraj, Varun, Raghav - if you're reading this, thank you for allowing us to participate in this extraordinary journey. Since we met you eleven years ago, UC has remained true to its vision while staying the same driven, humble, and customer-obsessed team. You've built an institution that's transforming millions of lives - both customers and service professionals.

Thank you for giving us the ring-side view to building one of the world’s most loved consumer technology platforms. We’re privileged to continue to be your partners as you build an enduring generational company that takes the tiny step today of becoming a listed company!

As you always say, this is still Day Zero. The best is yet to come!