See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Casy (apparently pronounced ‘Carjee’), the startup offering crowdsourced housekeeping services under the same name, was officially launched today and also announced that it has raised an undisclosed sum of investment from Japanese startup incubator Beenos.

Both husband and wife in more than 60% of all households in the country. [1] This situation has led to an expansion of the Japanese housekeeping market, which surpassed $960 million in FY2012 and shows nearly a 20% annual growth. [2]

Despite the fact that more people think they have to keep a good balance between work and family, only high-income households are using housekeeping services since they can still be as expensive as $40 to $50 per hour.

CaSy’s CEO Hiroki Ikeda saw a potential out there because he also has a child but both he and his wife hold jobs. He told us what prompted him to launch the service:

I’ve used several housekeeping services, they typically asked me to sign many forms before closing the deal, and I was weary. I felt wary also because I couldn’t understand how they could try to match the personality of a housekeeper they arranged to sent me with my needs.

Compared to existing services in this field, we were told that CaSy has three key differentiators:

1. Available for as low as 2,500 yen ($25) per hour – This was made possible by eliminating wasteful processes and improving operations.
2. Online booking available for 24 hours a day – You can complete your reservation within one to two minutes using your desktop or smartphone. (See Figure at right, click to enlarge)
3. Stringently selected housekeepers – The company conducts an interview with every single housekeeper before they hire him/her. You can ask them to show you the profile of a housekeeper before you order them to send you him/her. By doing this over again, the more times you use the service, the more accurately they can send you a housekeeper who is likely to fit your needs.

At the time of launch, available services include cleaning living room, bathroom, kitchen, etc. Starting with the central area of Tokyo, they plan to expand service area to more cities gradually and hire more housewives, etc. as housekeepers.

In commemorating the launch, the company is running a promotion campaign where you can get discounts when you or your friend sign up for the service. Ikeda finally explained what they expect to bring users through the service:

We want to assist busy families and working couples in their child care. We are aiming to give people more time with their family members.