Hello Alfred is an American technology company that connects consumers with on-demand and local services to complete errands and tasks. Members are assigned a personal home manager, or Alfred, and make requests in the company's app. The company has publicly raised $63.5 million in funding and operates in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Jersey City, Stamford, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York City, with stated plans to expand to several other cities.
History
Hello Alfred was founded in March 2014 by Marcela Sapone and Jess Beck, both former McKinsey & Company employees. The two were attending Harvard Business School at the time, along with founding team member Christian Bjelland V. The co-founders first developed the service for their personal use as a way to find more time. They began to develop it commercially after neighbors began asking for it themselves. In April 2014, the company won the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition. In September 2014, the company proceeded to win TechCrunch Disrupt SF. In November 2014, the company raised a $2 million seed funding round with investments from Spark Capital, SV Angel, and Crunchfund. After its seed round the company launched in New York and moved its headquarters there, while continuing its Boston operations. In April 2015 Hello Alfred raised a $10.5 million Series A with investments from New Enterprise Associates, Spark Capital, Sherpa Ventures, and CrunchFund. In May 2015, the company purchased key assets from New York based on-demand company WunWun. Hello Alfred works with real estate developers and property managers to offer its "in-home commerce" platform to residents as an amenity. In 2017, Hello Alfred signed deals with The Related Companies and several other firms.
Reception
Worker Classification
The company has received attention for hiring its Alfreds as W-2 employees and offering a starting hourly wage of $16. It has made statements in the debate about worker classification in the sharing economy. Hello Alfred classifies its workers as W2 employees instead of 1099 independent contractors and therefore offers benefits and healthcare. The company was highlighted in a New York Times op-ed for its decision to treat its labor force as employees.
Awards
Hello Alfred won TechCrunch Disrupt SF in 2014. The company was recently selected as one of Fast Company's Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World.
Other
Hello Alfred is considered one of the first companies in the On Demand Economy 2.0, and is also seen as commodifying home management services.
