Meet the startup making the on-demand service industry more human-centric.
I caught up with 2 cofounders who met in New York as kids and recently moved to a coworking hub in London to launch Hively.
First up, let’s dive right in! What’s “the why” behind Hively?
Hively was born after we witnessed the birth of a convenience economy dominated by one-size-fits-all on-demand business models. We found them desperately unadapted for services like child care, pet care, personal fitness instruction or cleaning, all of which revolve around dedicated care. So we saw the need to build a technology that acknowledges that standout care is as unique as the person delivering it.
Hively’s mission is to place people back at the heart of the online service industry, and deliver care that’s spot on, not on-the-spot.
Who’s behind Hively? What did you do before getting this started?
Behind Hively are two founders with complementary experience and international backgrounds — we actually met as neighbours in New York, when we were 11 and 10 years old.
On one end there’s Antoine, who left a career in tech banking and served as advisor to a social business venture sold in 2015. On the flip side is Sydney, an ex-strategic planner in creatively driven advertising agencies, who started his career stateside in Government Relations.
You chose London to launch your startup from, why?
Well, our ideation process was actually a response to Londoners’ growing reliance on the on-demand economy and to the popularity of instant gratification.
London is a digitally-friendly capital on the verge of becoming a digitally-powered one. And while that transition is a positive one, the city has a long way to go to harness digital innovation in a socially inclusive way, and for the benefit of all Londoners.
We considered other European cities — most notably Paris, which is actually home. But no where in Europe is the problem Hively aims to solve more true than here in London.
You’ve joined our partner community at Bathtub 2 Boardroom City Tub, how are you finding it?
The City Tub is an enthusiastic, dynamic and welcoming community. In the short time we’ve been here, we’ve been surprised by the outreach from fellow Tubers. We’ve already gotten anything from practical growth hacking tips to actionable feedback on our project.
We’re still a bit overwhelmed by how well we’ve been received here. So far, we have no doubt we made the right choice joining this space!
Is there anything you’re looking for that our community may be able to help with?
In the lead up to Hively’s Summer launch, we’re looking to expand with the addition of a CTO to drive our technical strategy. But until we find the perfect fit, we sometimes have questions that may be routine for anyone with a tech backgrounds, but end up being revelatory to us.
So in this — as with anything, really — we’re always keen for input, advice, criticism… or just a good chat.
We 💙 sharing the stories of teams in coworking spaces. So if you’re a member of an included coworking collective and would love to share your startup story, please activate your personal included account and setup your business profile so we can get you booked in for a chat.
