AddVenture, a major Russian venture fund, has invested $4.5 million in the Russian home-cleaning service Qlean in a deal valuing the startup at $80 million. AddVenture had previously invested $1.2 million and $3.5 million back in 2015 and 2016. Qlean’s founders still retain a majority stake in the company.
The news was reported earlier this week by Russian business daily Vedomosti.
Qlean says it will use the fresh investment “to develop its most promising ideas.” The startup expects to break even and attract additional $15 million at a $100 million valuation by 2018.
Qlean performs some 30,000 orders per month with order values typlically ranging from $23 to $44. The company generates additional revenue by providing extra services like key delivery, balcony and chandelier cleaning.
Qlean’s monthly turnover amounts to some 70 million rubles (nearly $1.2 million at the current exchange rate) with significant seasonality. December is the peak season for cleaning.
Inspired by the U.S. home-cleaning service Handy, Qlean was founded in 2014 by Alexandr Korovin and Nikita Repeshko.
Experts believe that the Russian cleaning market will reach nearly 60 billion rubles (around $1 billion) by 2022. As of today, it does not exceed eleven billion rubles ($185 million), though.
AddVenture has been rather active this year, having invested in a variety of Russian startups. These include Pravoved.ru, Dostavista and Grow Food.
