‘Mobile is eating the world’ is an adage made popular by Andreessen Horowitz partner Benedict Evans, who iterated on Marc Andreessen’s popular insight that ‘Software is eating the world.’ What Evans is insinuating is that mobile has been a bridge for technology to reach everyone in the world, not just those in the technology industry. Based on one of the largest new trends in mobile today I want to further iterate on Evans’ insight: ‘Mobile is eating my chores.’
Living in San Francisco, I now have the ability to outsource the majority of my life. Everything from doing my laundry to receiving freshly baked cookies can be completed in minutes using two things: an app and my thumb. Here is a look at how many on-demand services I can fit into one workday:
6:30am: My morning begins as I grab a clean dress shirt and a freshly pressed pair of pants. Knowing I had a long week ahead, I called Washio over the weekend, who picked up and dropped off my dry cleaning overnight.
7:00am: Breakfast. I reach for a yogurt and some granola out of my fully stocked fridge, courtesy of the on demand grocery service Instacart.
7:15am: Before leaving home, I realize I have a few projects I didn’t take care of over the weekend. I reach out to my personal Alfred to cleanup my house and assemble the new dresser I purchased.
7:30am: Time to commute. Plenty of options to choose from (Chariot, Lyft, Uber etc.), but I opt to drive today. Instead of circling for a spot or paying a fortune for parking, I notify a Luxe attendee, who will meet me right outside my building to do the parking for me.
11:00am: A few of our managing directors are heading to Asia for some meetings. I need to send presentation materials ahead of them, so I order a Shyp Hero to pick up the packages at our office and find the cheapest shipping provider.
12:30pm: Lunch time! I browse all three of my favorite food delivery apps for the most mouthwatering dish and end up with a salad from Sprig delivered in 10 minutes.
1:30pm: I receive an alert from Doorman, the service I use to receive my packages if I am not home. They have received and signed for my wine shipment, so I schedule my home delivery for 10pm tonight.
3:30pm: Break time, although unfortunately I’m referring to my iPhone. The screen had cracked over the weekend so I contact a repair person via iCracked and I have a new screen within 15 minutes, and without leaving my desk.
6:15pm: Meeting some friends for dinner in the Mission district and the parking situation is known to be a nightmare. I decide to take an Uber (the giant of the on demand movement) to avoid the hassle.
9:30pm: Time to head home – I notify Luxe that I’m ready for my car and within 15 minutes it’s pulled up to the restaurant and we’re reunited once again.
10:00pm: Knock knock, it’s Doorman with my wine shipment. Already signed, sealed, and now delivered.
10:30pm: Late night snack? Doughbies sorts me out with a batch of freshly baked cookies in minutes… luckily my Instacart order included milk.
I would consider myself a power user of on-demand services, but I’m not the only one, and investors are aware of that. These above companies (taking out Uber’s over $5B in fundraising) have raised over $400m from venture and growth investors. Since 2010, on-demand companies have raised $9B, and 2015 seems poised to be the best year for funding the on-demand movement.
My question: Can these on-demand services penetrate the global market to the degree Uber has? Looking at the above funding trends, investors seem to believe that they can.
What do you think? Tweet us @TTCP_SF and let us know.