As youngsters many of us would try to top up pocket money by asking to be paid for doing chores around the house – a fiver minimum for washing windows and the car (obviously). And an astute engineer from Goole has now turned a similar idea into a community minded start-up.
Luke Bolton has created Brigby – a website and app that matches people across Hull, Goole and the East Riding who need a small job to be carried out, by willing neighbours nearby who want the work and the extra cash. The 27-year-old came up with the idea after looking out at his own garden which needed tidying.
The resulting app found someone close by who was keen to carry out the tasks he found tiresome – and now he’s on the hunt for more ‘helpers’ and more customers. He said: “I’ve had great feedback so far, so I really hope I can build this up. The gap it’s aimed at is the job that’s too small to interest a tradesman but too much hassle to do yourself – things like an hour of ironing, a flat-pack wardrobe, a fence panel that’s come loose, or maybe getting the grass cut while you’re on holiday.
“All you have to do is post the job and your budget, helpers near you then make an offer and you choose one. It’s free to post the job you want doing and the helper keeps 90% of what’s agreed, and the customer’s payment is held by Stripe until the job’s done.
“The fact is that, with the cost of living, a lot of people a want a few hours’ paid work a week that fits round what they already do — and a lot of others have a list of small jobs they’ve been putting off. Brigby is my attempt at joining those two up, rather than another national gig platform taking a big cut. I tried to name it something more neighbourly – but everything was taken!”
Since its launch last month the ‘jobs’ have been hugely varied – everything from a car wash to a call out for a hawthorn hedge to be chopped and someone needing a lift to their driving test – and Luke says he hasn’t restricted categories of work. And the value of jobs tends to be between £10 and £20.
It all represents quite a departure for Luke, who lives with his fiancee Eliza, who is a high voltage engineer by trade but he’s developed quite an aptitude for app development over the last year. He said: “I’ve always love computers and technology. And I thought, well, maybe this is something that I can do which has some merit.
“I’ve pretty much been going at it every evening and weekend for the past nine months. I started last year developing the app and then released it in August and it’s all designed round the Goole area and Hull at the minute.”
At the moment he has around 24 helpers and 24 people who have posted jobs – but he’s keen to build this up. Luke is also upfront about the app’s limits – Brigby does not vet or background-check users, people choose who they hire themselves, and the site is new enough that helper numbers are still small.
He said: “I need the helpers. And I need the posters. But I feel like this area’s ideal, because in Yorkshire we’re quite a community. We like helping out. And what we do is honest reviews and the big draw is the fact that the money is held in escrow. So when someone pays for a job, it doesn’t go straight to that helper. Once the job is complete, both parties put a review in. So it’s a lot safer than other ways doing it.”
He added that fiancee Eliza has been giving her full backing to the business, adding: “I’m not sure if she sees it as work. But she has been fully supportive. I think when you enjoy something, it’s not seen as work, is it?” Brigby runs in any phone browser now, while the Android app has been submitted to Google Play with iPhone to follow.
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