Interview with Jo Hyun-young, CEO of Haejuseyo Company
Recent Name Change... Expansion to Professional Services
Haejuseyo 2.0 Scheduled for Release on the 11th
The errand app 'Haejuseyo' has facilitated over 1 million lifestyle service requests. This achievement was reached in less than three years since its launch in June 2021. It is the undisputed number one among domestic errand apps, offering a wide range of errands from picking up food from popular restaurants that do not offer delivery, standing in line on behalf of users, to catching bugs at home. Although it was believed that no errand was impossible, Haejuseyo has decided to expand this scope further. Now, beyond simple errands, it aims to handle professional tasks as well, with the ambition to take on any kind of job. The currently available 80 services will increase to about 1,000. We met with Cho Hyun-young, CEO of Haejuseyo Company, who is preparing 'Haejuseyo 2.0,' to hear more details.
On the 7th, CEO Cho said, "We will grow Haejuseyo into a national service targeting 10 million people, where not only errands but also professional tasks can be requested." Having worked at Japan's DeNA, the US's Unity, and Kakao, and having founded his first startup in LA in 2015 which was later sold to a KOSDAQ-listed company, Cho founded Haejuseyo Company in 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The inconvenience of lacking a service to handle miscellaneous tasks while working alone was the motivation to create a local platform matching demand and supply for errands.
Since its founding, Cho has operated the company as a one-person business without marketing, but word of mouth about its convenience began to spread, leading to an increase in users. The app now has 1.4 million registered users and 250,000 helpers (partners) providing errand services nationwide. Based on this, Haejuseyo currently offers various lifestyle services such as delivery, cleaning, moving, pet walking, childcare, and companionship through the keyword 'errand.'
The upcoming 2.0 version, scheduled to launch on the 11th, will cover not only existing lifestyle services but also professional services provided by freelancers and gig workers. This means tasks beyond errands, such as translation or coding, can be entrusted through Haejuseyo. From 2.0 onward, the word 'errand' will no longer be used to allow requests for both errands and professional work.
What sets this service apart from other expert matching platforms is that users can immediately find someone nearby to handle any task, from simple jobs to professional services. CEO Cho explained, "The strength of Haejuseyo lies in instant, local matching," adding, "We formed an expert group to focus on development and service strategy for the 2.0 service launch."
To support this, the company recently changed its name. The previous name reflected its identity as a neighborhood-based errand app, described as 'hyperlocal.' However, starting with 2.0, the brand was changed to 'Haejuseyo Company' to strengthen the brand as it expands beyond errands to all types of agency services. The reason for this expansion and name change was the observation that existing users were utilizing Haejuseyo in diverse ways.
For example, there were requests to wake up a husband on a business trip to Jeju Island, or to replace a light bulb at a mother’s house where her son lives alone. Various tasks beyond the existing categories were actively matched. CEO Cho said, "There are cleaning services, but they did not meet the demand for cleaning only the bathroom," adding, "Haejuseyo reflects users' diverse and specific needs." Removing the limitation of errands is what defines Haejuseyo 2.0.
On Haejuseyo, the person requesting the task sets the price and posts it, while helpers providing the service can work freely for as long as they want and earn money. CEO Cho stated that there is no instant local task agency service like Haejuseyo anywhere in overseas markets. He said, "In Korea, through Haejuseyo, anyone can receive any kind of help, and anyone providing services can earn money."
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