Startup Challenge Traction First Place
Chris Anderson, the owner of Home Details, is no stranger to the entrepreneurial world. He emerged as a triumphant entrepreneur, earning the coveted first-place title and a $1000 cash prize in the Startup Challenge held in April. This intense competition pitted Home Details against 10 other formidable teams, testing their ability to achieve traction goals for their companies during a whirlwind weekend program. The Startup Challenge was a marathon event, spanning from Friday night at 5:30 PM to Sunday evening at 8 PM, packing countless entrepreneurial lessons and experiences into this condensed time frame.
The Interview
Now, let’s delve into a conversation with Chris Anderson, as he shares his journey and insights into the business world. Through a series of questions and answers, we’ll explore how his startup is addressing the needs of seniors in a truly innovative way. Chris’ dedication to helping seniors live independently and his profound commitment to community service are the cornerstones of his venture’s success. He’s here to tell us how it all began and what the future holds for his expanding business. So, without further ado, let’s hear directly from Chris Anderson about his inspirational journey in the world of startups.
About Home Details
Introduce yourself. I am Chris Anderson, Owner of Home Details http://homedetailservices.com/
What does your startup do? Ladder-related home maintenance such as gutter cleaning, window cleaning, solar panel cleaning & Christmas lighting.
How did the idea for your startup come about? Initially, I started cleaning garbage cans as an 18 year old who was trying to pay my way through college. Over time, it became clear that seniors were experiencing a much greater issue than dirty garbage cans… physically-demanding household chores, especially tasks that have to do with a ladder.
Tell us about the problem/challenge that you’re solving. Seniors need help doing physically demanding tasks around their house so that they have the opportunity to live a dignified, independent life in the place that they love the most, their home.
How did you validate that your solution was viable? Interacting with our customers, largely 65-85 year old residents living in one of the Sacramento area 55+ active living retirement communities, allowed us to tailor our service offerings to achieve problem-solution fit.
What stage are you at and what’s next? Post-revenue, profitable franchise prototype expanding throughout the greater Sacramento area and beyond.
What needs do you have to grow and take it to the next level? This is a very operationally intensive business and our success is largely driven by our team. We are always hiring and would love to consider anyone that is passionate about solving real world problems to help independent living seniors and homeowners in general.
Accomplishments and Challenges
What are some of the biggest accomplishments or wins you’ve had so far? Personally, transferring from Sierra College to UC Santa Barbara after not getting into the colleges that I expected to be admitted to out of high school then graduating college debt-free because of the business that I started. As a team, doubling the size of the business every year since I returned home to Roseville to work on the business in 2018, on the way completing 1,500+ appointments for customers, and building a team to help as many people as we can in the Sacramento area and beyond.
What were some key entrepreneurship lessons-learned you’ve learned so far? People want to help others. Be resourceful as there are plenty of free to low cost resources available to early stage entrepreneurs.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome as startup founders? It took years to work myself out of a job by building a team. As many owner-operators or startup founders, I was the bottleneck in the business. Attracting a team who I could delegate tasks to, even if it was done to 80% of the degree that I would have done it personally, was more than acceptable in the overwhelming majority of cases. Having others to rely on allows us to have a significantly greater capacity to help others, which is ultimately our proxy for impact.
Sacramento Startup Ecosystem
What’s your take on the startup scene here in Sacramento? What has been helpful? The Sacramento area is a rising tide. Over the last several years, I have seen the amount of resources that are dedicated to assisting entrepreneurs continue to expand in the greater Sacramento area. Initially, upon returning to the Sacramento area post-college, the first thing I did was Google “entrepreneurship resources near me.” For anyone new to the area or to entrepreneurship, I would encourage you to check out what is available through the subway map that StartupSac has painstakingly assembled.
What do you think as an entrepreneur would be more helpful to have here (or more of) in the region? We have benefited greatly from the maturing local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Around the Sacramento area, organizations like the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, Sac State’s Carlsen Center, Growth Factory, the Roseville Venture Lab, the Small Business Development Center, and StartupSac have been gracious champions of local entrepreneurs by providing mentorship, support, and services. There are plenty of free or low cost resources available to the entrepreneurs that are resourceful enough to ask for help.
Final Thoughts
Do you have any words of advice, inspiration, or encouragement for aspiring entrepreneurs? What is the worst that is going to happen? In most cases in entrepreneurship, the worst thing that is going to happen is a customer telling you “no.” To me, the regret of not trying is far greater than the temporary disappointment of being told “no.” Personally, I feel much better, regardless of the result, if I put myself in a position to be told “yes” even if the outcome is being told “no.”
How can people find out more about you and your startup? You can find out more at http://homedetailservices.com/
Looking for more startup founder stories? Check out our collection here!
