California Bounce in An IT Enabled 21st Century House and AIRBNB Cleaning Start Up in Japan: HouseCare Founder Justin Clune is on a Roll!

2015.10.10 Tokyo, Japan                                            text by Petra Canan Trudel

When a good idea hits you, you just have to go with it. You also have to be willing to change it. For Justin Clune, founder of HouseCare, that meant pursuing an idea that was probably far from what he imagined doing while studying science and engineering. But every successful business starts with one good idea, which is why Clune is our featured entrepreneur for the month.

 A native of California, Clune chose to move to Japan in 2011 to continue his post-collegiate studies and see a new part of the world.

 “Before moving, I spent my whole life in California and felt like I was living in a bubble. I decided to do a master’s degree in engineering in Japan to gain a more global perspective,” he said. “Even though I couldn’t speak a word of Japanese, I immediately fell in love with the food, culture and people.”

After working in a laboratory as a graduate student researcher with the University of Tokyo, his career led to more web work, leading up to the creation of HouseCare in 2014 when he noticed a lack of technology designed to help women manage their homes. He and he teammates presented the idea at Startup Weekend, taking home the top prize for the original version of the service, which matched up clients with babysitters. But once it was time to make the business happen, Clune faced a new challenge.

“Ultimately that idea failed because companies weren’t buying it and there isn’t a babysitting culture here, so we pivoted into house cleaning. Since the pivot, our business took off,” Clune said. “Despite our evolution, we are always working for the vision to use technology to increase work-life balance in all phases of life.”

Today, the site allows customers to book a house cleaning appointment quickly in either Japanese or English. At a cost of 2,500 yen an hour, experienced cleaners are available to service homes of all sizes throughout the 23 wards of Tokyo, bringing many of their own supplies.

But one important aspect of the business that sets it apart is its specialization in the maintenance and management of Airbnb properties.

“One key market segment for us now is cleaning for Airbnb hosts, and we do full house management so you can even make money with your house while you’re on vacation,” Clune explained.

Since its founding in 2008, Airbnb has grown to offer listings in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries around the world. From traditional Japanese housing to more modern, western-style apartments, there are hundreds of listings to choose from if you’re looking to vacation in Japan like a local. With the high cost of travel to and within Japan, many tourists are looking for less traditional places to stay to cut costs associated with hotel and resort amenities they may not take advantage of. For Airbnb hosts, it’s an opportunity to earn some extra money on their property even when they’re out of town.

Clune faced multiple challenges when starting his business he suggests would-be entrepreneurs look out for. First of all, he recommends developing a business based on something people want perhaps more than they need. Second, he warns against growing your company too fast before you have a solid team in place to serve as the foundation of your business, upholding your principles but also able to grow as your needs change. Lastly, keeping an eye on quality at all times will help you deliver a better product to more and more satisfied customers.

 But what was it like starting a business in Japan as an American?

“I made my life exponentially harder by starting a business in Japan. I simply love Japan and chose to live here, but it’s probably better to startup in Silicon Valley,” Clune said. “The obstacles are countless, but the most obvious ones are related to legal documents and accounting, which I suggest foreigners outsource from day one.”

So far, all his hard work is clearly paying off. HouseCare continues to grow its clientele as well as its team to meet the demands of their customers, which has helped Clune lay out his goals for the future of the company.

“By this time next year, I hope HouseCare builds a community of over 1,000 cleaners in Japan and continues being the leader of both last-minute bookings and quality control,” Clune said. “Five years down the line, I hope HouseCare will use technology to increase work-life balance on a larger scale to help 100,000 women globally continue their careers or start new ones. We hope to help millions of people, but I think that will take 10 years.”

As for the advice he would give to those looking to start a business in Japan, Clune believes it all starts with identifying a service or product that has real demand and then making a commitment to bring your idea to fruition.

“It never feels like the right time to quit your day job, so you have to circle the date in your calendar and force yourself to commit to it,” he said. “I think it’s okay to prove your business model with paying customers before quitting, but if you have the financial means you should quit right away.”

For Clune, seeing the impact he can have in the community drives him to continue working toward his goals as an entrepreneur.

“In a large company, the vision statement is usually vague or not in sync with the profit-maximising business activities that employees actually do,” he said. “At the end of the day, money doesn’t motivate people, it just keeps them in their chair. Doing what you are passionate about is a much stronger motivational force for me, and it’s what drives the whole HouseCare team.”