Helprr: Don't let your tasks pile up

You've just moved out on your own in a new city. You want to settle somewhere nice, but you find out over time that the house has some defects. The drain is clogged and you'd like someone to come whitewash your walls. But how do I tackle this now?

This is a situation sketch from when we moved out on our own. Although being independent in a new city was very exciting, we quickly faced the above challenges. They were usually small things, but they could be quite annoying. Tasks for which we didn't have the right tools, projects for which we lacked the necessary skills, or simply not enough time to arrange everything. Back then, we often had our parents come by to fix things. But what we always found strange was that we had never considered asking the neighbors. They probably had that drill and lived within walking distance of our house. Why did I actually have my parents come?

How it all began

1.5 years ago, we set up a website to test this idea. A platform where people could ask for help so that helpful neighbors could respond to it and eventually fix it. And this only in Leiden and The Hague. The responses were very positive and in that test phase, we were able to connect and help more than 100 people with each other. So beautiful to see that people started finding each other and helping each other. So there turned out to be a demand for a place where supply and demand for help come together.

Of course, we also received feedback during this time. People pointed out areas where the platform wasn't so clear yet or where features were missing. This was a valuable lesson for us and we took the time to improve our platform based on this feedback.

What's new?

The result of these efforts is Helprr, an app (instead of a website) that's now available. The app is still deployed with the same goal. Namely, connecting people with a help request to helpful neighbors. However, the app is a big improvement over the website.

• The new app for iOS and Android. Talking to each other via a website is not ideal and we've done something about that. No more hassle with emails or hanging behind the computer for hours. We've made a phone app especially for you. Very handy and easy to use.
• The name has changed to Helprr. We often heard that our old name was a bit too Dutch and not always easy to pronounce in other languages.
• To be able to serve everyone, the app is also bilingual. Based on the language of your phone, the app is in English or Dutch.
• Tasks were in the spotlight, but the one providing help was not. That's a thing of the past with the app. You can now indicate that you're a Helprr! Besides posting tasks, you can now also show everyone that you're that handy neighbor who can help.

We're super happy with these innovations and are also excited about the future. Now it's time to let users use the app so we can optimize the app, but also the awareness of Helprr. Download the app now for iOS and Android phones. Also curious about what makes Helprr different from other task platforms? Then also read this blog!