Local services startup Oneflare raises $3 million and is looking to IPO

Local services marketplace Oneflare has today announced that it has raised $3 million in funding and plans to IPO over the coming financial year.

The oversubscribed round was led by Microequities Asset Management with participation from all existing investors. It brings the total raised by the startup since its launch in 2012 to $4.5 million, with Oneflare having raised $1 million in October last year.

Dong said the startup, which helps connect consumers to local service providers spanning over 200 business categories, expects the new financial year to be “transformative.” Revenue in FY2015 was up 300 percent on the year before, and given it’s expected to triple again, he said Oneflare is actively planning for an IPO. With the immediate focus on growth, the fresh funding will go towards adding to the team in the areas of tech, sales, and customer support.

“We have assembled an exceptional team and believe we have the best online platform in the local services market.  Thousands of businesses rely on us as a vital source of job leads and our customers look to us as the most trusted platform to find, compare, and ultimately hire local services,” Dong said.

The startup expanded its offering through the acquisition of customer reviews site WOMO earlier this year. With trust and reliability key in the service industry, Oneflare users are able to leave and browse business reviews to help them make the right hiring decisions.

Oneflare now has over 70,000 businesses registered on its platform, and attracts 1.3 million unique visitors a month – more than double the number of monthly views they reported last October. With a number of businesses having made up to $100,000 on jobs found through the platform, it’s clear that the service industry is finding Oneflare valuable.

Carlos Gil, chief investment officer of Microequities Asset Management, said the firm invested in Oneflare because it’s contesting a huge market vertical.

“The local services vertical will ultimately be won by a company with an obsessive focus on customer experience underpinned by great technology. Oneflare possesses these two crucial elements.”