The home services ecosystem is "in the stone ages."
That's according to Lindsey Chrismon, which is why she and her husband, Gabe, a Nashville-based ex-military couple, have founded an artificial intelligence driven home maintenance and repair company called MyHome.
MyHome consolidates home maintenance bookings, scheduling, communications and payments into a single platform with a matching algorithm that connects homeowners with vetted, licensed and insured professionals, according to Chrismon. Homeowners can post jobs manually, upload problem photos or book services through neighbor referrals.
“Everyone's used to technology on their phones all the time,” Chrismon said. “This is finally a solution that is just going to simplify home maintenance for everyone, and I definitely see MyHome on the same playing field as DoorDash, as Uber, as basically one of those apps that you're going to go to for all things.”
The use of AI has boomed in the business world over the past year and a half. Many companies are working out how to incorporate the technology into their everyday workflow, while startups like MyHome are using it as the very basis for their company.
Homeowners will be able to upload important documents, warranties, house deeds, insurance information and even things like where the water shut-off valve is located into a digitized log.
Using AI and the log, MyHome will be able to predict over time when routine maintenance is needed for certain things like the air conditioning. Homeowners can also take photos of problems in their home, like a leaky pipe, and upload it to the app. AI will then analyze the photo, identify the problem and write a booking.
“This is how I envision homeowners no longer having to do anything for their property, it's taken care of for them,” Chrismon said.
Right now, MyHome is going through beta testing, making sure the bugs are fixed and everything is working properly before it officially launches in August to the Nashville market. There are currently 800 local homeowners on the waitlist and over 50 local vendors will be on the platform when it launches, according to Chrismon.
The company has raised $750,000 from friends and family since they began development in September of 2023. Chrismon said they hope to close a $1.25 million round of funding by the time they launch in August.
The idea behind MyHome
Gabe Chrismon founded another local company focused on property restoration four years ago. The idea for MyHome started from his conversations with clients and business owners. During those conversations, he found that there was a fragmented home service ecosystem.
The original idea was a vehicle that went from house to house and did everything with one crew. But the couple quickly realized the business model was extremely expensive and difficult to scale.
They went back to the drawing board and asked how they could solve the problem with a tech-enabled solution. They hired Chief Technology Officer Joel Kronk, a former software engineer for the Tennessee Titans. He was the one who presented the idea to incorporate AI into the business.
The company currently has seven employees operating in office space in Antioch.
The team is what drives Lindsey Chrismon to keep going.
“I love working with those individuals. I love building a culture. I love building a product that's going to be useful to homeowners and helpful to vendors,” she said.
Looking to the future
Right now, Lindsey Chrismon said they are pushing hard on social media to get the word out about how their app works.
“We have to educate the customer on it, to educate the homeowner on what we actually provide because there's really nothing out there that's built for the homeowner that is particularly like this,” she said. “There are other solutions that are tech-enabled that people can use, but this one I think is very different in a sense where we have a different matching algorithm. It's all on one platform.”
Over the next two years, the company wants to focus solely on Nashville, making sure pricing is accurate, vendors are happy and it is providing the value promised to homeowners. Then the Chrismons will consider opening the company to other cities like Austin, Texas. The ultimate goal is for the company to be used nationwide.
To make money, they will take a cut of every completed job. Vendors on the other hand, will not have to pay anything to be on the platform.
“Homeowners, especially nowadays, are accustomed to paying a merchant fee or service fee for convenience. Think Instacart or DoorDash, there’s always that slight upcharge for the convenience of everything,” Lindsey Chrismon said. “For the homeowners, it'll be a very small percentage fee that we'll take out of out of that price. Say you have a $100 Lawn cut, maybe you take three bucks, so it's minimal.”
