Wand USA Inc., a St. Louis-based startup that provides software for the residential cleaning industry, plans to pursue growth under new ownership.
Connecticut-based Greenaway Ventures has acquired a majority stake in Wand from its founder, Benjamin Anderson. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Anderson said he will continue to hold a minority stake in Wand as part of the transaction.
Founded in 2018, Wand launched with an “Uber for cleaning” model, creating an online marketplace designed to connect cleaning professionals to consumers through its app. It has since pivoted to create a new version of its technology to help established cleaning companies manage their back-office functions, providing software they use to interact with their employees and customers. Anderson said Wand continues to offer its online marketplace but has put an emphasis on expanding its business-to-business product, with the ambition to become the “premier back-office tool that’s niche-focused on the cleaning industry.”
In Anderson’s sale of his majority stake in Wand, he used startup acquisition brokerage MicroAcquire to source a buyer for his company. That’s how he connected with Greenaway Ventures, a firm led by CEO Kiwan Greenaway and targeting the purchase of “growth potential” software startups. As part of the deal, Wand’s three-person software development team will remain with the business, Anderson said.
As Wand pursues growth, Greenaway said in an interview he believes the St. Louis-based business has the potential to be used globally to help individuals find cleaning companies and for cleaning firms to run their own internal operations. Under his firm’s ownership, he said, a key priority will be to expand the geographic footprint of Wand’s customer base, with a focus on finding users in new markets across the U.S. Wand’s growth blueprint also involves enhancing its technology with the addition of new features and exploring expansion into other service industries in addition to cleaning, Greenaway said.
For Anderson, Greenaway Ventures’ goal to expand the capabilities of Wand USA was a critical component in moving forward with the sale.
“Because he saw that vision, that’s what really attracted me to building a relationship with this firm that ended up taking it over,” Anderson said of Greenaway.
While Anderson will remain a minority owner in Wand, he said he will focus on other entrepreneurial projects. He is director of business for Legacy Interviews, a new venture launched with Vance Crowe that's focused on recording interviews with individuals to reflect on their lives. Anderson also said he is working toward launching a biotechnology startup within the next 12-18 months.
