How week of chaos inspired Indian tech entrepreneur to set up OkSir app for in-home services

Arun Kapoor was sending his son to school when his car broke down. His domestic helper would usually have helped but she did not turn up for work that day. At the same time his wife was in hospital, pregnant with their second child. It was a hectic week for the Indian technology entrepreneur.

But the chaos had a silver lining – it inspired Kapoor to set up OkSir, his “Uber-style” smartphone app that delivers an array of household services on demand.

“Whenever I needed something, I just couldn’t get it,” Kapoor, 44, recalls of the tough week back in India. “I had always been in the e-commerce business, so I said to myself: ‘Why not set up an on-demand service app?’”

The app, which connects users with vendors providing in-home services such as babysitting, plumbing and laundry, started running in Hong Kong in August. Since then about 70,000 vendors and customers have signed up.

Next month the app will become more than just a lifestyle app when it rolls out tools to help the elderly, Kapoor says. The CEO and founder says the firm has been in talks with local NGOs aiming to help elderly residents link up with local vendors and service providers.