New Delhi — At-home services platform Urban Company has been named Startup of the Year at the ET Startup Awards 2025, capping off a landmark year in which its initial public offering was oversubscribed more than 100 times. For co-founder and CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal, however, the overwhelming investor response is not a moment for celebration but a reminder of the responsibility that lies ahead.
Speaking after the award ceremony, Bhal emphasized that the IPO’s success is not a reflection of where the company stands today but a promise of what it must deliver in the years to come. He noted that Urban Company’s focus remains on building a sustainable business with the right long-term strategy, execution discipline, and a clear path toward becoming a much larger and profitable enterprise within the next five to six years.
Founded in 2014, the Gurugram-based startup has grown into India’s leading home services marketplace, offering everything from beauty and wellness to plumbing, electrical work, and appliance repair. Over the past decade, the company has fended off waves of competition and consolidated its leadership position. Now, it is entering a new investment-heavy phase with InstaHelp, its 15-minute house-help service, which Bhal described as “strategic” to Urban Company’s growth plans over the next four to five years.
Despite the IPO frenzy, Bhal stressed that the company could have raised capital privately if needed, pointing out that Urban Company has maintained around 200 million dollars in cash reserves for the past three years. The decision to go public, he explained, was not about necessity but about building credibility, transparency, and long-term alignment with stakeholders.
Industry observers estimate that Urban Company commands between 60 and 85 percent of the daily orders in the instant help segment, far ahead of rivals Snabbit and Pronto. In August alone, InstaHelp processed more than 210,000 orders daily, compared to 80,000–90,000 for Snabbit and 25,000–30,000 for Pronto. While the category is still nascent, Bhal believes it can become a compounding business, one that grows steadily through trust, service quality, and customer loyalty rather than sudden spikes.
Urban Company’s broader vision is to become the “operating system” for households, providing reliable, high-quality services that integrate seamlessly into daily life. With profitability already achieved in FY25 and a reported net profit of 240 crore rupees, the company is now balancing aggressive investment in new categories with the discipline required to sustain long-term growth.
The recognition at the ET Startup Awards 2025 is not only a validation of Urban Company’s journey but also a signal of the evolving maturity of India’s startup ecosystem. For Bhal and his team, the award and the IPO are milestones, but the real challenge lies in living up to the expectations of millions of customers and investors who see Urban Company as a symbol of India’s new-age entrepreneurship.
