In urban India, instant delivery is no longer a luxury—it’s a lifestyle. From groceries to gadgets, consumers now expect everything at lightning speed. Enter Pronto, a Gurugram-based startup that’s bringing that same on-demand mindset to domestic services like cleaning, laundry, and cooking prep—with a promise of doorstep service in just 10 minutes.
Pronto has officially emerged from stealth mode with a $2 million seed round led by Bain Capital Ventures. The startup is now valued at $12.5 million post-money and is positioning itself as a game-changer in the hyperlocal home services space.
But Pronto’s entry into the market comes at a time when quick-service models are under scrutiny. Just two months ago, rival Urban Company drew sharp criticism over its “Insta Maids” campaign, later rebranded as “Insta Help,” for language many viewed as demeaning to workers. Gig worker unions were unimpressed by the rebrand, calling out larger issues in how labor platforms treat their workforce.
Pronto’s Worker-First Model Stands Out
Unlike many gig economy platforms, Pronto claims to take a different route. Founder and CEO Anjali Sardana says the company is built around a “win-win-win” philosophy—benefiting customers, workers, and the platform itself. Workers are not treated as interchangeable inputs but as integral partners. “We work out of the same hubs our workers use every day,” she explains. “It helps maintain empathy and accountability.”
Currently operating two hubs in Gurugram, Pronto offers three service modes—instant (within 10 minutes), scheduled, and recurring. Services are available 24/7. The company says most of its customers are located within 500 meters of a hub, allowing rapid response times. Around 70% of users have rebooked services within two weeks—a strong signal of traction.
Sardana estimates that a worker can earn up to ₹26,000 per month (~$304) with bonuses, well above the average ₹9,000 reported by the International Domestic Workers Federation for domestic help in the Delhi-NCR region. This wage increase, along with the promise of consistent scheduling and payment every two weeks (soon to be weekly or on-demand), aims to create stability for workers in India’s highly informal labor sector.
Rethinking the Gig Economy
Instead of relying on commissions, Pronto pays workers by shift—₹22,000 (~$258) for 30 full working days—while the platform retains the fees paid by customers. The startup is also building “almost-fintech” services to help workers manage their earnings, save better, and gain access to benefits like health insurance, which is reportedly launching soon.
Pronto also takes worker safety and training seriously. Every worker undergoes ID checks, police verifications, and even court record screenings. In-house training and customer feedback-based upskilling are core to the platform’s service promise.
With more than 1,000 customers already served in Gurugram, Pronto plans to scale fast—aiming to open 10 more hubs in the city within three months, grow its worker base to 700, and increase its team from 21 to 50 employees. Mumbai and Bengaluru are the next targets in its expansion roadmap.
As the race to serve India’s time-starved urban consumers heats up, Pronto is betting that speed and empathy can go hand-in-hand. And with Bain Capital Ventures behind it, the startup might just have the momentum to pull it off.
