Trind invests in Spanish startup Webel to expand services marketplace

Webel, the app that brings any service to your doorstep, has raised €2.1 million led by Trind Ventures, primarily for expansion purposes. The round has also received backing from ZAKA Ventures, Decelera Ventures, Tiburon Ventures, and other well-known business angels, such as Hugo Arévalo, the founder of ThePowerMBA and an investor in Spain’s current/future unicorns like Glovo or Playtomic.

Everything is being brought to our homes: food, consumer goods… even flowers. However, services (e.g., beauty) have not followed this path… yet. This is what Webel’s team found, and since then, they have been working on building a marketplace that would allow users to easily search, book, and enjoy almost any service in the comfort of their homes. And it’s definitely working: they have been growing 10x yearly for two consecutive years already, currently delivering over 100,000 services per year.

Webel was founded by Nacho, Carlos, Guillermo, and Javier while they were at University. They suddenly realized that its impact was greater than expected: the app went viral when they launched it back in October 2019, gaining popularity among both clients and professionals.

However, the real challenge was not just meeting users’ needs but also building a model that could be profitable and scalable. Many other startups that had tried before struggled with this, primarily due to low client retention caused by platform leakage (users bypassing the platform for future services once they had already connected).

Nacho Tejero, CEO and Co-founder, Webel: ''If you want people to place repeat orders through your platform (and pay a commission), the value created for both parties by doing so – such as ease, speed, and comfort – must exceed the economic value (take rate) you are extracting from the transaction. If not, people will logically opt for alternatives off-platform.''

With this approach, Webel not only built an app where clients can book their services in just five clicks but also focused on creating value for their supply. To achieve this, Webel developed SaaS tools (e.g., Calendar, notifications, automated invoices) to help professionals easily manage their services booked through the app. Additionally, Webel implemented an algorithm that compares a professional’s repeat business with that of their peers, rewarding the most loyal suppliers with higher visibility and lower commissions. This strategy has proven incredibly successful: on average, each customer currently books approximately seven services per year, accounting for more than 75% of GMV coming from repeat customers.

Peeter Kompus, Principal, Trind VC: ''Since our investment in the previous round, we have consistently been impressed by the team’s sheer grit and the company’s outstanding performance. They have shown that home services marketplace can thrive by addressing the key issues for both sides of the marketplace. We are excited to continue supporting the team on their ambitious goals.''

Webel started in Madrid but have already expanded into Barcelona and Zaragoza, both of which are experiencing growth three times faster than Madrid did, all while maintaining just one-third of the marketing expenditure. With the successful expansion playbook, the current goal is to “bring Webel into the hands of millions of people, one by one”. Through this funding round, Webel aims to deliver over 1 million services per year and expand into new markets like Italy and the UK.

www.appwebel.com
www.trind.vc