With fresh funding, GetMyPeon will make running errands easier

Founder Bharat Ahirwar with his errand runners

From running a personal assistant service called At Your Service, Bharat Ahirwar learned that many of his clients were more in need of basic errand runners than actual assistance. In April 2012, he then decided to build errand-running and same-day-delivery service GetMyPeon bootstrapping with capital worth US$314 from his own savings.

“Running errands like paying bills, plumbing, and bank-related chores can be a hassle for working professionals since it requires setting aside some time to travel or wait in long queues,” says Ahirwar.

Today, the Mumbai-based entrepreneur revealed that GetMyPeon raised US$250,000 in seed funding. The as-yet anonymous investor is a businessman who runs a US$500 million retail company.

The service does the usual tasks: bill payments, food delivery, and chauffeur services. But it can also be used for incredibly specific tasks, like delivering a special shirt button across the city to a fashion designer who can’t possibly live without it.

The fresh funding will be used to scale operations, upgrade technology, build a mobile platform, and expand to Pune, Bangalore, and Delhi.

In addition to the traditional way of taking orders via calls and emails, GetMyPeon also accepts orders via WhatsApp and tweets. The three-year-old startup claims to have 1,000 active users in Mumbai. It charges a flat fee of INR 200 (US$3), inclusive of public transport charges.

In India, the startup competes with YourGuy Concierge, but Taskrabbit-esque clones are cropping up across Asia. In Japan for example, there’s AnyTimes. Singaore also has TaskAmigo and TaskIsland.