An app launched as a booking platform for mobile barbers is expanding under a new brand name as an on-demand home services marketplace, offering everything from personal chefs and baby massage to beauty treatments, dog training, DIY and cleaning, backed by a six-figure investment.
Doorly was formerly known as Appacut, which launched in Manchester in 2024 as the ‘Uber for barbers’. It has now become a platform for a range of trusted providers across nine UK cities.
The expansion comes after founder Michael Lawes secured £600,000 of funding, including backing from Steve Oliver, the co-founder and chief executive of musicMagpie, who has become Doorly’s non-executive chairman.
Doorly is operating in Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield. It is seeking to capitalise on the growing popularity of Deliveroo and Uber-type services.
It plans to expand in the near future to locations including Glasgow, Coventry, Bristol and Bath, Newcastle upon Tyne and Portsmouth.
More than 1,000 service providers have so far signed up, with a further 250 applicants awaiting clearance.
They are offering services across eight categories – hair, beauty, pet, home, family, vehicle, lifestyle and learning.
Services include beauty treatments and grooming, spray tanning, babysitting and baby massage, tutoring, IV vitamin shots, dog walking and training, flat-pack furniture assembly, a personal chef, car valeting, cleaning and ironing.
The Doorly team includes chief technical officer Jordan Ryan Madeley, who developed the ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ app during the pandemic.
Being able to book services on demand is very attractive to people who may be time-pressed and want to fulfil their personal needs at home.
We’re pleased to be offering great convenience, flexibility, value and service to customers at their door, while providing a marketplace for solo entrepreneurs and businesses to offer their services and generate income, with some already earning over £50,000 a year on the platform.
Having successfully proven the concept with Appacut, the funding we’ve recently received has enabled us to rapidly expand the scope and geography of services we can offer.
Our sole focus is on making the provision of great services at home as easy as possible via a single platform. We wanted a name that truly reflects this, which is how Doorly was born, as it brings services to your door.
– Michael Lawes, founder Doorly
Customers using Doorly browse providers in their local area, choose the service they require and select the time and location to receive it. Its initial focus is on high-density populations across major cities.
Ease of booking is one of our key differentiators, and the providers come fully equipped. They set their own fee and get the full amount from the customer, we just charge a booking fee.
The Deliveroo and Uber models have shown that people do appreciate a fast and convenient way to obtain services from trusted providers.
– Michael Lawes, founder Doorly
It was always the plan to expand Appacut to offer multiple services, and now we are accelerating our strategy. Opportunities have come to us, as people have asked us to provide other services.
Doorly is disruptive and uses brilliant technology. We have huge ambitions for it and we are constantly looking to grow the range of services we provide, as well as expanding our geographical reach.
– Steve Oliver, Non-Executive Chairman, Doorly
