Why Kindroom matters in a dog-eat-dog world

In March, I wrote an article that attempted to explain why rents were so high, and why they were likely to continue to rise. And it has come to pass: rents are at their highest levels on record, and there’s no respite in sight. 

It was this backdrop that inspired Bernard Darko to set up Kindroom, an ingenious website that offers hugely reduced rental rooms in exchange for help with a range of different tasks.

Some years ago, Bernard was a struggling entrepreneur, who had carved out a specialism in social media advertising (when that profession was in its infancy). His parents, who are Ghanaian and American-Ghanaian, thoroughly disapproved of his choice of profession: “like all immigrant children I was meant to be a doctor or an engineer—certainly not an entrepreneur!” Bernard laments.

Nonetheless, Bernard felt he had struck gold with one of his previous businesses, that aimed to disrupt (for the better) the childcare market, only for COVID-19 to ruin the party. Bernard was struggling and he didn’t want to turn to his parents for support. So, in exchange for reduced rent, he offered his online digital marketing expertise. This turned out to be serendipity—he had finally struck upon his perfect start-up idea.

“I had seen people advertising cheap accommodation in return for helping around the house. But it was random and unorganised—there were adverts on, for example, Facebook and Gumtree, but there was no structure”.

On the Kindroom website, hosts can request a range of different skills, from manual to childcare, from legal to companionship. And under each of these categories are a number of sub-categories. So, it’s simple to select the help you need.

At the time of writing, there is an “Old Cottage on a Canal” with scenic views in the “heart of Lancashire”. The hosts need help with cleaning, housekeeping and cooking duties. For this, they are offering a room to stay for just £200 a month for two people.

Another host, based in Norwich, is looking for help with companionship, cleaning and cooking. For that, no rent would be payable. However, the host has mild dementia, so this would most likely mean the tenants being able to work from home.

It would seem that doing your research is key: make sure you know the expectations. This applies to both hosts and tenants.

In terms of the business, it’s early days. Bernard is convinced the right thing to do is to follow the data: “As more people sign up we will get an idea of what people want. The rental market is one area, but so are holiday lets. Some people would happily look after a pet in exchange for a free holiday home. That’s the beauty of the proposition: it’s a win-win”.

When speaking to Bernard, I was extremely impressed with his vision and determination to help solve one of the country’s most pressing problems: property inequality. I wish Kindroom every success.