A Green Kind of Clean

Matthew Guttin ’00, a Manhattan attorney obsessed with keeping his office tidy, and Will Braunstein ’02, an Internet marketer known for his messy apartment, might seem unlikely business partners in their eco-friendly housecleaning service.

But seven months after launching the business, UrbanMaidGreen has seven full-time employees, referrals are rolling in, and the duo are negotiating with a 300-unit luxury condominium tower to serve as their preferred cleaning service.

“We never thought we’d grow so quickly,” says Guttin. “But there’s a market out there for green cleaning, and we are going to try to capitalize on it.”

CLEANING CREW: Matthew Guttin ’00 and Will Braunstein ’02 launched the eco-friendly cleaning company UrbanMaidGreen in 2007.

The company, which was hatched by Guttin in 2007 with a colleague at a New York law firm, is tapping into a growing market for all things “green.” Instead of tackling a bathroom or kitchen with traditional cleaning products containing chemicals that could trigger allergies or respiratory ailments, the company uses nonpetroleum-based products that are certified by national eco-labeling organizations.

After his law colleague dropped out, Guttin contacted Braunstein, a fraternity brother from Phi Kappa Tau, whose Web strategy and marketing company, Castlewave.com, was making a name in the online world. They decided to take the plunge, investing some of their savings to get it going, and taking on the new venture to augment their incomes.

Guttin, who now works at the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, remains a 50 percent owner while Braunstein handles the marketing and day-to-day operations. For now, he’s building the cleaning company while continuing to work with clients on Internet marketing campaigns.

Among those most surprised by Braunstein’s business venture was his mother, Claudia Rothchild Braunstein ’74, who has firsthand knowledge of her son’s housecleaning prowess, or lack thereof.

“I have three children, and he was by far the kid with the messiest room,” says Claudia Braunstein, who runs an Internet company, ShopAtHome.com, with her husband, Marc Braunstein ’75. “This is either poetic justice or divine inspiration. He’s the last person I ever thought would get into this business. We’ve been tickled he has gone in this direction.”

These days, Will Braunstein’s apartment is neat and tidy, courtesy of his cleaning crew.

“It has caused some surprise among my family and friends,” he says.

Braunstein’s Internet marketing savvy has helped bring in clients. They’ve had good luck with Google, with ads for UrbanMaidGreen coming up when you plug in the words “green cleaning” in the search box. For every person who clicks on the ad, the cleaning company pays Google 75 cents. An average cleaning goes for $120—that’s $30 an hour for four hours.

“What we found out right away is that many of our clients have little kids or animals eating things off the floor, and they don’t want that to be happening with dangerous chemicals around,” he says. “Many have had experiences of getting a skin irritation or respiratory problem from a cleaning product. That doesn’t happen with what we use.”

But getting customers and keeping them are two different skills. While UrbanMaidGreen has found about half its clients online, including one Hollywood starlet and a Fortune 100 CEO, the other half comes from referrals from regular clients who like the quality of work, and tell their friends and colleagues about the service. They also find tasty the organic chocolate bar left behind after each job is done.

“Sure, we are a green company and people like green,” says Braunstein. “But when we say we’ll clean your apartment, it’s not just green, it’s a thorough cleaning.”

—David McKay Wilson