Dolly raises $1.7 million seed to haul your stuff

Seattle-based startup connects drivers with households that have big items to move

These days, if you want to a task to be done, the first place many people now consider is TaskRabbit, which popularized the notion that small tasks can be outsourced to anyone looking to make additional money in their spare time. But one company wants to focus on one particular task - moving items. 

Seattle-based Dolly wants to match households with people who own trucks or SUVs and are looking to make about $25 an hour by moving couches, or delivering Christmas trees.

Since just getting started in February, it's managed to attract a significant seed round of $1.7 million from Hyde Park Venture Partners and KGC Capital, as well as notable angels, such as Jeff Wilke, SVP of Amazon, as well as Ben Elowitz, who co-founded Wetpaint, which was acquired last year, with Mike Howell, co-founder and CEO of Dolly. 

At the moment, Dolly is only serving the Chicago area, where Howell met his co-founder Chad Wittman, who is the VP of product. Howell wouldn't disclose how many drivers it has only to say it has a small fleet. Howell also wouldn't disclose how many items are being moved on a daily or weekly basis. The company is still in beta.

When asked how Dolly differentiates from TaskRabbit, Howell said there is overlap, but because Dolly will only focus on moving, it will be faster and cheaper and have an overall better service. "What we're doing is simplifying the process and making it fast, affodable and safe delivery... We're just nailing that one thing." On Dolly, customers input more detail in order to get the best pricing and the best service, he said.

Who are these drivers?