Fancy Hands
Fancy Hands is a US-based virtual assistant subscription service founded in 2010 that connects consumers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to a distributed team of human assistants for task completion via web, mobile, and a developer API.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Fancy Hands does
Fancy Hands is a US-based virtual assistant subscription service that connects customers to a distributed team of human assistants for task completion. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in New York City (originally Manhattan, now Williamsburg, Brooklyn), the company serves individual consumers, small business owners, and business teams who need on-demand help with administrative work such as appointment scheduling, phone calls, research, purchases, travel planning, and calendar management. The service operates as a horizontal platform addressing time-constrained professionals, entrepreneurs, and small teams that lack the resources for full-time administrative staff, with access points spanning web, iPhone app, Android app, email, text, and phone.
The platform is built on a Google App Engine Python backend with Django templating and an AngularJS-driven client-side dashboard. Core product capabilities include standard request handling (tasks up to 20 minutes of work), rollover tasks that accumulate month-to-month, recurring request automation, conference calling, a Dedicated Assistant single-relationship offering, and a public RESTful API with official SDKs in Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, and Ruby. The API supports standard requests, outgoing calls with customizable scripts and call recording, and incoming calls routed to dedicated phone numbers. Native integrations include Google Calendar (view/add/edit events), Trello (assign cards to Fancy Hands), Google and Facebook OAuth, and a Chrome browser extension. AI is used lightly in the form of 'Smart Suggestions' that analyze past tasks and calendar data; the core service is human-powered rather than automated.
Fancy Hands operates a product-led, self-serve go-to-market motion with a freemium first request and tiered monthly subscriptions: Small at $35/month for 3 requests, Medium at $55/month for 5 requests, and Large at $125/month for 15 requests. Additional revenue comes from extra task credits at $6 per task, a Dedicated Assistant premium offering with custom pricing, and a $0.99 transaction fee on purchase assistance up to $200 per request. The company also sells TeamWork plans to business customers with special projects, bulk payments, and conference calling, alongside gift subscriptions, and monetizes its API to developers. Marketing relies on content marketing via the company blog, organic social on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, a referral program offering $15 credit per signup, and earned media coverage in The New York Times, TIME, Forbes, Lifehacker, and Slate. The company is privately held, founder-led by Ted Roden, with a leadership team that includes a CEO (Josh) and an Assistant Operations Manager (Mandie).
Fancy Hands firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fancy Hands
- Legal name
- Fancy Hands Inc.
- Website
- https://fancyhands.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Fancy Hands is a US-based virtual assistant subscription service founded in 2010 that connects consumers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to a distributed team of human assistants for task completion via web, mobile, and a developer API.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fancy Hands industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Virtual Assistant Services
- NAICS
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)
- SIC
- Services-Help Supply Services (7363)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Personal Concierge Services (HSACAIAA)
Keywords
Where Fancy Hands is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Fancy Hands business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Plans: Monthly recurring subscription model with three tiers (Small, Medium, Large) providing a set number of requests per month. Standard requests are capped at 20 minutes of work. Users can purchase additional task credits at $6 per extra task.
- Dedicated Assistant Services: Premium offering for users who want to work with a single dedicated assistant rather than the general team, providing more personalized and consistent service.
- Extra Tasks / Add-on Credits: Users can purchase additional task credits beyond their monthly allocation at $6 per task for flexibility.
- Purchase Assistance: Assists with making purchases on behalf of users up to $200 per request, with a $0.99 transaction charge per payment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Small plan: 3 requests per month at $35 |
| Subscription | Monthly | Medium plan: 5 requests per month at $55 (recommended) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Large plan: 15 requests per month at $125 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Extra tasks: $6 per additional task |
| Subscription | Monthly | Dedicated Assistant: Custom pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Fancy Hands product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fancy Hands is a subscription-based virtual assistant service that provides US-based human assistants to complete tasks on behalf of customers via web, mobile apps, email, text, and phone. The service offers tiered monthly plans (Small at $35/3 requests, Medium at $55/5 requests, Large at $125/15 requests) plus add-on services including dedicated assistants, conference calling, special projects, extra task credits, and a developer API with multi-language SDKs.
Product overview
Fancy Hands is a US-based virtual assistant subscription service operating as a platform with multiple tiers and add-on modules. The core offering consists of standard virtual assistant subscriptions (Small, Medium, Large plans) where human assistants complete tasks up to 20 minutes. Above this sits TeamWork for business customers with enhanced features. The Dedicated Assistant add-on provides exclusive single-assistant service. Additional paid modules include Conference Calling, Special Projects, Extra Tasks, and Gift Subscriptions. A public API platform enables developers to integrate Fancy Hands capabilities into their own applications, with official SDKs in Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, and Ruby. The service is accessible via web, email, text, phone, Android, and iPhone apps.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Virtual Assistants (Standard) Subscription-based virtual assistant service providing US-based assistants to complete tasks submitted via web, email, text, phone, or mobile apps. Standard requests cover tasks up to 20 minutes of work.
- Dedicated Assistants Premium service offering a single, dedicated assistant assigned exclusively to the user for ongoing, personalized support.
- TeamWork Business-focused plan with features including special projects handling, bulk payment plans, conference calling, API access, and third-party app integrations for team collaboration.
- Conference Calling Service allowing assistants to schedule and manage conference calls on behalf of users.
- Special Projects Service for larger, complex tasks that exceed standard request scope, handled by the Fancy Hands team.
- Fancy Hands API Public API enabling developers to programmatically submit requests, make outgoing/incoming calls, manage phone numbers, and build applications powered by Fancy Hands assistants. Includes SDKs in Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, and Ruby.
- Extra Tasks Additional task credits available for purchase at $6 per task for users who need more requests beyond their monthly plan limit.
- Gift Subscriptions Gift subscription packages available for purchase to give Fancy Hands access to friends and family.
Quantifiable outcome
- Time savings through task delegation - users report saving hours per week
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Fancy Hands
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Fancy Hands technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature9 records
Fancy Hands partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- FlatRate MovingminorPartnership with FlatRate Moving for moving-related tasks. Users receive $25 off their move with FlatRate Moving using code 'FANCYHANDS'. Fancy Hands can help with moving tasks like reserving freight elevators, scheduling trash bin pickup, canceling gym memberships, and setting up mail forwarding.
- TrellocoreIntegration allows users to sync their Trello account with Fancy Hands. Users can add Fancy Hands to their Trello board, pick tasks to assign, and have assistants complete them. Users add fancy_hands@[email] to their Trello project and assign tasks directly to Fancy Hands.
- Google CalendarcoreIntegration allows assistants to view, add, and edit events on user's Google Calendar for scheduling appointments. Users sign in with Google to connect. Assistants can schedule appointments directly into connected calendars.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Fancy Hands competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wing Assistant: Wing Assistant provides dedicated virtual assistants to entrepreneurs and executives with subscription plans, very directly comparable to Fancy Hands' Dedicated Assistant and TeamWork offerings.
- 24/7 Virtual Assistant: 24/7 Virtual Assistant provides subscription-based VA services to businesses and individuals with tiered plans, closely mirroring Fancy Hands' subscription/request model.
- Time Etc: Time Etc provides US/UK-based virtual assistant subscriptions to entrepreneurs and SMBs with monthly request packages, overlapping directly with Fancy Hands' target customer and product structure.
- Prialto: Prialto provides managed virtual assistant services with dedicated offshore assistants to SMBs and executives; targets the same administrative-delegation use case with a managed-service model.
- Magic: Magic offers on-demand, text-message-based virtual assistant services staffed by human assistants; competes directly with Fancy Hands on the consumer subscription VA model with similar request-based pricing.
- Zirtual: Zirtual offers dedicated US-based virtual assistant subscriptions to entrepreneurs and small businesses — a direct competitor in the dedicated-VA subscription model targeting similar customer personas.
Broad incumbents
- Belay: Belay offers dedicated virtual assistants, bookkeeping, and social media management to businesses and executives — a broader services portfolio but with overlapping VA subscription offerings and target customer.
- Upwork: Upwork is a freelance marketplace where consumers and businesses can hire VAs/administrative help on demand; competes with Fancy Hands on the 'hire someone to do tasks' job-to-be-done, though with a different fulfillment model.
- TaskRabbit: TaskRabbit is a marketplace for local task and errand services; while focused on in-person tasks rather than remote VAs, it overlaps with Fancy Hands on the 'get things done for me' consumer value proposition.
Others
- Amazon Mechanical Turk: Amazon Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourced task marketplace for micro-tasks including research and data work; represents an alternative fulfillment mechanism for the same task types Fancy Hands handles.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Fancy Hands social profiles
Digital presenceFancy Hands financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fancy Hands leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Fancy Hands funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fancy Hands M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fancy Hands
What does Fancy Hands do?
Fancy Hands is a subscription-based virtual assistant service that provides US-based human assistants to complete tasks on behalf of customers via web, mobile apps, email, text, and phone. The service offers tiered monthly plans (Small at $35/3 requests, Medium at $55/5 requests, Large at $125/15 requests) plus add-on services including dedicated assistants, conference calling, special projects, extra task credits, and a developer API with multi-language SDKs.
Is Fancy Hands a public or private company?
Fancy Hands is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Fancy Hands founded?
Fancy Hands was founded in 2010. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Fancy Hands based?
Fancy Hands is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fancy Hands make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Subscription Plans are the primary driver. The others are dedicated Assistant Services, extra Tasks / Add-on Credits and purchase Assistance.
Who are Fancy Hands's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wing Assistant, 24/7 Virtual Assistant, Time Etc, Prialto, Magic and Zirtual. Broad incumbents are Belay, Upwork and TaskRabbit. Amazon Mechanical Turk is listed as an others.
Does Fancy Hands have an API?
Yes. Fancy Hands offers a public API enabling developers to build applications that make custom requests using the Fancy Hands platform. The API supports: Standard Request APIs (fancyhands.standard.Standard) for plain text requests/responses, Message APIs (fancyhands.request.Message) for communication with assistants, Call APIs (fancyhands.call.Call) for making outgoing telephone calls with customized scripts, Incoming Call APIs for receiving calls on dedicated phone numbers, and Number APIs for purchasing phone numbers. Developers can specify prices, data types, and scripts. The API is powered by human assistants rather than fully automated systems. Official SDKs are available for Python, JavaScript (Node), Java, PHP, and Ruby. Developer documentation is at www.fancyhands.com/api.
What industry is Fancy Hands in?
Fancy Hands's product category is Virtual Assistant Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAIAA, General Personal Concierge Services. Its NAICS code is 54 and its SIC code is 7363.