An Uber for everything: the surge in on-demand apps

Takeaways, parking, haircuts, cleaners ... think of a service and someone is probably working on a handy tech solution. Is there a crash ahead?

All Guy Westlake wanted to do was wash your underwear. And your shirts, and sheets and skirts and suits. His Lavanda app, launched in London two years ago, would do it all seamlessly, efficiently, affordably. About 20 minutes after you hit the wash button, a Lavanda Pro arrived to collect your load. Using their own washing machine or a dry cleaner, they would return your stuff at a time of your choosing. It was, Westlake told excited investors and journalists, "Uber for laundry".

What happened next may sound familiar to would-be moguls piling into an Uber-inspired gold rush with wide eyes and iPhones for spades. The Mayfair meeting rooms of venture capitalists are echoing with the same phrase: "It's Uber for ..." Takeaway, haircuts, parking, handymen, cleaners, massage, couriers, supply teachers, barmen, postage - think of a service, and if someone hasn't invented an Uber for it, they're probably working on it.