#StartupsEverywhere: Diana Muturia, Co-Founder, Clyn
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Clean faster, smarter, and with greater care
During peak travel season, quick and reliable turnover is essential for rentals. Diana Muturia and her co-founder built Clyn, a platform that automates cleaning operations for short-term and vacation rentals. We sat down with Diana to discuss her journey building the platform, the challenges of fundraising, the barriers to accessing public data, and broadband infrastructure.
Tell us about your background. What led you to Clyn?
I’m originally from Kenya and came to the U.S. when I was 18 to study math and mechanical engineering. Things were going well until my final year, when I transferred schools, and lost my scholarships. I ended up dropping out and found myself homeless.
With nothing to lose, I started using the library’s public WiFi to teach myself how to code. I wanted to build a tool to help manage my small cleaning business, and it turned out that many of my cleaner friends found it very helpful too. Within two months of launching, over 3,000 users had signed up.
Clyn has grown from an ‘Uber for cleaning services’ into a three-sided platform that connects short-term rentals, boutique hotels, and vacation properties with reliable, professional cleaning crews.
What is the work you all are doing at Clyn? Who are your users/customers?
At Clyn, we’re building the smartest teammate for your cleaning crews. It’s a platform that automates and streamlines short-term rental turnover operations.
Our system automatically schedules cleanings between guest stays, then pushes those schedules to the connected cleaning company. On their end, managers get a dashboard to assign jobs, track performance, and manage their teams.
Cleaners use our mobile app to view task checklists, take before-and-after photos, and log their work. Our AI analyzes these images to flag damages, missing items, or wear and tear, and sends reports back to both the host and cleaning manager.
Ultimately, we remove the manual coordination from cleaning operations so cleaners can focus on what they do best—cleaning.
You mentioned barriers to working with government data or navigating public procurement—can you share more about what those hurdles look like?
Absolutely. It started with something small—we wanted cleaners to know the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a home without manual input. We tried getting that information from government records, but it was too hard to access, so we had to work with property management systems instead.
That experience showed us a bigger problem.Governments collect a lot of valuable data, such as trash schedules, zoning info, and service disruptions, but it’s not organized or easily accessible. If we had access to that kind of data, we could improve guest experiences, and streamline operations.
On top of that, government contracts aren’t startup-friendly. There’s a lot of red tape, and the process favors large vendors. If cities built better infrastructure for data access and startup procurement, it would unlock real innovation in public services, not just for companies like ours, but for entire communities.
What has your experience been with fundraising for Clyn?
It’s incredibly hard, especially now. A few years ago, I felt I had to be exceptional just to be considered, locking out every other woman of color or person of color who is just as good. It seems to be more about likability than whether you are building a solid business. Today, it feels like no one can get there, but it’s all about the right connections.
Many programs that help emerging businesses have shut down due to the political climate, and many companies including ours have felt the impact. We were on track to hit $1 million in revenue in 2023, but as political and economic uncertainty grows, everyone is holding onto their money.
I’ve thought a lot about how to fix it, but it has to start with governments prioritizing funding to what matters, like healthcare, education, and economic development, instead of vanity projects.
How does broadband access become a challenge for your platform?
Accessing affordable broadband has been a barrier for cleaners needing to access WiFi upload photos or update job statuses in real time. If they are cleaning someone’s home, they can ask for their WiFi password. In some cases, they had to use a store’s guest WiFi just to mark a job as complete. For field-based workers, broadband affordability programs can address this inaccessibility to high-speed Internet.
What are your goals for Clyn moving forward?
We are now operating in Austin, Nairobi and London, and I hope to ultimately scale Clyn into a global company that optimizes the cleaning service in short-term rentals, and become a preferred partner for Airbnb.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email advocacy@engine.is.
