When Ben Wynn’s father decided to travel after retirement, the gap in his knowledge of DIY repairs was palpable.

My dad has always been my go-to person for practical advice around the home. The idea for DAD came a couple of years ago when I was trying to change a bathroom tap. Having swapped the old tap for a new one, I turned the water back on and instantly everything was soaked. My dad was away travelling, enjoying his retirement, so I called him on FaceTime and he guided me through what to do. I realised that if I found myself in such a DIY disaster others would too, so I started DAD,” he said.

DAD is a service that helps consumers to fix up their home with access to hundreds of “DAD experts” who provides DIY tips and expert advice to help them fix anything from a dodgy door handle, to mould in the bathroom, or a broken boiler.

Today, the start-up announced £2 million in seed funding from its strategic partner HomeServe to launch its video visit service, which will allow users to speak with an expert in home repairs who can help them fix or diagnose the problem via video call.

The experts have a lifetime of experience and are vetted and heavily screened by the DAD team. They work in three hours shifts and can be anyone from a retired tradesman that just wants to work a couple of hours a day to an ex services engineer or skilled handyman who would like a flexible working week.

The company’s proof of concept stage showed that 60 per cent of all problems can be solved over the phone, and the other 40 per cent can be fixed with a home visit from a qualified, vetted DAD partner, such as HomeServe.

DAD is one of the businesses in a niche corner of the wider sharing economy. What differentiates the start-up from giants like TaskRabbit is that it sees itself as a proponent of the ‘advice economy’, as a business that connects consumers seeking advice with experienced individuals using technology.