The premise was more that services like Merry Maids charged a 300% markup on cleaner's labor, but Homejoy could charge 15% because they automated everything.
Perhaps there are CEOs who've scrubbed exactly one toilet for the photo op. Cheung isn't one. She learned the job and led from the front. Some stories are here: http://www.femalefounderstories.com/adora-cheung.html
Most cleaning services aren't Merry Maids and aren't getting anything resembling 300%.
You're right: the Cheung story from that page is much more compelling than the one in the lede of this article. For those who haven't clicked through: Cheung and her partner started a cleaning service (with them as the cleaners), and Cheung took a job at a cleaning service to learn the ropes.
Perhaps there are CEOs who've scrubbed exactly one toilet for the photo op. Cheung isn't one. She learned the job and led from the front. Some stories are here: http://www.femalefounderstories.com/adora-cheung.html