Porch (company)

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Porch.com, Inc.
Type of businessPublic
Type of site
Consumer service
Available inEnglish
Traded asNasdaq: PRCH
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington,
United States
Area servedUnited States
CEOMatt Ehrlichman
Key peopleAsha Sharma (COO)[1]
Eric Doerr (Chief Product Officer)
Eric Koenig (Chief Growth Officer)
Jenn Branstetter (Chief of Staff)
Matthew Neagle (Chief Customer Officer)
IndustryHome improvement
Services
RevenueIncrease $77.4 million (2019)
Employees~250 (October 2016)
URLPorch
RegistrationOptional
Launched2012; 12 years ago (2012)

Porch is a website that tries to connect homeowners with local home improvement contractors. The site features advice articles, cost guide, and online booking for over 160 home projects.

History[edit]

Porch was founded in September 2012 after co-founder Matt Ehrlichman.[2][3] Porch was launched as an online home improvement network connecting homeowners with professionals.

As of 2018, the listings are in excess of 300,000 professionals[4] across the U.S. Porch partners with Lowe's,[5] Wayfair,[6] and Pottery Barn.[7] Porch offers access to more than 160 different home services offerings through Porch.com associates.[8]

The company facilitated over 2 million home-related projects in 2017,[9] generating almost $1 billion in revenue.[10]

Funding[edit]

In June 2013, Porch announced a $6.25 million seed round, including investments from Ron Conway of SV Angel, Javier Olivan, and Jeffrey Skoll.[11]

In September 2014, Porch reported a $27.6 million Series A round, led by Lowe's.[12] Joe Hanauer, Chairman of Move and former CEO of Coldwell Banker, joined the board of directors.[13]

In January 2015, Porch reported a $65 million Series B round, led by Valor Equity Partners. Backers included Lowe's, Founders Fund, Battery Ventures, Panorama Point Partners, Capricorn Investment Group and Ty Pennington. Valor Equity Partners’ Antonio Gracias also joined the board of directors.[14]

Lowe's partnership[edit]

In April 2014, Porch announced a nationwide partnership with home improvement retailer Lowe's, establishing in-store promotional signage and computer kiosks, with the ability to search for Porch's professionals database.[15]

Headquarters relocation[edit]

In May 2015, Porch relocated their headquarters to the SODO neighborhood in south Seattle, Washington.[16]

Acquisition of Fountain Software, inc.[edit]

In October 2015, Porch announced the acquisition of Fountain, an online communication service. Fountain was co-founded by Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint.com, and Jean Sini. Sini joined Porch; Patzer did not.[17]

Wayfair partnership[edit]

In April 2016, Wayfair implemented the Porch Retail Solution nationally starting in 15 markets.[18]

Layoffs[edit]

After growing to 500 employees, Porch began a series of layoffs which resulted in the headcount being reduced to about 250 employees.[when?] Many key executives, including the Chief Product Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Technology Officer, left the company.[19]

In April 2018, it was announced that Porch had grown to 450 employees.[20] Porch places a strong emphasis on investing in the 100-person EPDA team (engineering, product, design, analytics).[21]

Facebook Marketplace[edit]

In May 2018, Porch was added as a service provider in the home services category of Facebook Marketplace.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bishop, Todd (5 November 2015). "Challenges at Porch: High-flying, heavily funded startup learns the lessons of rapid growth".
  2. ^ "About". Porch.com. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  3. ^ Hilmes, Kelsey. "Porch.com's Bright Idea". Seattle Business. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Home improvement data startup Porch emerges from 2-year quiet period, rebounds to 450 people". GeekWire. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  5. ^ "Lowe's goes big on home-improvement startup Porch.com". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  6. ^ "Wayfair gets into the swing of home services". CNET. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  7. ^ Porch.com. "Porch.com and Rejuvenation, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Portfolio of Brands, Partner to offer Home Services". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  8. ^ "How it Works - What is Porch?". porch.com. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  9. ^ "Overstock and Porch team up as they battle Amazon, others in home services industry". GeekWire. 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  10. ^ "Home improvement data startup Porch emerges from 2-year quiet period, rebounds to 450 people". GeekWire. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  11. ^ Grant, Rebecca (5 June 2013). "Porch raises $6.25M seed round for 'smart house porn'". VentureBeat. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  12. ^ Weiss, Geoff (17 September 2014). "With $28 Million in New Funding, Porch Is the 1-Year-Old Startup Looking to Remodel the Home Improvement Market'". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  13. ^ "Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities". sec.gov. US Securities and Exchange Commission.
  14. ^ Mac, Ryan (20 January 2015). "Lowe's-Backed Porch.com Gears Up For Local Services Battle With $65 Million Round". Forbes.
  15. ^ Roberts, Daniel. "Lowe's Goes Big on Home-Improvement Startup Porch.com". Fortune. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Porch.com moves to former Zulily space in Sodo, could grow to 600 employees". Puget Sound Business Journal. March 29, 2015.
  17. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (29 October 2015). "Porch Acquires Mobile Advice Marketplace Fountain".
  18. ^ "Wayfair gets into the swing of home services". CNET. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  19. ^ "After cutting its 500-person workforce in half, Porch focuses on profitability over revenue growth". 31 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Home improvement data startup Porch emerges from 2-year quiet period, rebounds to 450 people". GeekWire. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  21. ^ "Porch's Rightly Timed Pause". 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  22. ^ "Facebook teams up with Porch, HomeAdvisor and Handy for new Marketplace home services offerings". GeekWire. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-21.

External links[edit]

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