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Porch (company)

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Porch
Porch-logo-2x
Type of site
Consumer service
Available inEnglish
HeadquartersSeattle, WA, USA
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
ServicesOnline marketplace, Review site
Employees400+ (Oct 2015)
URLPorch
RegistrationOptional
Launched2012; 12 years ago (2012)

Porch is an online website that lets users connect and review local home improvement contractors and browse photos of home improvement projects. The site also features advice articles. Porch has information on 3.8 million home improvement professionals and 140 million projects across the United States.[3]

History

Porch was founded in September, 2012 after co-founder Matt Ehrlichman noticed that there was no organized website to find the best home improvement professionals as he was building his home.[4][5]

In April, 2014 Porch began offering Porch Premium, a paid subscription service for home professionals. The service included lead-generation tools such as promotional slots and special branding on the Porch website in addition to analytics on projects done in the local area.[6]

Funding

In June, 2013 Porch announced a $6.25 million seed round, including investments from Ron Conway of SV Angel, Javier Olivan, and Jeffrey Skoll.[7]

In September, 2014 Porch reported a $27.6 million Series A round, led by Lowe's.[8] Joe Hanauer, Chairman of Move and former CEO of Coldwell Banker, joined the board of directors.[9][10]

In January, 2015 Porch reported a $65 million Series B round, led by Valor Equity Partners.[11] Other backers included Lowe's, Founders Fund, Battery Ventures, Panorama Point Partners, Capricorn Investment Group and home improvement expert Ty Pennington. Valor Equity Partners’ Antonio Gracias also joined the board of directors.[12]

Lowe's partnership

In April 2014, Porch announced a nationwide partnership with home improvement retailer Lowe's, establishing in-store promotional signage and computer kiosks where customers and sales associates can search Porch's professionals database.[13]

Acquisition of Fountain Software, inc.

In October 2015, Porch announced the acquisition of Fountain, an online service that connects Internet users with a variety of experts through video chats, texts and annotated photos. Fountain was co-founded by Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint.com, and Jean Sini.[14]

Wayfair partnership

In April 2016, Wayfair implemented the Porch Retail Solution nationally starting in 15 markets, online and in support centers. Through the Porch Retail Solution, Wayfair.com shoppers who need help with tasks such as furniture assembly and installation of products such as lighting and plumbing will be able to purchase those services at checkout and set an appointment with a qualified Porch professional.This work will be backed by the Porch Guarantee.[15]

Home and Neighborhood Report

Porch users can enter their current home's address to claim their Home and Neighborhood Report. The report includes a history of home improvement projects done on the property, statistics on value, size, age, etc. of neighborhood houses, and a summary of projects done in the neighborhood. The details in the report are verified by city permit departments, materials suppliers, professional associations, real-estate agents and homeowners.[16] In late 2015, Porch stopped offering the Home and Neighbor hood Report.[17]

References

  1. ^ Bishop, Todd (5 November 2015). "Challenges at Porch: High-flying, heavily funded startup learns the lessons of rapid growth".
  2. ^ "Alexa - Porch". Alexa Internet. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  3. ^ Lawson, Sarah. "HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY SCALE A BUSINESS WHILE KEEPING A HUMAN TOUCH".
  4. ^ "About". Porch.com. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  5. ^ Hilmes, Kelsey. "Porch.com's Bright Idea". Seattle Business. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  6. ^ Bishop, Todd. "New 'Porch Premium' Service Helps Remodelers Nab Leads From Competitors". Geekwire. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  7. ^ Grant, Rebecca. "Porch raises $6.25M seed round for 'smart house porn'". VentureBeat. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  8. ^ Weiss, Geoff. "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.
  9. ^ "Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities". sec.gov. US Securities and Exchange Commission.
  10. ^ "Porch". Crunchbase.
  11. ^ "Porch - Funding Rounds %7c CrunchBase". Crunchbase.
  12. ^ Mac, Ryan (20 January 2015). "Lowe's-Backed Porch.com Gears Up For Local Services Battle With $65 Million Round". Forbes.
  13. ^ Roberts, Daniel. "Lowe's Goes Big on Home-Improvement Startup Porch.com". Fortune. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  14. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (29 October 2015). "Porch Acquires Mobile Advice Marketplace Fountain".
  15. ^ "Wayfair Partners with Porch.com to Offer Installation and Assembly Services to Customers in One Seamless E-Commerce Experience". April 19, 2016.
  16. ^ Reagor, Catherine. "New online tool shows history of home renovations". AZ Central. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  17. ^ della Cava, Marco (February 9, 2016). "Porch CEO on rough year: 'We got distracted'". USA Today.
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