Porch (company)

Porch is an online website that connects homeowners with local home improvement contractors. The site also features advice articles, cost guides, and online booking for over 160 common home improvement, maintenance, and repair projects.

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
ServicesOnline marketplace, Review site
Revenue $77.4 Million(2019)
Employees~250 (October 2016)
URLPorch
RegistrationOptional
Launched2012 (2012)

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.[2][3]

Launched as an online home improvement network connecting homeowners with qualified professionals, Porch has grown into a “partner for the home.” With more than 300,000 active professionals[4] across the U.S., Porch partners with large retailers like Lowe's,[5] Wayfair,[6] and Pottery Barn[7] to provide home services fulfillment for their customers, as well as direct-to-consumer access to more than 160 different home services offerings through Porch.com that are facilitated by Porch Home Assistants.[8]

Focused on assisting customers at every stage of the “home journey” – including moving in, installations, assembly, repairs and ongoing maintenance – the company facilitated over 2 million home-related projects in 2017[9] generating almost $1 billion in revenue for small business owners and sole proprietors in specialty service areas such as plumbing, roofing, electrical work carpentry, and more.[10]

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.[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][14]

In January, 2015 Porch reported a $65 million Series B round, led by Valor Equity Partners.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17]

Headquarters Relocation

In May, 2015, Porch relocated their headquarters to the SODO neighborhood in south Seattle, Washington.[18]

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. Sini joined Porch; Patzer did not.[19]

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.[20]

Layoffs

After quickly growing to 500 employees Porch began a series of layoffs which resulted in the headcount being reduced to about 250 employees. In addition, many key executives including the Chief Product Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Technology Officer left the company.[21]

Renewed Focus and Growth

In April, 2018, it was announced that Porch had grown to 450 employees, approaching the record number of employees Porch had before the 2015 and 2016 layoffs.[22] Porch is now focused on fast growth in 2018 and beyond, with a strong emphasis on investing in the 100-person EPDA team (engineering, product, design, analytics) and building and expanding strategic and business partnerships.[23]

Addition to Facebook Marketplace

In May, 2018, Porch was added as a service provider in the home services category of Facebook Marketplace to help people find service professionals in a convenient social experience.[24]

Facebook Marketplace was launched in 2016 and has been growing at a rate of 18 million new listings per month. As of May 2018, 800 million people globally use Facebook Marketplace to buy and sell things each month, including 1 out of 3 Facebook users from the U.S.[25]

References
  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. "Porch raises $6.25M seed round for 'smart house porn'". VentureBeat. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  12. 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.
  13. "Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities". sec.gov. US Securities and Exchange Commission.
  14. "Porch". Crunchbase.
  15. "Porch - Funding Rounds %7c CrunchBase". Crunchbase.
  16. Mac, Ryan (20 January 2015). "Lowe's-Backed Porch.com Gears Up For Local Services Battle With $65 Million Round". Forbes.
  17. Roberts, Daniel. "Lowe's Goes Big on Home-Improvement Startup Porch.com". Fortune. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  18. "Porch.com moves to former Zulily space in Sodo, could grow to 600 employees". Puget Sound Business Journal. March 29, 2015.
  19. Lardinois, Frederic (29 October 2015). "Porch Acquires Mobile Advice Marketplace Fountain".
  20. "Wayfair gets into the swing of home services". CNET. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  21. https://www.geekwire.com/2016/cutting-500-person-workforce-half-porch-focuses-profitability-revenue-growth/
  22. "Home improvement data startup Porch emerges from 2-year quiet period, rebounds to 450 people". GeekWire. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  23. "Porch's Rightly Timed Pause". 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  24. "Facebook teams up with Porch, HomeAdvisor and Handy for new Marketplace home services offerings". GeekWire. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  25. "Facebook Marketplace expands into home services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
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