35 ms·

Thumbtack raises $4.5M, already half the size of Yelp

72 points by martian 15y ago

funthree 15y ago
Thumbtack seems like a nice upgraded version of craigslist and all, but it just isn't conducive to the same high successful transaction rates. My experience after a year has been completely underwhelming.
- swany4 15y ago
  We completely agree. We have some big things planned to fix that this year.
- martian 15y ago
  (I'm an engineer at Thumbtack.) Thanks for the feedback. I'm sorry to hear you say that you had a difficult time, since usually we hear the exact opposite. Of course, any transaction between two real people always is burdened by the complexities of a real interaction. If you have specific feedback on what we can do better, we'd love to hear it -- either here or you can email me directly: chris at thumbtack.
  - funthree 15y ago
    I think that mostly things on thumbtack just seem rather static, whereas craigslist is fluid. Craigslist is pretty close to pure UGC. On thumbtack the leads come in kind of slow (0-3 a month) and everyone competes with static profiles and a chance to write a short note (which is nice, but also can feel stale, and untimely) I want to go to the website and connect with people ready to work together right now, or at least communicate with people in real-time. If you are active on craigslist and have the time you can email people until this happens, and it usually doesnt take that long.
    - martian 15y ago
      Great, thanks for clarifying. The problem you're describing is essentially one of volume, if I'm understanding correctly. As you might imagine, increasing volume is one of our top priorities. If you have further specific thoughts or feedback, please let me know.
  - meenriquez 15y ago
    I've used Thumbtack and I must say that it's a user-friendly website. You talk to real people and you can pay right then and there.
MagicClam 15y ago
What defines the "size" of a company in this context is the number of users/buyers, not the number of listed companies. Thumbtack may have half as many pieces of company info, but I bet the number of users that go to Thumbtack for info is tiny compared to Yelp. I once read that the Yahoo search ad platform has more advertisers than Google, due to more lax standards. Does that mean that Yahoo ads are bigger than AdWords?
- martian 15y ago
  When you're building a marketplace, it's important to solve the chicken and egg problem. Search Google and you'll see how Groupon, Airbnb, etc. have solved this problem. Thumbtack's approach was to build its merchant base first, then to leverage that merchant base to attract consumers. So I think you're incorrect to say the "size" of a company can only be measured in terms of the number of buyers. For younger companies, you have to look at which side of the marketplace they are building first and measure that. For mature companies, I think your critique makes sense: it does make sense to look at the overall size of the marketplace, rather than just one side of it.
- AznHisoka 15y ago
  Good point... I also thought the title was very misleading, and just lame, to be honest. Also Yelp isn't even in the same space.. Yelp is more for local businesses, not for contractors. Thumbtack is more like Angies List.
hkarthik 15y ago
Any chance that Thumbtack will produce an API? It would be nice to have a way of getting at the data to embed recommendations, connections, etc inside other apps.
- aaaaaaaaaaa 15y ago
  anda a la concha de tu madre, pedazo de un idiota. chupame el pene
- martian 15y ago
  Great point. This is something we're thinking really hard about.

72 points by martian 15y ago

Thumbtack seems like a nice upgraded version of craigslist and all, but it just isn't conducive to the same high successful transaction rates. My experience after a year has been completely underwhelming.

swany4 15y ago
We completely agree. We have some big things planned to fix that this year.
martian 15y ago
(I'm an engineer at Thumbtack.) Thanks for the feedback. I'm sorry to hear you say that you had a difficult time, since usually we hear the exact opposite. Of course, any transaction between two real people always is burdened by the complexities of a real interaction. If you have specific feedback on what we can do better, we'd love to hear it -- either here or you can email me directly: chris at thumbtack.
- funthree 15y ago
  I think that mostly things on thumbtack just seem rather static, whereas craigslist is fluid. Craigslist is pretty close to pure UGC. On thumbtack the leads come in kind of slow (0-3 a month) and everyone competes with static profiles and a chance to write a short note (which is nice, but also can feel stale, and untimely) I want to go to the website and connect with people ready to work together right now, or at least communicate with people in real-time. If you are active on craigslist and have the time you can email people until this happens, and it usually doesnt take that long.
  - martian 15y ago
    Great, thanks for clarifying. The problem you're describing is essentially one of volume, if I'm understanding correctly. As you might imagine, increasing volume is one of our top priorities. If you have further specific thoughts or feedback, please let me know.
- meenriquez 15y ago
  I've used Thumbtack and I must say that it's a user-friendly website. You talk to real people and you can pay right then and there.

MagicClam 15y ago

What defines the "size" of a company in this context is the number of users/buyers, not the number of listed companies. Thumbtack may have half as many pieces of company info, but I bet the number of users that go to Thumbtack for info is tiny compared to Yelp. I once read that the Yahoo search ad platform has more advertisers than Google, due to more lax standards. Does that mean that Yahoo ads are bigger than AdWords?

martian 15y ago
When you're building a marketplace, it's important to solve the chicken and egg problem. Search Google and you'll see how Groupon, Airbnb, etc. have solved this problem. Thumbtack's approach was to build its merchant base first, then to leverage that merchant base to attract consumers. So I think you're incorrect to say the "size" of a company can only be measured in terms of the number of buyers. For younger companies, you have to look at which side of the marketplace they are building first and measure that. For mature companies, I think your critique makes sense: it does make sense to look at the overall size of the marketplace, rather than just one side of it.
AznHisoka 15y ago
Good point... I also thought the title was very misleading, and just lame, to be honest. Also Yelp isn't even in the same space.. Yelp is more for local businesses, not for contractors. Thumbtack is more like Angies List.

hkarthik 15y ago

Any chance that Thumbtack will produce an API? It would be nice to have a way of getting at the data to embed recommendations, connections, etc inside other apps.

aaaaaaaaaaa 15y ago
anda a la concha de tu madre, pedazo de un idiota. chupame el pene
martian 15y ago
Great point. This is something we're thinking really hard about.