HireAHelper.com, an online marketplace that links people who are moving to a new home with local movers and related services, has been acquired by Porch, which operates a marketplace that connects people with a variety of home repair and improvement services.
The Seattle, WA-based acquirer says that last year it facilitated more than 2 million home-related projects, from plumbing and roofing to electrical work and carpentry.
Now Porch is adding HireAHelper’s independent moving services providers to its lineup of more than 250,000 professionals. The HireAHelper site allows users to find, compare quotes and availability, and book local movers. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
HireAHelper, based in the San Diego North County city of Oceanside, launched in 2007. Its website provides quotes from local movers and the ability to book a range of moving services, from full-service movers to hourly moving labor to moving truck rentals. The company hasn’t taken on any venture capital financing, funding its operations with $150,000 from angel investors and $200,000 in debt financing from Seattle startup lender Lighter Capital.
The company wouldn’t share its revenue, but last year it was named to the Inc. 5000 list, which ranked private companies according to percentage revenue growth from 2014 to 2017. HireAHelper’s revenue grew 99 percent over that period. Companies that were included had to have revenue of at least $100,000 in 2014 and at least $2 million in 2017.
Launched in 2013, Porch has about 800 employees. The company has raised about $100 million in venture capital, including a $65 million Series B financing round in 2015.
Its CEO, Matt Ehrlichman, said adding HireAHelper expands the services the company can offer.
“The HireAHelper team is tackling a very similar problem to what we’ve been working on at Porch—how do you take a complicated and time-consuming process and make it as quick and painless as possible?” he said in a press release. “With the addition of HireAHelper.com, we are able to serve people at all points in the housing lifecycle, from hiring the best movers for relocation to a new home, to finding the right service professional to install a window.”
Tacking on HireAHelper is the second moving-services related acquisition the company has made this year. In April, Porch folded in Kandela, a Los Angeles-based startup that offers set-up and installation of services such as TV and home security.
In addition to listing home-services professionals that users can contact directly via Porch, retailers including eBay, Overstock, and Pottery Barn use the platform to link their customers with home-related services.
Porch competes with a plethora of online home-improvement marketplaces, including longstanding companies such as Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor and newer competitors, such as Handy and Pro.com.
