“Is Neighbor Serve Just Like Angie’s List?”
That’s the question we get a lot. Angie’s List provided a lot of great things in Indianapolis; it was a great success and a significant tech story.
The internet is dominated by business models that favor large national contractors with big advertising budgets, marketing teams, and call centers. Many home service platforms operate by that same playbook.
Neighbor Serve, however, takes a very different approach.
While some of those companies do deliver great service, when I’m looking to hire someone for my own home, I prefer to hire the person actually running the company – perhaps a second-generation business that advertises on a local little league outfield wall.
For example, I googled “Woodward Home Services” this morning, owned and operated by Brian Woodward.
Brian is one of our fully vetted and trusted Neighbor Serve pros; a solo operator who specializes in dryer vent cleanings.
When I google him, the top three results are all paid advertisements for large national companies. Brian gets buried because the revenue in current ad models is driven by contractors who can afford to pay across every market. Great local contractors shouldn’t have to win an advertising arms race to earn your business.
We have gone back to what has always worked: asking a friend or a neighbor you trust. There are three fundamental ways we are different:
- Trust. No Pay-for-Placement: You cannot pay us for preferred placement or referrals. We vet thousands of contractors each year, and we only invite around 5% to be a part of our home service club.
- Serving Neighbors: As our name suggests, we exist to help homeowners get projects done by serving our neighbors in conjunction with awesome local contractors.
- A Membership Model Built Around Value: It is a home services club where both contractors and neighbors pay a flat annual fee for the highest quality service around.
If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.
“Great local contractors shouldn’t have to win an advertising arms race to earn your business.”
Many online marketplaces (like the ones we just mentioned) make most of their money through ads, lead generation or simply paid placement. We choose membership.
Both homeowners and Neighbor Serve pros pay a straightforward annual fee. This is because we want our success tied to the value we provide; and not on how many leads we can sell or how much someone is willing to spend to get noticed.
That means our job is pretty simple: build relationships, help homeowners get projects done, support great local Pros, and give people a reason to renew year after year.
We vet and refer the right contractors to homeowners. Additionally, 9 in 10 of our clients are neighbors referred to us by realtors, builders, or employers who provide Neighbor Serve as a corporate benefit.
Our success is reflected in our retention:
92% of our neighbors and clients renew year over year.
We provide VIP access, exclusive member offers, and a local team you can call if a contractor doesn’t call you back. We use technology to make matches based on the ideal contractor for the job, not the highest bidder.
Think of us like Costco.
Costco charges a membership fee, but they vet their suppliers and treat them as partners, ensuring amazing products at amazing prices. Most of their profit comes from those renewing memberships.
We are building the home service club we all wish existed – one powered by trust rather than advertising or selling projects to the highest bidder.
Dan Hanrahan is the Founder of Neighbor Serve, a local home service club dedicated to helping homeowners with home maintenance by connecting them with vetted, locally-owned contractors. He is an alumnus of Indiana University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Entrepreneurship in 2001. Hanrahan is based in Indianapolis and actively engages with the local community through his ventures, emphasizing trust and reliability in home services.
