Labortopia launched in public alpha today that can best be described as a "Yelp-like-site for local service providers." Their goal is to make it easier to find local labor such as carpenters, painters, and the like. Companies or workers can create profiles, upload examples of work, and provide references. While, they hope to help homeowners find, connect with, rate, and review craftsmanship.
I absolutely love their design. The startup is founded by Kevin Dones and Henry Khachatryan, who I recently graduated with from Boston College. He also runs his own web development firm called Socialite Studios.
I started a painting company while at Boston College, so I can understand the challenges that these types of service providers face when marketing. Likewise, home owners are always wary of the quality work they receive and if workers will actually show up (this actually happens, sometimes they don't). A robust rating system and profile comparison engine could help bridge the gap between service providers' marketing techniques and consumers' trust.
Likewise, I'm sure carpenters, painters, and carpenters aren't as savvy when it comes to marketing on the web, which will become increasingly important for them. This is where I believe their true value proposition lies. I hope they realize this and focus more on aiding those companies traverse from antiquated marketing tactics to a mix that includes the web and social media. It would be easy to measure by tracking the number of leads they receive. Continue Reading...
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