Porch.com remodels, eyes big expansion | Brier Dudley

Seattles Porch.com isfacing all sorts of established competitors in the online home-improvement space butthe companysfounder isnttoo worried about its position.

Just fivemonths after launching its service for exploring, sharing and referring home-improvement services,Porch.com is on a tear, hiring as fast as it can to fill a huge new office and build up its platform.

Really over the last five months weve gotten over that inflection point where the business is going to work, said Matt Erlichman, the companys 34-year-old founder and chief executive.

Erlichman confers with colleagues in the new offices of Porch.com. Photo by John Lok, Times staff photographer.

Now that the team believes the business will fly, its really about execution, its about staying focused and every day trying to go faster and do it better than its been done before, in every part of the business, he said.

A breakthroughwas a deal with Lowes announced in January. It putPorch.com in stores and on the devices carried by Lowes employees, who direct customers to the site when theyre looking for professional help with home-improvement projects.

Erlichman wouldnt share sales but said theyve accelerated since the Lowes deals. Its services are now highlighted in 139 stores, mostly in the South, but will be extended nationally later this year.

Also boosting growth is new backing from investors, in addition to the $6.25 million Erlichman raised initially from angel investors after starting the company in 2012.

The company has raised more since. Weve not announced details of that yet, he said. I would say that the company is exceptionally well capitalized at this point so right now were not raising more money at this point in time.

Hell probably need every penny for its battle with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Houzz, a similar home-improvement site that has raised around $50 million since 2010. Another well-financed competitor isZillow, which launched a home-improvement channel called Digs last year.

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Porch.com remodels, eyes big expansion | Brier Dudley