Robin Schwartz
business »
Entrepreneurs Rob Feldman and Sandy Kronenberg of Service.com
At Your Service
Entrepreneurs launch new home
repair startup, Service.com.
Robin Schwartz | Contributing Writer
I
t’s one of the joys of home- To find a pro, offer
“I’ve used Service.com
ownership — there’s a
twice. Once to replace a
services on the
sudden leak or a furnace
broken garbage disposal, the
site or for more
breaks and you need help
information, visit other for a furnace repair,”
(and a repairperson you can
he says. “The experience was
service.com.
trust) fast. Enter Service.com,
wonderful both times. With
a new online platform that
the app on my phone, I chat-
allows users to find, chat, hire
ted with pros within three
and pay qualified service pro-
minutes. I also love the fact
fessionals or “pros” using a computer or
that once they came out and completed
a smartphone.
the repairs, I could pay with a tap on my
Entrepreneurs Sandy Kronenberg, the phone. Quick and painless!”
company’s CEO, and Rob Feldman, vice
Barrett Zeff, the owner of Clean Green
president of business development, are
Carpet Cleaning in West Bloomfield, is
two key players behind the Farmington
one of the pros listed on the site. He says
Hills-based startup that promises “home he receives multiple new leads each day,
repairs done in a snap.” About 400
and many customers have even referred
local professionals are available for hire
him to their friends.
through the site to handle everything
“It’s been a pleasant additional income
from gutter cleaning to electrical work,
stream,” Zeff says. “The project manag-
plumbing, roof repair and more.
ers have made my life easy. They’re very
“It’s really designed to address the
professional, and they identify what the
problems we all have with home repairs,” customer needs.”
Kronenberg explains. “We looked into
Kronenberg has had major success
why there’s so much dissatisfaction and
with startups before. A graduate of the
it’s usually because the pro and the con-
University of Michigan and Georgetown
sumer are not on the same page.”
University, he started the IT services
Service.com solves that problem by
company Netarx in 1997, grew it to
providing a concierge service. The com-
250 employees and seven locations
pany’s employees serve as project man-
throughout the Midwest, and sold the
agers, monitoring the progress of each
company to Logicalis for $34 million in
job and ensuring customer satisfaction.
2011. He later became a general part-
There’s no charge to log on and use the
ner with Ludlow Ventures in Detroit.
service; when a job is done and payment Feldman, the former owner of Impact
is made, the company receives a 2 to 7
Steel Canada, came to him with a ven-
percent success fee from the pro.
ture capital deal one day. The two met
“Pros love it because it’s an extra tool
and decided to work together. Both are
in their tool belt,” Feldman adds. “A lot of Temple Israel members.
pros have told us our concierge service is
Now, Kronenberg and Feldman are
really helping their businesses.”
determined to find their niche in the
The company started with $3.4 mil-
$400 billion home service industry and
lion in seed money from venture capital
they’re well on their way.
firms and angel investors. In late August,
Following the successful launch of
the website and mobile app went live in
Service.com in Metro Detroit, the busi-
Southeast Michigan. Kronenberg says
ness partners have big plans to take the
already thousands of people have signed company nationwide in 2017.
on. Steven Fink of West Bloomfield is
one of them.
where there’s a will,
There’s a way forward.
“I had just moved back to metro Detroit and got a job at
JVS,” explains Leah Rosenbaum, JVS president and CEO.
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Isadore. He offered me a cup of coffee and sat and chatted
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My best memory of JVS is Leah. She is very nice. I call her
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job seekers, veterans and others The Way Forward through
all stages of their lives.
*
Find your way forward at www.jvsdet.org
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42 November 10 • 2016