Closing in on 8000 businesses in over 50 categories across 6 counties, HelpHive is the largest free online service of its type in the Western Washington area. Launched in May of 2009 by two former RealNetwork executives, Karim Meghji and Dave Richards are looking to drastically change the “match-making” process between homeowners and home service providers. Unlike other online services, HelpHive is free for consumers and, with the advent and explosive growth of social networks, HelpHive aims to tap the potential of “word of mouth” referrals available online through these social networks.
Robert Bergman, owner of Clean Brite Windows (provider of Window Cleaning Services located in Lakewood, WA) sees the potential for HelpHive. “I really like what they’ve done – it’s a very friendly and easy to use site for homeowners looking to hire home service providers, like myself. And with HelpHive’s referral network approach, I’m enthusiastic to get even more leads through my happy clients, their friends and neighbors alike.”
Service-based businesses of any size have access to a free business listing page on HelpHive, which once claimed, can be customized to tell the business’s full story. Business pages can include details of services the business performs, specialties and areas of expertise in their work, credentials, special certifications and a detailed portfolio of work complete with photos. Businesses are encouraged to get reviews from customers and to answer homeowner questions as a means to grow their business’s rating, as a better HelpHive rating means more promotion and more potential customer leads.
During HelpHive’s Beta period, all business services, including customer leads and referrals, are free. In the near future, HelpHive will begin offering paid business services.
For more information, contact:
Karim Meghji
karim@helphive.com
425-367-9928
About HelpHive
HelpHive, Inc. was started in 2008 to create a new generation of online marketplace services connecting homeowners with home service providers. HelpHive was founded by Karim Meghji and Dave Richards, executive entrepreneurs who have together built multiple businesses from the ground up to $100+ MM in revenues. Dave & Karim mostly recently worked together at Real Networks pioneering the development and marketing of digital media products and services including RealPlayer, RealJukebox, SuperPass, RadioPass and Rhapsody. HelpHive is headquartered in the Seattle area.